Social Loan Scheme

Overview

The Social Loan Scheme is aimed at people whose income places homeownership out of reach on ordinary lending terms. It runs through a partnership between the Housing Authority, the Foundation for Social Welfare Services and two participating banks, and what distinguishes it from a straightforward mortgage is that the support continues after the purchase. The bank lends, the Authority contributes a monthly subsidy toward the repayments for as long as the applicant keeps qualifying, and the Authority also absorbs the notarial costs that normally accompany a deed.

One point matters more than it might appear. The scheme operates as two separate arrangements rather than one, and the choice of bank changes the terms in ways that can decide whether an applicant qualifies at all. Bank of Valletta publishes its version as HomeAssist Loans, APS Bank publishes its as the Home Acquisition Contents Loans, and the differences run through the age limits, the loan structure and the type of property that can be bought. Both are set out below.

Who This Is For

This is a scheme for people buying a home to live in, from the private sector. The property must be occupied exclusively as the applicant's ordinary residence, and letting it to anyone else while the subsidy is running is prohibited. Investment purchases fall outside it.

Eligibility

Both routes share most of their conditions. Applicants must be Maltese citizens, in full time employment, and hold no other immovable property. Assets cannot exceed €23,300. Annual income is capped by household type, at €20,232.36 for single people, €21,232.36 for single parents with children living with them, and €22,232.36 for couples, for disabled applicants, and for families with a disabled member. Overtime, In Work Benefit and Tapered Unemployment Assistance are excluded from that calculation, which matters for applicants whose headline earnings would otherwise put them over the line.

Worth noting that both sets of terms specify Maltese citizenship without the EU citizen pathway found in most other Housing Authority schemes, so this is narrower than it first appears.

Age is where the two part company. The Bank of Valletta terms require applicants to be over 18, with no upper limit stated. The APS Bank terms require applicants to be between 18 and 45.

What It Offers

UnderBank of Valletta, the loan is capped at €120,000 toward a property whose purchase and finishing costs together do not exceed €140,000. The property may be finished and habitable or in shell form, provided the combined cost stays within that ceiling, and occupancy must follow within six months of the deed for a finished property or two years for one in shell form.

UnderAPS Bank, the loan is capped at €140,000, and the property must already be in a finished and habitable state. There is no shell form route, and occupancy must follow within six months of the deed.

In both cases the loan can also cover the deposit where applicable, removing the need for savings up front, and the Housing Authority pays a monthly subsidy of up to €167 directly to the bank against the repayments.

The annual subsidy is set by household composition and is identical across both banks. A single person receives €1,600, rising to €1,725 where the applicant is disabled. A single parent with children receives €1,900, or €2,025 if disabled. A couple receives €2,000, rising to €2,125 for a disabled couple or a household of five or more, and to €2,300 for a couple with fostered children living with them. These income bands are reviewed each year in line with increases to the national minimum wage.

There is a distinct provision for people who grew up outside a family home, and here the APS terms are broader. Both banks double the entitlement to a maximum of €3,200 a year until the age of 28 for single applicants who lived in care or spent time in foster placements. The APS terms extend that to applicants who left CSA and to those who have successfully completed a rehabilitation or therapeutic programme, and list persons who lived in children's homes as a category in their own right within the subsidy schedule.

On costs, both routes have the Authority paying the notarial fees and expenses, including the fees due to notaries at law and the registration and publication fees on the deed, with search fees remaining the applicant's responsibility. The Bank of Valletta terms go further, adding that the Authority also pays the bank's processing, legal and professional fees, with the qualification that if the deed is never published those fees fall back to the applicant. The APS terms make no equivalent provision.

Applying

The first subsidy payment follows the applicant's first loan repayment. Anyone already receiving a Housing Authority rent subsidy will see it stop as soon as this one begins, so the two do not run together. The deposit paid on the preliminary agreement is held by the notary until the final deed is signed, and the subsidy itself is paid directly into the relevant bank.

How to Apply

Applications are made through the Housing Authority in coordination with the chosen participating bank, via the Authority's website or its offices in Floriana and Victoria, Gozo. Neither set of published terms specifies an administrative charge for this scheme.

Keeping The Subsidy

The subsidy is reviewed every two years through a full means test covering both income and assets. Under the Bank of Valletta terms the value of the property purchased under the scheme is expressly excluded from that assets calculation. The APS terms contain no equivalent exclusion, which is worth clarifying with the Authority before choosing a route. An applicant who no longer satisfies the conditions at review loses the subsidy, even if they qualified perfectly well at the outset.

Transferring or renting the property is restricted while the subsidy runs. Bank of Valletta requires written consent from both the bank and the Authority; APS requires written permission from the Housing Authority. In either case the subsidy ends, and selling to a third party after obtaining consent means refunding the fees the Authority paid at the deed.

Couples who separate, divorce, annul or otherwise end their relationship must notify the Authority in writing within thirty days, after which the subsidy may be revised. Under the Bank of Valletta terms, repayments and interest continue in the meantime until a new agreement is reached with the bank where one party takes on the full loan.

What Can End It

Missing even a single loan repayment allows the Authority to suspend the subsidy, at which point the bank is entitled to require full repayment from the applicant. Giving information later proved false forfeits the subsidy automatically and allows the Authority to report the matter to the relevant investigative authority. Breaching any condition of the scheme carries a penalty of €10 per week, or part of a week, until the applicant returns to compliance.

Source & Verification

This summary is verified against both banks' 2026 Terms and Conditions, cross checked clause by clause against each other and against the Housing Authority's scheme page, last verified on 4 August 2026.

• Scheme page: https://housingauthority.gov.mt/scheme/social-loan-scheme/
• Terms and Conditions, Bank of Valletta version (PDF): https://housingauthority.gov.mt/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/SOL-BOV-Conditions-English-2026.pdf
• Terms and Conditions, APS Bank version (PDF): https://housingauthority.gov.mt/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/SOL-APS-Conditions-English-2026-1.pdf

Disclaimer: This information is provided for general awareness only and does not constitute financial or legal advice. Schemes are reviewed and amended periodically, so availability, amounts, deadlines and eligibility criteria may have changed since this page was last verified. Always confirm current details on the official Housing Authority scheme page before applying or making any decision.