Jagernath, Anisha (2023) Mixed-ownership complex(ity): A case study about the effect of the sale of social housing on the energy affordability of homeowners living in mixed-ownership complexes in the province of Groningen. Master thesis.
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Abstract
Currently, energy affordability is a major issue in the province of Groningen. Improving the energy efficiency of one’s home by investing in sustainability measures is the most important way to reduce energy bills permanently. However, not everyone is able to invest in this. One group of people struggling with high energy costs are homeowners who bought dwellings in apartment complexes that used to belong to social housing associations. These buyers become members of a homeowners’ association (Vereniging van Eigenaren [VvE]) consisting of both private homeowners and the housing association as owner of its remaining units, i.e. mixed-ownership complexes. These owners depend on the VvE in order to make sustainability investments. This dependency complicates the process of making a home more sustainable. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of the sale of social housing on energy affordability among homeowners living in mixed-ownership complexes in the province of Groningen. This study also discusses the complex position of housing associations regarding sustainability investments in the context of a VvE. To accomplish this, a case study has been conducted using a mixed-method research design that employed a policy analysis, semi-structured interviews and a survey. Existing theories on the sale of social housing, sustainability measures and energy poverty served as a framework for this study. The policy context shows that there are currently no specific policies aimed at improving the energy efficiency of homes in mixed-ownership complexes with VvEs. Moreover, the perspective of the housing association regarding sustainability investments when selling social housing was examined. The interview results indicate that housing associations can do little to improve the energy affordability among private homeowners living in mixed-ownership complexes. Challenges are created by the existence of the VvE, such as differences in perspectives about sustainability measures between housing associations and other owners, the smaller investment capability of the private owners, high voting quotas in order to agree on sustainability investments, and lack of knowledge about sustainability among VvE members. These all complicate the efforts of housing associations to make their existing mixed-ownership complexes more sustainable. The experience of VvE homeowners was analysed and compared with that of individual homeowners using survey data of 128 respondents. The survey results show that VvE homeowners experience greater difficulty in paying their monthly energy bills than individual homeowners. In addition, the survey results indicate that fewer sustainability measures have been implemented in the homes of VvE homeowners than in those of individual homeowners. Since other findings of this study demonstrate that sustainability measures have a positive effect on energy affordability, the implementation of fewer sustainability measures may be contributing to the difference in energy affordability between these two groups. Despite the study’s limitations, its findings provide a better understanding of the complexity that being part of a mixed-ownership complex with a VvE entails for housing associations and other private homeowners regarding sustainability investments. Policymakers and practitioners in the field of planning must develop targeted policies addressing VvE-related issues to accelerate sustainability investments in mixed-ownership complexes.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
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| Degree programme: | Society, Sustainability and Planning (MSc Socio-spatial Planning) |
| Supervisor: | Ozogul, S. |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Jun 2023 08:31 |
| Last Modified: | 13 Jun 2023 08:31 |
| URI: | https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4185 |
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