Tenant participation in sustainable renovation projects : using AHP and case studies

Published in: Special Issue for International Conference on Energy, Environment and Sustainable Economy (EESE 2013) By law it is stated that in most cases 70% of the tenants have to participate before the renovation plans can be executed in the Netherlands. For housing associations this participation level can be a problem with the consequence that sustainable renovation projects are postponed or stopped. In order to realize the best policy, this research investigated the content of the project plans and their influence on the tenant participation. To obtain data a survey was distributed to project managers including five case studies. The most important factor is the level of rent increase, even though the aim of the sustainable renovation project is to lower the energy costs and thus lower the integral housing costs for the tenant. This research ends with a checklist with tips for project managers to give substance to the sustainable renovation plans.