The social construction of housing management

Although housing management as an occupational role has existed for over a century it has never received an adequate definition, and its scope and emphasis have varied over time. This paper locates housing management within the debates on the nature of the professions and bureaucracy, and suggests that these analyses are inadequate. It is proposed that a more fruitful approach in understanding the nature of housing management is derived from a consideration of its ‘social construction’. In support of this interpretation material from qualitative empirical research with practitioners is presented and analysed. Key respondents were identified as people working at the boundaries of housing management, such as in a caring or support role, since it was felt that the perceptions of such boundaries were important in defining the limits and limitations of housing management. In conclusion it is suggested that this is a critical moment for housing management in terms of achieving a more rigorous definition of its activities, and of seeking to resolve the conflict between the pressures to organise around commercial objectives and to provide a welfare service. Meanwhile there remains a somewhat paradoxical situation in that whilst the lack of consistent practice within housing management weakens its claims to occupational strength and legitimacy, these same inconsistencies permit individual practitioners the flexibility to offer a more responsive service to those in need.     

全国两会特别报道——加强住房保障 创新社会管理

三月的北京,草木萌动,春意渐浓。数千名全国人大代表、政协委员肩负着亿万人民的重托相聚在这里,共商科学发展大计。2012年是实施十二五规划承上启下的关键一年,今年的两会格外引人关注。两会期间,记者就创新社会管理,加强住房保障采访了湖南省委书记周强、江西省委书记苏荣、福建省委书记孙春兰、天津市市长黄兴国、合肥市委书记吴存荣——     

International comparison of social housing management in Western Europe

This article provides an overview of social housing management in seven West-European countries. In order to place the concept of housing management in context and allow comparison, housing management is classified according to technical, social and financial aspects of management. Housing management has become increasingly independent and the financial ties are becoming looser in nearly all of the seven investigated countries. Even though governments still play a major role in Europe with respect to the granting of subsidies, the non-profit institutions have to entirely rely on the capital market in order to obtain the required funds. However, in many cases intermediary organisations are still responsible for attracting loans. Peter Boelhouwer is a senior research at the OTB Research Institute for Housing, Urban and Mobility Studies, Delft University of Technology. His research focus has been on general housing policy, housing finance and comparative housing research. This paper is based on two recent OTB-studies about the social rented sector in Western Europe. The first study was written by Birgitta van de Ven and was published in 1995 in the Dutch series “Volkshuisvestingsbeleid en Bouwmarkt” (26). The title of this report is “Housing systems in Europe: A comparative study of housing management”. The second study (Boelhouwer, 1996) is titled “Financing the social rented sector in Western Europe”, and is published in the series Housing and Urban Policy Studies. This project was carried out by the OTB in cooperation with the School of the Built Environment of the De Montfort University in Leicester (UK). This cooperation forms part of the Centre for Comparative Housing Research.     

The provision of private finance for social housing: An outline of recent developments in funding existing housing associations in England

With successive Housing Acts in 1985 and 1988 the British government declared its intention to create an environment for the integration of social housing and private finance. This paper draws on empirical research to consider the success to date this policy initiative from the perspective of financial institutions. This research concentrated on attitudes to the availability and suitability of financial instruments for social housing funding for existing housing associations in England. After an introduction clarifying the framework in which funds are raised, the first substantive section provides an overview of the characteristics of the potential lenders to social housing in England and of the regulatory environment affecting their lending policies. Section 3 outlines the main uses to which funds are put and the types of financial instrument currently available to housing associations. The paper next examines the scope for increasing the supply of these funds through wholesale markets, particularly via The Housing Finance Corporation. One attempt to expand the supply of finance to existing associations through ‘credit enhanced’ funds is then described. The paper concludes by evaluating progress so far and by questioning the degree to which social housing will have to change if private finance is increasingly to replace public sector funds.     

Tenants' involvement in the management of social housing in the Nordic countries

Public participation was introduced in the period 1970–1975 at all planning levels of the Danish planning system, i.e. for regional and municipal comprehensive planning and for local district plans and urban renewal plans. This article focuses upon why public participation was introduced at all planning levels, how it was introduced, the distribution and quality of participation, and the progress in quality. Special emphasis is given to the handling of the “agenda problem”, i.e. who decides what is on the agenda when a planning proposal is discussed in public. In conclusion, some prevailing problems and perspectives are outlined.     

Awareness development for an energy management program for social housing in Canada

Social housing organizations compete with other social causes for limited public and private sector funding. While the environmental impact is important, it must be recognized that for most social housing organizations the most appealing aspect of an energy management program is the reduction in operating costs through reduced energy consumption. In order to secure financial resources for an energy management program, organizations will need to identify and address stakeholder perspectives in the formulation of ‘marketing’ strategies. The ‘marketing’ of an energy management program would be aimed at illustrating the substantial financial savings that can be achieved by increasing energy efficiency in social housing units. The bonus of an energy management program is the contribution towards environmental conservation and initiatives such as the Kyoto Protocol, as increased efficiency in energy usage and the subsequent reduction in overall energy consumption in social housing units contributes to reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.     

城市房屋使用安全管理现状分析与对策探讨

围绕城市房屋使用安全管理进行讨论,介绍了当前城市房屋使用安全管理的具体情况,对其中的问题加以明确,并针对这些问题提出了相应的解决措施,希望可以有效提升城市房屋使用安全管理的水平。     

Measuring housing need and the provision of social housing

The Bramley Report (ADC, 1988), made a detailed attempt to construct a resource allocation formula for social housing provision. In this paper we stand back from the debate over the detail of the models being proposed by Bramley to consider instead the principles which underlie the modelling of housing needs and resource allocation in this context.

The measurement of housing need depends on a few key concepts; the definition of acceptable standards of accommodation, the total numbers of households, and the supply of housing of at least the required standard. Questions then arise as to which indicator should be included in a needs model and how they should be measured. Overcrowding and homelessness are likely to be included whether these indicators are chosen by consumers or by social decision‐makers. Having chosen the indicators they have to be ‘normalised’ to take account of cyclical factors in the housing market, and of the efficiency and policy stances of local authorities. After this the indicators have to be ‘weighted’, otherwise they are all of equal value. Access to owner‐occupation should not be included in the model because ability to buy is an influence on the indicators, and if so included (a key feature of Bramley's proposals) in effect leads to a double‐counting of the problems of access to owner occupation.

In the final resource allocation process there is likely to be a trade‐off between the equitable and the efficient distribution of scarce funds.     

完善社会保障性住房制度

针对目前城镇住房保障体系存在的一系列问题,阐述了住房社会保障范围、保障性住房的建设资金、用地的筹措、住房租金管理制度及分配制度,结合社会保障性住房的特点,提出了完善社会保障性住房制度的合理建议。     

Dutch housing: Recent developments and policy issues

In spite of many years of active government intervention in the housing system of the Netherlands, an equitable distribution of housing resources is far from achieved. Instead, recent studies have highlighted growing inequities, documenting the plight of certain categories of households, while others remain comfortably housed. To redress this situation, the housing policy focus should be shifted from new construction to management of the existing stock. But redistribution policies are notoriously unpopular; few such programmes have been implemented and none has helped to avoid the current problems. In this paper some of the recent developments of the Dutch housing system are described to promote an understanding of the issues that now have to be dealt with to head off major social tensions in the near future.     

Seasonal variability in environmental tobacco smoke exposure in public housing developments

The risk of tobacco smoking and second‐hand smoke (SHS) exposure combined are the leading contributors to disease burden in high‐income countries. Recent studies and policies are focusing on reducing exposure to SHS in multiunit housing (MUH), especially public housing. We examined seasonal patterns of SHS levels within indoor common areas located on Boston Housing Authority (BHA) properties. We measured weekly integrated and continuous fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) and passive airborne nicotine in six buildings of varying building and occupant characteristics in summer 2012 and winter 2013. The average weekly indoor PM_2.5 concentration across all six developments was 9.2 μg/m³, higher during winter monitoring period (10.3 μg/m³) compared with summer (8.0 μg/m³). Airborne nicotine concentrations ranged from no detection to about 5000 ng/m³ (mean 311 ng/m³). Nicotine levels were significantly higher in the winter compared with summer (620 vs. 85 ng/m³; 95% CI: 72–998). Smoking‐related exposures within Boston public housing vary by season, building types, and resident smoking policy. Our results represent exposure disparities that may contribute to health disparities in low‐income communities and highlight the potential importance of efforts to mitigate SHS exposures during winter when outdoor–indoor exchange rates are low and smokers may tend to stay indoors. Our findings support the use of smoke‐free policy as an effective tool to eliminate SHS exposure and protect non‐smokers, especially residents of MUH.     

The future of Flemish social housing

Housing policy in Belgium and Flanders is directed mainly towards encouraging home ownership. Social housing in Flanders covers a share of 5.6% of the housing stock. This social rental sector is characterized as a safety net by some housing researchers and as a general model by others. During the 1990s and the first half of this decade social housing in Flanders became under discussion. The image of social housing that dominated then was one of increasing problems with tenants and neighbourhoods. Raising the income limits to get a better social mix was advocated by the sector and afterwards by policy as one of the solutions for these problems, meanwhile also improving the revenues of the housing associations. The political discourse however was very little supported by scientific knowledge. This contribution aims at clarifying the position of the Flemish social housing by describing the historical and regulatory context and presenting the results of the Housing Survey 2005. It dispels the misunderstanding that Flemish social housing is a residual model and explores different future models. One of the conclusions is that solving problems of the social rental sector may not occur at the cost of those who need affordable housing most.

Strategies for exclusion from social housing

In Sweden most local social authorities sublet flats to homeless clients with special contracts. In spite of this kind of social housing there are people sleeping ‘rough’ or in night shelters. These realities were approached in a case study, where a group of social workers engaged in housing support and supply were interviewed and observed. Two sets of methods in social housing control and exclusion are identified: (a) the landlords’ strategy of border control, split into gate‐keeping and expulsion; (b) the social workers’ strategy of discipline, that is to control individuals, while keeping them inside the domains of responsibility. As landlords, the local social authorities applied both strategies to their clients/tenants. This resulted in reinforced border control and a justification of exclusion, which implied judgements of the clients’ needs and capabilities, as well as placing responsibility on the homeless themselves.     

Risks and principles: The management of housing with support in the social rented sector in Scotland

Social housing plays a key role in the provision of support to disabled people but to what extent can care in the community principles be upheld in the context of the financial constraints in the provision of supported housing? This paper draws on findings from an evaluation of Scottish Home’s care in the community policy, to establish the considerable consensus of opinion on the principles underlying the housing contribution to community care and the increasing concerns of providers on the complexity and instability of the funding mechanisms for supported housing. To illustrate the discrepancy between the word and the deed in housing management practice, evidence is examined from recent studies on the use of housing agreements and tenancy rights in supported accommodation in Scotland. The paper identifies the gap between the expressed aims and intentions of providers and managers towards the occupants of supported housing and housing management practice and contends that financial pressures are a key element in producing this gap. If community care policies are to be successful, appropriate funding mechanisms and housing management practice are crucial.     

论房建施工过程中的精细化管理

为了有效在房建施工过程中推行精细化管理,提高房建施工成效,首先研究了房建施工过程中精细化管理的内涵与作用,在这个基础上进一步详细研究了房建施工过程中的精细化管理途径,希望通过研究为国内房建施工过程中的管理工作提供一定的借鉴,以进一步有效促进房建施工精细化管理水平的提高。     

Shifting back-changing organisational strategies in Dutch social housing

Since the financial liberalisation from the government in the late 1980s and the 1990s, Dutch housing associations have been very dynamic, embracing both commercial and social activities, becoming increasingly reliant and dependent on market circumstances and undergoing a large number of mergers. In recent years, the Dutch social housing sector has been under increased pressure due to the global financial crisis, increased levels of taxation and the national implementation of EU regulations on ‘Services of General Economic Interest’. It seems likely that factors like these have had an effect on the organisational strategies adopted by housing associations, but the nature and magnitude of these effects are not well known. This paper explores these effects through a survey among Dutch housing associations. The results of the survey were analysed using a social-commercial dimension and a ‘prospector’ – ‘defender’ dimension. Our analysis reveals that housing associations are focusing more on traditional social housing tasks and ‘defending’ strategies, implying some reversal of the developments that had occurred in recent decades.     

Financial management of housing contracts

A long history of financial failure of parties involved in housing contracts, particularly in, but not confined to, Australia during 1974–1975, produced a need for research to be carried out into the management of such contracts. A research programme was commenced in 1975, and its aims, methods and assumptions are discussed. The results of the research are presented in tabular form, some observations are made, and conclusions are drawn.     

Heat metering: socio-technical challenges in district-heated social housing

Individual heat metering and charging (IMC) are seen as promising methods to reduce domestic heating and hot water use through the provision of financial incentives. The heat consumption measured by meters is influenced by both the dwelling characteristics and the behaviour of the occupant, but heating charges would ideally relate to occupant behaviour only. This dilemma can be especially relevant under two circumstances: if the thermal performance of the dwelling is poor and/or if heating costs represent a substantial part of the occupants' income, i.e. in social housing. The case of a district-heated council block in London is presented where the installation of individual heat meters was planned in 2010 but had to be suspended due to concerns about implications for occupant heating costs in light of the thermal performance of the building. It illustrates a technically and socially complex environment where fairness in allocating heating costs is an important concern. The case also shows how lack of funding or other issues on the infrastructure side can hinder behaviour-orientated measures such as IMC. A holistic energy conservation strategy addressing both physical building properties and occupant behaviour is therefore essential and should be supported by policy.     

Multi‐family housing in the social rental sector and the changing Dutch housing market

The social rental sector has become a major segment of the housing market in the Netherlands (forming 44 per cent of the stock in 1988). Until recently, its management by non‐profit housing associations and municipalities posed no major problems: the stock was relatively new, the general housing shortage was severe, and middle‐income groups accounted for a substantial share of the tenants of social rental housing. This situation has changed; especially the older multi‐family housing in the cities has slipped into a lower position in the urban housing hierarchy, and lower‐income households predominate in this type of housing. At the same time, part of the older stock is in need of renovation. This article reports on interviews with managers of non‐profit housing associations about their strategies to keep the housing in good shape and to find tenants. It also reports on interviews with tenants in newly renovated housing complexes.