The need for stronger awareness of housing rights in Malta

Abstract

Housing rights have undergone a very significant evolution both under the ECHR as well as under other international statutes such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the European Social Charter. On the contrary, they remain a rather vague concept under the Maltese legal order. The best justification is perhaps offered by Mifsud Bonnici (2003) who suggests that the notion of the right to housing reached Malta at a moment when public opinion was convinced that local administrative structures had already seen effectively to this need. A rapidly changing housing scenario seems, however, to be warranting a stronger rights-based approach capable of ensuring the respect of every individual’s right to adequate.