Justice in social housing: Towards a people-centred energy renovation process

Abstract

The annual renovation rate of the existing housing stock must increase rapidly to reach climate neutrality by 2050. This transition will require major investments but will also need to be affordable for everyone. Affordability is especially relevant for vulnerable and low-income households, many of which live in social housing in the Netherlands. Previous studies show that such a transition faces justice issues but this paper argues that a more pluralistic justice approach is needed, which also studies the interrelations between the justice dimensions. A multidimensional perspective is used based on five interrelated justice dimensions: distribution, recognition, participation, capability, and responsibility. Empirical data were collected by interviewing members of tenant associations and employees from social housing associations in the Netherlands on their experiences with, and views on, justice aspects in the energy renovation process. The data analysis shows that the multidimensional justice perspective can be applied to implement a broader and more pluralistic perspective on justice principles. These insights can be a starting point for achieving a more just energy renovation process in social housing, especially for addressing the needs of vulnerable households. Moreover, the results point out that all five dimensions are important to take into account in all stages of the energy renovation process, that they are strongly interlinked, and should not be addressed separately. The developed recommendations can be used by policymakers, and tenant and social housing associations.