Property Owners Research Articles

Planning annuity (fee). Civil and tax law regulations

Adopting a new or changing the existing local development plan is most often associated with an increase in the value of real estate. When selling the property, the owner of the property is obliged to pay a special fee (planning rent) in connection with the increase in the value of the property. This fee is collected by the commune head, mayor or president and cannot be higher than 30% of the increase in the value of the property. In practice, many misunderstandings and problems arise in the operation of this fee. The main cause is an incorrectly calculated and overestimated difference in the value of the property, which leads to undue claims by the commune against the property owner. Art. 36 and 37 of the Act of 27 March 2003 on Spatial Planning and Development states that the condition for collecting a one-off fee (planning rent) is the need to simultaneously meet the following conditions: increase in the value of real estate as a result of adopting a new or changing the existing local plan, specifying in the local plan the percentage increase in the value of the property, constituting the basis for calculating the amount of planning rent or sale of real estate by the current owner or perpetual usufructuary

Value switching: Extracting profit from the city

Land and property, and the wealth extracted from it, has reappeared as a central concern in understanding the process of urbanisation under capitalism. Much of the academic discussion centres on the re-emergence of ‘rentier capitalism’ drawing on 19th-century concepts of land economics. However, the accumulation of wealth through property ownership and the development process points towards a value proposition contained in the land question that is not satisfactorily explained by notions of ‘rent’ or ‘rentier’ capitalism, rooted as they are on 19th-century concepts of the land development process. This article seeks to extend this debate by exploring multiple regimes of value that underpin the contemporary urban development process. The first part of the article maps out four intersecting regimes of land value, before arguing by reference to empirical analysis of land and property sales data in Sydney Australia that switching between these value regimes – value switching – is a key transformative moment in the urban development process. Specifically, this article argues that value switching, as triggered by the land use planning process, has become the key driver of urban development dynamics and adds a further dimension to theories on land and housing development in the financialised city.

A probabilistic framework for stranding risk assessment and EPBD IV scenario analysis for the Italian building stock

The building sector is a major contributor to global GHG emissions, constituting an essential player in national and global decarbonization strategies. In this framework, governments have started requiring higher building energy performances to reduce emissions, with the new European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) representing a further step in this direction. Such requirements could be enforced at a large scale with specific penalties for the property owners, such as the stranding of non-compliant assets, making them not rentable or marketable until requirements are met. A few countries have already applied these measures but with a limited extent and effective implications compared to the decarbonization goals. Thus, while the consequent impact is potentially considerable given that a significant share of existing buildings would be stranded, a high uncertainty characterizes its assessment, calling for a probabilistic approach. However, no probabilistic methods have been formulated for stranding risk. This paper critically reviews the state-of-the-art approaches for stranding assessment of buildings. A probabilistic framework based on methodologies derived from natcat risk assessment is also presented. A scenario-based analysis is carried out on the Italian building stock and compared to the impact of natural hazards. Results reveal that stranding risk can be relatively significant in terms of expected monetary losses. The categorization of this risk as sustainability-induced “creative destruction” is also discussed. The findings provide insights into which policies would be required to implement decarbonization pathways for the building stock while underlining how energy retrofit design can adapt to mitigate stranding risk.

Living with, or despite, organized abandonment: social reproduction and real estate speculation on Chicago’s Large Lots

ABSTRACT Between 2014 and 2020, the city of Chicago sold hundreds of city-owned lots for a dollar to property owners across its South and West Side neighborhoods through the Large Lots program. An expedient way of returning city land to tax rolls and offsetting its holding costs, the city cast Large Lots as an effort to empower residents and turn vacant lots into vibrant neighborhoods. This article examines the labor of making vibrant neighborhoods. Against its erasure by the dominant planning imagination, I situate this labor as an important dimension of life's work under regimes of organized abandonment and their attendant economies of real estate speculation. Through interviews and participant-observation with lot owners, I demonstrate that Large Lots has reconfigured relations of responsibility and obligation around vacant land in ways that enroll residents’ social reproductive labor of land care into the production of investable landscapes. Through a property records analysis, I then show that this labor unfolds in tension with renewed channels for speculation established by Large Lots in program neighborhoods. These findings situate social reproduction as a generative vantage point for politically capacious understandings of real estate speculation and the uneven geographies of life-making it engenders.

An African American Burial Ground in Philadelphia: “Discovered,” Protected, Eradicated

ABSTRACT Construction in 2018 brought to light a previously unknown Black graveyard that operated from 1826 to 1882 on the outskirts of densely populated Philadelphia. To assure dignified burials, founders of the African Friends to Harmony Burial Ground created a “beneficial,” a form widely used by contemporary African Americans. Burials ended in 1882 as urban development encroached on the graveyard. Within a few decades, it had been erased from property deeds and public memory. In 2019–20, the two churches deemed descendant communities by the property owner, the University of Pennsylvania, chose to relocate the remains. This article points to instances where Black cemeteries have been retained in place or emerged as crucial instances of public engagement. Exploring the aspirations and struggles of those who established and tended African Friends to Harmony ground, the article reveals the richness of its history but the missed opportunity to commemorate the region’s complex past.

Understanding Institutional Compliance in Floor Risk Management: A Network Analysis Approach Highlighting the Significance of Institutional Linkages and Context

Governments worldwide are intensifying efforts to address escalating flood risks exacerbated by climate change. Central to this endeavor is the implementation of institutional frameworks, such as public policies, aimed at mitigating, planning for, responding to, and recovering from flood events. However, the effectiveness of these institutions relies heavily on their practical application. This study delves into the institutional landscape of flood risk management (FRM) through a comprehensive case study in Sint Maarten, a Caribbean island. Specifically, we scrutinize the degree of institutional compliance, focusing on the alignment between formally advised policies (institutions-in-form) and their informal adoption in practice (institutions-in-use). Employing Institutional Network Analysis (INA), we explore discrepancies between these two dimensions across the various phases of FRM (response, recovery, mitigation, and preparation). Our findings reveal that institutional compliance varies significantly across the FRM phases, with mitigation presenting the most pronounced challenges. Notably, the discrepancies are more prevalent among those tasked with implementing the policies rather than the targeted property owners. Generally speaking, the transition of institutions from mere forms to actionable rules is often hindered by established or emerging practices diverging from prescribed directives.

Suspecting Change in Cameroon: Slums Improvement and the Logics of Belonging in Yaoundé

Abstract Based on an ethnographic storytelling research, this article analyses the tensions surrounding the land tenure measures of the Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme (PSUP) in a slum of Yaoundé. The aim of the programme was to make sure that the property owners residing near roads and those in swampy areas renovate their houses failure to which would make them rent the newly renovated houses ‘of their own’ by PSUP. The article shows that this measure failed, not because of the failure of the government or the intrinsic opposition of the inhabitants to change, but because the PSUP indirectly attacked the land relations and the logics of belonging. This led to latent tensions in the form of suspicious relations between ‘autochthons’ and ‘allogenic’ inhabitants, suspecting each other of ‘malicious’ intentions. This economy of suspicion spreads by attacking the state promoters of the PSUP who were accused of plotting an invasion of the area for the benefit of specific groups and communities. The aim of this paper is therefore twofold. On the one hand, against the idealistic trend that insists on the peaceful nature of development mechanisms, it shows that conflicts are inherent in any process of social change. On the other hand, contrary to studies that consider land and inter-ethnic conflicts as essentially marked by brutal and physical violence, it shows that there are forms of insidious violence that accompany the processes of change in land regularisation.

Concept and Modeling of Participation Opportunity for Large-Scale Renewable Energy Plants

Citizen participation in the energy transition is desirable for many reasons: it increases acceptance of renewable energies, fulfils the wish to make one's own contribution to the energy transition and generates relevant parts of the necessary capital for the transformation of the energy system. This paper presents a scalable participation concept for the German legal framework which allows citizens to invest in and partially consume electricity from large-scale renewable energy plants at the time of generation. The developed concept provides a method for direct financial involvement via a direct contract with local electricity suppliers and virtual self-consumption by matching demand with PV generation – without the need for property ownership or new subsidies. Different consumer types and participants shares of a large-scale PV plant are modelled and simulated for the years 2019-2021. The financial advantage of citizen participation depends on the type of energy generation plant, yearly (solar) yield, on the remuneration for the surplus energy quantity, on the electricity procurement costs, on the customer's energy consumption, on the amount, and time flexibility and others. This paper shows that all analysed consumer types have the potential to profit from the model every year, although simulations are dependent on variable annual factors and assume the energy supplier's short-term procurement. The approach’s scalability and organizational simplicity could expedite the development of local participatory projects and contribute significantly to Germany's energy transition.

Limitation of property ownership in the conditions of the legal regime of martial law in Ukraine

The article is devoted to the disclosure of the issue of the limitation of property rights during the legal regime of martial law and measures that can be applied to property are analyzed. The author states that one of the unresolved legal problems of today is the problem of the possibility and proper implementation of the right to property ownership of measures and methods that can limit the rights of owners to property during martial law. The author, when analyzing the limitation of the constitutional right to own, use and dispose of one’s property, emphasized the uncertainty in the legislation of the mechanism of limitation and the lack of detail in which parts of the rights of owners may be limited. In the article, the author investigated such measures during the martial law regime as forced alienation of property and confiscation of property. Considering methods of forced alienation of property or seizure of property under martial law, the author found out that forced alienation of property should take place on the condition of prior full restitution of property or with subsequent full restitution of the value of the property. Considering the issue of confiscation of property, the author notes that confiscation of property, under the conditions of the legal regime of martial law, occurs without compensation for the value of the property. In the article, the author revealed the issue of receiving compensation for forcibly alienated property, which the author proposes to divide into two types: preliminary full compensation for the value of forcibly alienated property and subsequent full compensation for forcibly alienated property. During the research, the author considered the issue of making a decision on the introduction and implementation of measures of forced alienation of property or seizure of property and the implementation of such a decision. In the article, the author pays attention to the issue of the return of forcibly alienated property, which was preserved after the abolition of the legal regime of martial law, and the legal grounds and conditions for such return of property. According to the results of the research, the author claims that the realization of the right of ownership during the operation of the legal regime is of a limited nature, since there is a temporary limited regime during which the full realization of the right of ownership is not always possible.

Assessing the acceptance of cultural policies among heritage homeowners: a study of Ahmedabad’s heritage TDR implementation, capacity building, and satisfaction

This paper examines the influence of the Heritage Transfer of Development Rights (HTDR) among heritage property owners and explores how its successful implementation has been hampered based on the study of two indicators—policy awareness and implementation efficiency—which are vital for generating initial interest among stakeholders and leading them to use the policy.The HTDR policy at Ahmedabad, introduced in 2015 as an incentive program supporting the conservation of privately owned properties within the old city of Ahmedabad, has failed to generate much interest among the local community. As per the documents available online on the website of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, in the last 9 years, only 81 properties with TDR certificates. It is thus very pertinent to identify the reasons for its lack of influence and acceptance. In this study, a mixed method was adopted involving a closed-ended survey and semi structured interviews. The inferences are based on the responses gathered from heritage property owners currently living in heritage properties and those living elsewhere. The heritage properties were identified based on a random sampling method from the listed heritage properties spread across the 13 wards of the walled city. Based on the research findings, although most property owners are aware of the HTDR policy and find it an essential tool for conserving heritage in Ahmedabad, awareness of the whole mechanism and application process is significantly limited.The implementation of the HTDR policy is highly inefficient, and more awareness must be generated among owners. Moreover, more training or technical assistance needs to be provided to them to help them access the incentive program. The lack of a proper and comprehensible policy brief or document further hinders the situation. Overall, property owners are not completely satisfied with the HTDR policy and suggest critical revisions, such as reducing the file clearance time, calculating a new TDR amount, and modifying the stages of fund disbursement.

Rethinking Trans Trajectories via Life History

This article provides a life history analysis of Pepa Moreno, a transgender individual from Puebla, Mexico. The life events that she narrated in the interview conducted at her home and business—her move out of street sex work and her start as a business and property owner—offer a glimpse into the intertwining of personal/familial history and the processes unfolding in the spaces of society and economy. The article employs a critical realist framework around identity, based on life history as method, setting the scene around major restructurings of economy that private property regimes, urban transformation, morphing class realities, and capital investment (under neoliberalism) effected over her life: from adolescence into middle age. These transformations conjugate with changes across Pepa's own trajectory; key here are the meanings of “legitimate” work and moral worth that lie at the heart of the moral-legal economies that trans people in town, especially of working-class backgrounds, must confront. Labor status and class deeply intersect with a remaking of herself, which culminates with her naming herself as transgender once she has established herself as property owner and businessperson. However, even while invoking this category, she does not use it in line with the activist and sexological discourses that arose from the late 1990s on in Mexico City and which became prominent in Puebla in the early 2000s. The article thus maps the changing positions—and positionalities—of Pepa, examining the dialectics between lived experience and social structure, and the spaces of agency achieved through identity work.

The cry of Landless Smallholder Women Farmers and Agro-Processors in Northern Ghana- Evidence from West Mamprusi Municipality

Women’s access to critical resources such as land is one of the most topical issues amongst development practitioners, gender advocates, and policymakers alike. Land is one of the bases of wealth, power, and authority in most developing countries. As such, no meaningful development takes place without land resources, yet gender inequalities concerning land allocation and distribution exist in most Sub-Saharan African countries, especially northern Ghana where the majority of the affected are women. This paper examined the effect of the customary land tenure system on landless women smallholder farmers and Agro-processors in West Mamprusi Municipality. Primary data from individuals and household heads, chiefs, and Tingban-dima (landowners), were gathered using semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews. The secondary was also extensively reviewed as a complement to the primary data in the area of study. The study revealed significant gender disparities between men and women relative to land allocation and land access. Women's access to land was abysmal compared to that of men. The situation was also found to be aggravated by the dominant patriarchal relations which favor men relative to property ownership. only a handful of women had owned and had access to some lands but in most cases, such lands were reported to be poorer in quality, and lack proximity relative to complementary resources such as water. additionally, some lands in the hands of women came in with hefty royalties, thereby exacerbating their plight. The productive capacity of women in food production, agro-processing, vegetable production, and animal husbandry was found to be impeded by the land tenure system which limits their livelihood opportunities thereby widening the poverty gap between women and men. Nonetheless, women's access to land has seen a bit of improvement over the years, considering the recognition of women’s contribution to household income and the nutritive diet of children, but Indigenous traditional inheritance structures still limit the potential of women in this direction. The need to therefore advocate for a change in traditional land ownership and distribution by emphasizing on women’s rights and contribution to development. The constitution of Ghana allows for equal access to land irrespective of gender; this must therefore be advocated. This will address the gender gap in land and water resources to pave the way for women in agriculture, which will improve rural livelihoods, especially women of reproductive age.

An unfavorable indoor environment as mediator between fuel poverty and health: an exploration

Abstract Aim The objective of this study is to gain insight into the extent to which an unfavorable indoor environment mediates the association between fuel poverty and health. Method Data from the 2022 Dutch Health Survey were enriched with some registration data from the 2020 Monitor Fuel Poverty, resulting in a study population of 16,210 adults. Using Structural Equation Modeling in R, the mediation effect of an unfavorable indoor environment on the relationship between fuel poverty and various health outcomes was examined. An unfavorable indoor environment was defined as moisture, mold, and/or inadequate ventilation, as indicators of housing quality. Analyses were adjusted for various demographic factors: age, gender, property ownership (tenants or not), level of education, household with or with no children, and level of urbanity of the residence. Results Fuel poverty is negatively associated with the absence of mental health issues and with social capital and positively associated with the risk of anxiety or depression, a negative self-rated health, physical limitations in daily life, loneliness, and stress. These associations are partially mediated by an unfavorable indoor environment (mediation proportion: 5.5–10.8%). In a subgroup analysis of tenants of housing corporations, the mediation proportion ranges from 8.3 to 20.1%. Conclusion An unfavorable housing quality with moisture, mold, and/or inadequate ventilation is a mediating factor in the relationship between fuel poverty and health. Addressing the health effects of fuel poverty requires a comprehensive and structural approach, of which the indoor environment is an integral part. Connecting fuel poverty, housing quality, and health is necessary in both research and policy addressing fuel poverty.

Terra infirma: On the base map in urban cartography and GIS

This article investigates the ways in which base maps are a fundamental, but under-recognised, starting point for planners, architects, cartographers and geographic information scientists in urban spatial planning and decision-making contexts. Focusing on the case study of a collaborative mapping project with the Wood Street Commons, an unhoused community in West Oakland, it contends that base maps create a cartographic terra infirma, fundamentally shaping the process of negotiations over urban space in ways that reinforce possessive logics and normalize property as central to the function of the city. Base maps do so by paradoxically absenting all people – with the effect of absenting the occupation of land by unhoused people, while shielding property owners from view while enacting their possession through infrastructure, parcel boundaries and land features. We argue this privileging inherent in the urban base map ultimately fuels a process of “unbecoming” ( Fraser, 2018 ) – a simultaneous invisibilizing and reproduction of spatial inequality – and in response, call for attention towards the politics of base maps from urban cartographers, planners, architects and spatial scientists alike.

Barriers to the adoption of energy management systems in residential buildings

PurposeThis study aims to examine the challenges in the implementation of energy management systems in residential buildings to lower the running cost and achieve a better energy-efficient building.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted a mixed research method. Quantitative data was gathered by issuing a research questionnaire to 20 Delphi experts, while qualitative data was acquired through a Systematic Literature Review. Data received was analyzed using the descriptive analysis method.FindingsThe findings revealed that the main barriers to incorporating energy management systems (EMSs) in residential buildings consist of a lack of awareness of energy management systems, lack of management commitment to energy management, lack of knowledge about energy management systems, lack of funds for energy management systems, resistance to energy management technology by the property owners and property managers, distrust and resistance to energy management technology by the property owners, high initial cost of energy management technologies, shortage of technicians for energy management technologies, the nonexistence of local manufacturers of energy management equipment, lack of incentives for efficient energy management and high repair costs of energy management technologies.Research limitations/implicationsThe specific focus on residential buildings may limit the applicability of findings to commercial or industrial sectors. Further research is warranted to accommodate other energy-consuming sectors.Practical implicationsPeople’s perceptions, either wrong or correct, affect their ability to make an informed decision to adopt energy management systems, denying them the opportunity to reap the associated benefits. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the residential industry stakeholders and the government to increase educational opportunities for property owners, managers and property tenants on the importance of energy management systems.Originality/valueThis research presents the potential obstacles and problematic areas that residents may encounter while using these energy management systems. Consequently, they will be able to make a well-informed choice when installing energy management systems. Moreover, the research elucidates the identification of novel perspectives and also unexamined obstacles that impede the widespread use of energy management systems in residential buildings.

Shaping Baltimore’s urban forests: past insights for present-day ecology

ContextLand use history of urban forests impacts present-day soil structure, vegetation, and ecosystem function, yet is rarely documented in a way accessible to planners and land managers.ObjectivesTo (1) summarize historical land cover of present-day forest patches in Baltimore, MD, USA across land ownership categories and (2) determine whether social-ecological characteristics vary by historical land cover trajectory.MethodsUsing land cover classification derived from 1927 and 1953 aerial imagery, we summarized present-day forest cover by three land cover sequence classes: (1) Persistent forest that has remained forested since 1927, (2) Successional forest previously cleared for non-forest vegetation (including agriculture) that has since reforested, or (3) Converted forest that has regrown on previously developed areas. We then assessed present-day ownership and average canopy height of forest patches by land cover sequence class.ResultsMore than half of Baltimore City’s forest has persisted since at least 1927, 72% since 1953. About 30% has succeeded from non-forest vegetation during the past century, while 15% has reverted from previous development. A large proportion of forest converted from previous development is currently privately owned, whereas persistent and successional forest are more likely municipally-owned. Successional forest occurred on larger average parcels with the fewest number of distinct property owners per patch. Average tree canopy height was significantly greater in patches of persistent forest (mean = 18.1 m) compared to canopy height in successional and converted forest patches (16.6 m and 16.9 m, respectively).ConclusionsHistorical context is often absent from urban landscape ecology but provides information that can inform management approaches and conservation priorities with limited resources for sustaining urban natural resources. Using historical landscape analysis, urban forest patches could be further prioritized for protection by their age class and associated ecosystem characteristics.

HISTORIOGRAPHY OF LANDLORD LAND OWNERSHIP ON THE TERRITORY OF WESTERN BELARUS IN 1921–1939

During 1921–1939 Western Belarus was a part of the national and economic complex of interwar Poland with a clear dominance of agriculture and the preservation of a large number of property owners, close to whom there was a large number of landless peasants who hoped to get their land. Despite the significant contribution of landowners to the development of the local economy, as domestic as foreign researchers for various reasons, focused their scientific attention primarily on the position of the local peasantry, while the landlords economy remained out of the spotlight and was presented rather one-sidedly and subjectively.

Crowdfunding Real Estate Investments Using Ethereum Smart Contracts and Tokenization

This research paper explores the Ethereum blockchain technology in revolutionizing real estate investment through crowdfunding. Traditional real estate markets face challenges in liquidity, accessibility, and transparency, which this study addresses by proposing a blockchain-based solution. The research examines the implementation of a system utilizing Ethereum smart contracts, Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), and ERC20 tokens to enable fractional property ownership and automate investment processes. The study employs a technical stack comprising Vue.js for the front-end, Solidity for smart contract development, and the Truffle framework for deployment. Ethereum serves as the blockchain platform, with Ganache-CLI used for local testing. The system incorporates MetaMask for wallet management and Stripe for fiat currency processing, demonstrating a comprehensive approach to integrating blockchain technology with existing financial systems. Through detailed implementation and analysis, this paper provides insights into the practical applications and challenges of blockchain in real estate crowdfunding. The findings suggest that while this technology offers promising solutions to longstanding issues in real estate investment, considerations around scalability, regulatory compliance, and user adoption remain critical [4]. Keywords: Blockchain, Ethereum, Smart Contracts, Crowdfunding Real Estate Tokenization, ERC-20 Tokens, Initial Coin Offering (ICO), Fractional Ownership, Liquidity, Transparency, Ganache, Remix IDE, MetaMask, Solidity, Truffle Framework.

How clients choose procurement strategies and organizational control systems in the Swedish housing sector

Purpose This paper aims to examine how different contextual contingency factors and organizational goals influence construction clients’ decision-making when procuring contractors in the housing sector. More specifically, it investigates how clients’ choice of procurement strategies and organizational control systems is contingent upon various contextual factors and organizational goals. Design/methodology/approach It is based on an explorative interview study of clients and contractors in the Swedish housing sector underpinned by a review of organizational control literature. Findings The client's knowledge and resources, as well as project complexity and uncertainty, are the most important contextual contingency factors, while property management and sustainable development are the most important organizational goals that housing clients consider when designing procurement strategies. Research limitations/implications The paper contributes to the understanding of how construction clients choose procurement strategies, by providing new insights into effects of the mentioned contextual contingency factors and organizational goals on clients’ choice of control systems through their procurement strategies. Practical implications Property owners who continuously procure housing projects with sustainability requirements and high degrees of complexity and uncertainty should develop knowledge and resources related to their client role, to enable the design and implementation of appropriate procurement strategies. Originality/value Novel aspects of the paper are the demonstration of the value of a holistic approach, considering both contextual contingency factors and organizational goals, when selecting control systems and explicit discussion of how the client's knowledge and resources influence possibilities to implement different control systems.

The evolving developmental role of the state as public trustee of South Africa's natural resources and property

Through its environmental laws and policies, the state needs to ensure the ecologically sustainable development and use of South Africa's natural resources, while promoting justifiable economic and social development. Thus, the view that property owners may not use their property in ways that prejudice the community and other peoples' interests in environmental resources must be considered. This corresponds with the acknowledged stance that property, in its widest sense, has a "public or civic or proprietary" aspect to it that transcends individual economic interests, and that private property ownership should be inherently limited for the benefit of society at large. Property is, therefore, intimately bound up with the socio-economic security and well-being of all South African citizens. Since a developmental state actively guides economic development and the use of the country's resources to meet the needs of the people, the developmental role of the state should serve the public interest. In South Africa, though, the public function of property is frequently usurped by the government's developmental-state ambitions and influenced by political and economic considerations that affect the socio-economic fabric of the country. The South African government, as public trustee of the nation's natural resources, must regulate access to and use of natural resources by exercising its stewardship ethic. However, this is not always the case when it comes to critical resources like water and land - a situation that perpetuates the historically imbalanced distribution of wealth in South Africa.