Housing Tenure Research Articles

The Patronization of Pluvial Flood Risk and Adaptation Among Tenant-Owned Housing Associations in Sweden

Pluvial floods are increasingly affecting urban areas worldwide. Despite growing media attention and clear owner responsibility for reducing climate-related risk for buildings in Swedish national adaptation policy, adaptation action remains slow. Understanding how different property owner categories view and act on flood risks is key for developing better incentive structures and support for accelerating adaptation action. While tenant-owned housing is a common form of housing tenure in Sweden, studies are lacking. This study enhances understanding of pluvial flood risk and adaptation views and actions by tenant-owned housing associations in two Swedish cities. It is based on assessments of 69 apartment buildings within eleven tenant-owned associations and semi-structured interviews with their eleven chairpersons. The study indicates that tenant-owned associations grossly underestimate their flood risks and responsibilities for climate adaptation, even though many buildings studied are at significant risk, and most associations have been impacted by floods, some severely and recurrently. The patronization of flood risk and responsibility for adaptation is attributed to several factors: underestimating risks and consequences, devaluing the benefit of one’s own adaptation actions, lacking knowledge about climate adaptation measures for buildings, and (overly) generous insurance terms. The findings confirm low adaptation action among housing associations, even those with recurring floods, which is concerning given the strong reliance on property-owner adaptation in national adaptation policy.

Exploring performance measurement practices in public housing tenancy management in Malaysia

PurposeThis paper aims to explore existing performance measurement (PM) practices in Malaysian public housing, specifically focusing on tenancy management operational practices and PM initiatives, thereby contributing valuable insights to this under-researched area.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a qualitative research approach, utilizing open-ended interviews to gather insights. To enhance the validity and reliability of the data, a purposive sampling technique was applied, selecting experts based on predefined criteria. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview data, extracting meaningful themes and providing a comprehensive understanding of PM practices in Malaysian public housing.FindingsThe findings reveal significant disparities in PM practices across different states in Malaysia. While some public housing entities have established their own key performance indicators, others lack structured frameworks, leading to inconsistencies in monitoring and effectiveness. The discrepancy highlights the need for a more uniform approach to ensure transparency and reliability in PM.Originality/valueThis study provides unique insights into the current state of PM, particularly in the context of tenancy management, which has been underexplored. By employing qualitative methods and thematic analysis, the research offers a nuanced understanding of the challenges and gaps in PM. It highlights significant disparities across different states and identifies key areas for improvement. These findings underscore its potential to inform and transform PM practices in Malaysian public housing, paving the way for more standardized and effective PM practices in the future.

Addressing Social Isolation and Suicide Risk in South Korea’s Permanent Rental Housing: An Empirical Investigation of Intervention Strategies1

This study examines social isolation and suicide risk in South Korea's permanent rental housing, which has been in existence since 1989. The research objectives are threefold: firstly, to identify individuals and households at heightened risk of mental health challenges; secondly, to analyse the causal relationships between residential environments and mental health outcomes; and thirdly, to formulate evidence-based recommendations for suicide prevention interventions. The study employs data from the Housing Management Agency and the Korea Welfare Panel Survey (KOWEPS) to emamine a range of factors, including household composition, age, gender, housing satisfaction, and social relationships. The study’s key findings indicate an elevated prevalence of suicide and loneliness, particularly among older adults and single-person households. Significant influences on these outcomes include financial stress, housing tenure, neighborhood characteristics, and housing quality. The study identifies depression as a critical factor, influenced by self-esteem, social support, and environmental satisfaction, with older residents with lower education and employment rates being most at risk. The research underscores the need for demographically targeted mental health strategies and highlights the importance of expanded public health interventions and housing improvements. It advocates for early identification and proactive management of mental health risks, emphasizing a comprehensive approach to reducing social isolation and suicide in permanent rental housing.

Prevalence of nonrestorative sleep before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: based on a nationwide cross-sectional survey among Japanese in 2019 and 2022.

Japanese people sleep less compared to other countries around the world. Using a large nationally representative survey in 2019 and 2022, we investigated whether sleep duration and nonrestorative sleep (NRS) among Japanese people have improved or worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were drawn from the Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions, a nationwide cross-sectional sample based on self-administered questionnaires. We analyzed 426,510 people in 2019 and 375,578 people in 2022 aged ≥20 living in the community. The generalized estimating equations of the multivariable Poisson regression models were used to estimate adjusted prevalence of NRS by survey year. Potential confounders included gender, age, marital status, family size, housing tenure, equivalent household expenditures, education, employment status, illness under treatment, lifestyle behaviors (i.e., smoking, drinking, dietary, and fitness habits), mental health, and sleep duration. Among the study participants, 35.7% slept less than 6 hours and 20.9% had NRS. Regarding sleep duration, the prevalence of sleep duration of less than 6 hours was significantly lower in 2022 than in 2019 for both men and women. By gender and age, the prevalence of short sleep duration (<6 hours) significantly decreased for both men and women under the age of 49, but increased significantly for men aged ≥50 and women aged ≥75. Regarding NRS, the prevalence of NRS was significantly lower in 2022 than in 2019 regardless of gender and age: Prevalence among men was 21.4% in 2019 and 18.8% in 2022, and prevalence among women was 23.7% in 2019 and 21.2% in 2022. After adjustment for potential confounders, the difference between the 2022 NRS prevalence and the 2019 NRS prevalence was minus 1.64 percent point (pp) (95% confidence interval minus 1.82 pp to minus 1.46 pp, P < 0.001), showing a significant decrease in the 2022 NRS prevalence. A significant improvement of NRS was independent of the prevalence of short sleep duration, age, gender, and employment status. The prevalence of NRS among the general population in Japan was significantly reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic. We need to monitor whether this decline continues or returns to pre-pandemic levels.

Examining Saudi Arabia’s housing tenure and price trends: a comparative study with global context

Examining Saudi Arabia’s housing tenure and price trends: a comparative study with global context

Housing Qualities, Spaces and Dispositions for Low-Income Families: Effects on Experiences of Wellbeing, Home and Belonging.

Low-income families often live in cramped and unsuitable conditions, and the housing qualities interplay significantly in processes of wellbeing, homing and belonging as housing can be an obstacle to the parents' transition to labour-market, lead to social exclusion and negatively affect children's schooling. The paper holds that housing quality includes important aspects of health, wellbeing and security, sociality, accessibility of services and facilities, space for leisure activities, central location, cultural heritage and aesthetics that support identity and place belonging. The study focuses on a new form of supported tenancy; tenancy with a referral agreement (tilvisingsavtale). The agreement differs from ordinary municipal tenancy as the referral agreement gives the municipality the opportunity to offer tenancy to low-income families in the private market. This implies that families renting with a referral agreement live in ordinary neighbourhoods and with equivalent housing qualities as other tenants, rather than in neighbourhoods with municipal elder and commonly worn-down housing located in areas known as "municipal neighbourhood" bearing social stigma and marginality. Methods include architectural inspection, drawing and document analysis, home-visits and interviews with residents and municipal welfare workers in a small Norwegian municipality during 2022/23. Exploring links between housing quality, housing tenure and wellbeing, our material suggests housing quality and space as a complex and flexible experience. We find that the residents tend to assess the referral agreement to offer an increased match to needs in their present everyday life compared to earlier housing, a greater sense of wellbeing and belonging, and to stimulate aspirations for the future. Here, we discuss the housing narratives as it raises precarious issues related to experiences of everyday family-life, autonomy, wellbeing, belonging, home and identity.

The Outdoor Area Implications of Mixed Housing Tenure Initiatives—A Swedish Case in Tynnered, Gothenburg

Mixing tenure types is often seen as a means of reducing segregation by breaking up concentrations of poverty. Previous research suggests that introducing new tenure types may also result in homeowners erecting fences and attempting to control activity by public housing tenants in outdoor spaces. These have often meant that tenure mix rather than reducing segregation has instead inscribed it within neighbourhoods. We conducted a case study of a mixed-tenure neighbourhood in Sweden, relying primarily on resident interviews. The results were analysed thematically using the concepts of nested commons, gentrification of outdoor space, and a smorgasbord of places. We found some evidence of new fencing and of attempts to modify shared outdoor area use, but overall, relations remained harmonious. We argue that this was largely because the smorgasbord of places created by the original planners has largely remained intact, and because there were not sharp social differences between the residents of the different tenure forms. Nevertheless, we argue that the outdoor implications of tenure mix initiatives can be crucial to the outcomes of such initiatives, and that they deserve serious attention from policymakers and practitioners.

What is the Relationship Between Older People's Housing Characteristics and Their Care Needs?

ABSTRACT Housing conditions and quality are well-established structural or social determinants of health. Poor quality housing also has the potential to affect care needs, but there is much less research on the topic, particularly on nonspecialist housing. Based on analysis of in-depth interviews with 44 people aged 65 and older living in England, their unpaid carers (N = 22), or as a carer-care recipient dyad (N = 6), (total N = 72), this study sought to explore the perceived relationship between people’s housing conditions and characteristics and their care needs. Findings indicate three key themes within this relationship: condition of home (cold and damp; state of repair; cleanliness and clutter); space and design (space, access); and legal relationship with the home (ability to carry out remedial work; precarity). There was variation in how and whether housing affected care needs by housing tenure, financial resources, and the type and level of care need. Care needs can increase requirement for warmer, less damp homes and be a barrier to improving homes. In turn, housing has a role to play in preventing the occurrence or worsening of care needs. Improving housing through policy and practice actions could reduce care needs and improve the lives of older people now and in the future.

Collective Housing Tenure in Global Perspective: Articulations across the South/North Divide

Though rich literatures exist on housing models using collective tenure in both the Global South and Global North, research across these geographies is rarely in the same scholarly conversation, and the field uses a variety of imprecise keywords. I put forward “collective housing tenure” as a global keyword to describe this family of programs. I outline the institutional forms of several models around the world, the theoretical frameworks scholars employ to understand them, and findings emerging from empirical research. I find several articulations between the models across South-North geographies, which invites further investigations into collective housing tenure as a traveling policy.

Life course socio-demographic circumstances and the association between housing tenure and disability-free life expectancy in Australia: a longitudinal cohort study

IntroductionThis study aimed to assess the extent to which the association between housing tenure and disability-free life years is independent of socio-demographic circumstances from earlier in life.MethodsWe analysed nationally representative...

Housing tenure and acute lower respiratory tract infection admissions in two Scottish birth cohorts

Abstract Introduction Early-life acute lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) have been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Despite young children spending much of their time at home, the contribution of home ownership status, on LRTI hospital admissions is unknown. Objectives To estimate the association between housing tenure and the odds of LRTI hospitalization in children &amp;lt;2 years in two birth cohorts. Methods De-identified Scottish birth records were linked to maternal Census data (2001 and 2011) and to hospital admission data to construct two birth cohorts (Cohort 1 (C1), born 2000-2002; Cohort 2 (C2), 2010-2012). Using logistic regression we estimated the association of housing tenure (owned, social rented, private rented, rent-free) with the odds of LRTI hospital admission, before and after adjustment for maternal age, residential area, and maternal qualification level. Results Over the 2-year follow-up, there were 14,833 LRTI admissions in 12,527 children (10,832 children had 1 LRTI admission and 1,695 &amp;gt;1 LRTI admission). 75.6 % of all LRTI admissions were due to bronchiolitis. In C1 and C2, 4.0% and 5.3% children, respectively, had one or more LRTI admission. Compared to children living in owned housing, the odds of LRTI admission were higher in children living in social rented housing (C1: Odds ratio=1.40, 95% confidence interval: 1.31-1.49; C2: 1.23, 1.16-1.31), private rented (C1:1.24, 1.11,1.39; C2: 1.14, 1.06-1.21), and rent-free housing (C1: 1.53, 1.35,1.74; C2: 1.04, 0.80-1.36) after confounder adjustment. Conclusions We found an association between non-owned housing and higher odds of LRTI admission which was more marked in C1 than in C2. Further research is warranted to unpick the mechanisms underlying the association between housing tenure and LRTI admission. Interventions to prevent LRTI admissions could usefully target children living in non-owned housing. Key messages • This study demonstrates the value of administrative and health data linkage in improving our understanding of how socio-environmental factors might impact children’s respiratory health. • Children living in social and private rented housing (compared to owned housing) have a higher risk of LRTI hospital admission and could benefit the most from LRTI-lowering interventions.

Wellbeing at the Edges of Ownership: The Impacts of Housing Tenure, Social Capital, and Institutions

This paper presents a three-country analysis of the relationship between housing, indicators of social capital, and life satisfaction (a proxy for wellbeing) using cross-sectional data from national surveys in Australia, the UK and the US. Addressing a key policy debate we construct, for each jurisdiction, models of life satisfaction as a function of housing and social capital, with a view to better targeting policy interventions to achieve wellbeing outcomes. First, we show that the wellbeing premium associated with homeownership remains resilient despite housing market instability early in the 21st century. Second, we find that while social capital is an important independent positive influence on life satisfaction, its effect is weaker than that of housing tenure. Third, we include two measures of housing risk (repayment risk and investment risk). These position mortgagors on a continuum across the edges of owner-occupation, placing them closer to, or further from, the ‘ideal’ of outright ownership. The impact of these measures varies across the three countries, raising questions about the way life satisfaction at the edges of ownership may be shaped by institutional forces.

Formalization, Citizenship and the Challenges of Self‐Governance in Mumbai's Slum Relocation Colonies

AbstractThe city of Mumbai is engaged in large‐scale urban restructuring efforts. Foundational to these is the demolition of many of the city's informal settlements and the relocation of residents to newly built housing complexes. Often discussed in terms of dispossession, this process is also one of formalization, with spatial, economic, cultural and sociopolitical implications. This article focuses on formalization's sociopolitical dimension, entailing the registration of residents and the establishment of formal governance provisions and new citizenship expectations. The provision of formal housing and recognized housing tenure has, designedly, been coupled with the establishment of official self‐governance mechanisms leading to new civic responsibilities and reshaping the experience of citizenship among former slum dwellers. We explore these governance arrangements, the interaction between formality and informal governance processes and how these arrangements impact residents’ perspectives on citizenship. We also identify several challenges to effective self‐governance and the ways in which formal and informal processes shape residents’ experiences of community life, citizenship and urban integration. While residents have benefited from some aspects of formalization (e.g. indoor plumbing and codified tenure rights), it has brought additional burdens, and the challenges of self‐governance have, for many relocatees, reproduced a kind of marginalized citizenship within formal structures.

Association of housing tenure and unaffordable housing with preterm birth and other adverse birth outcomes in Canada: a population-based study

BackgroundSocioeconomic risk factors are known drivers of adverse birth outcomes. Housing is a key target for policy interventions.ObjectiveTo estimate the associations of housing tenure (renting vs owning) and unaffordable housing...

The big contradiction between the dream and the reality of homeownership: access to homeownership in Canada, 1986–2016

Homeownership is a symbol of success in many societies. Yet, deteriorating housing affordability, coupled with the spread of casual labor and job insecurity, makes homeownership out of reach for many and calls into question the sustainability of the homeownership ideology. This study contributes to the scholarly debate on the ideal versus the reality of homeownership by examining stratified access to homeownership in Canada from 1986 to 2016 using six waves of population census data. We examined three narratives underlying the promises of the homeownership ideology: (1) widespread and (2) equal opportunities for homeownership access, and (3) the achievement of financial security through building property assets. This study investigates access to three types of housing tenure: outright homeownership, mortgaged homeownership, and renting, and presents empirical evidence that challenges the ideological premises of homeownership. As homeownership becomes more unattainable, “Generation Rent” and low- and moderate-income households lose opportunities for asset building and wealth accumulation.

Patterns and perceptions of vaping among adults living in social housing: a representative survey in Great Britain, 2023

BackgroundVaping products are effective for helping people to stop smoking and may therefore offer a potential means to reduce high rates of smoking in socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. This study aimed to examine current patterns and perceptions of vaping among people living in social housing in Great Britain compared with those living in other housing types.MethodsData were from the Smoking Toolkit Study; a nationally-representative survey conducted in 2023 (n = 23,245). Logistic regression tested cross-sectional associations between living in social (vs. other) housing and current vaping among adults; vaping frequency, device type, nicotine concentration, and source of purchase among current vapers; use of vaping products as a smoking cessation aid among past-year smokers who tried to quit; and harm perceptions of vaping products relative to cigarettes among current smokers.ResultsCurrent vaping prevalence was twice as high among adults living in social housing (19.4%) compared with those in other housing types (10.4%; OR = 2.07, 95%CI = 1.84–2.33). This was partly explained by differences in sociodemographic characteristics and smoking status; after adjustment, the odds of being a current vaper were 33% higher (ORadj=1.33, 95%CI = 1.14–1.54). Among vapers, there were no notable differences by housing tenure in vaping frequency, main device type used, usual nicotine concentration, usual source of purchase, or use as a smoking cessation aid. However, current smokers living in social housing were more likely to think vaping is more harmful than cigarettes (31.6% vs. 21.8%; ORadj=1.61, 95%CI = 1.30–1.99).ConclusionsIn Great Britain, adults who live in social housing are more likely to vape than those who live in other housing types, even after accounting for their younger age and higher smoking rates. However, misperceptions about the relative harms of vaping products and tobacco are common among smokers living in social housing. Interventions addressing these misperceptions could help encourage more people living in social housing to switch from smoking to vaping and reduce smoking-related health inequalities.Pre-registrationThe study protocol and analysis plan were pre-registered on Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/n3mvs/).

Daily Temperatures and Child Hospital Admissions in Aotearoa New Zealand: Case Time Series Analysis.

The influence of global climate change on temperature-related health outcomes among vulnerable populations, particularly young children, is underexplored. Using a case time series design, we analysed 647,000 hospital admissions of children aged under five years old in New Zealand, born between 2000 and 2019. We explored the relationship between daily maximum temperatures and hospital admissions across 2139 statistical areas. We used quasi-Poisson distributed lag non-linear models to account for the delayed effects of temperature over a 0-21-day window. We identified broad ICD code categories associated with heat before combining these for the main analyses. We conducted stratified analyses by ethnicity, sex, and residency, and tested for interactions with long-term temperature, socioeconomic position, and housing tenure. We found J-shaped temperature-response curves with increased risks of hospital admission above 24.1 °C, with greater sensitivity among Māori, Pacific, and Asian compared to European children. Spatial-temporal analysis from 2013-2019 showed rising attributable fractions (AFs) of admissions associated with increasing temperatures, especially in eastern coastal and densely populated areas. Interactive maps were created to allow policymakers to prioritise interventions. Findings emphasize the need for child-specific and location-specific climate change adaptation policies, particularly for socioeconomically disadvantaged groups.

High-density living, migratory status, and perceived crowding: A study of juveniles in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT Based on a questionnaire survey of senior secondary school students, this study examines the determinants of perceived crowding of juveniles in Hong Kong, a city that has accommodated generations of migrants from mainland China and elsewhere in the world and is renowned for its extreme densities. The analysis is threefold. First, it identifies factors directly affecting perceived crowding such as home density, housing tenure type, and environmental referent. The next stage, then, examines what factors determine home density. It is found that juveniles in both public- and private-sector-owned housing tend to have significantly more housing space than those residing in rented housing. Newcomers to the city enjoy less housing space compared to more established Hong Kong residents. The third stage analyzes the sorting of households into housing tenure types. New migrants are most likely to be private renters. Over time, the difference in home density and housing tenure types between students with locally born parents and those with mainland-born parents becomes smaller. However, no such trend is observed for students of overseas backgrounds.

Persisting social disadvantage and intercensal social mobility in Northern Ireland: an examination of morbidity and all-cause mortality using three waves of the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (NILS).

Objective and ApproachUsing census returns from three waves of NILS (1991, 2001, 2011) linked with mortality data, we examined morbidity/mortality outcomes by socio-economic disadvantage over time (using an individual-level deprivation index derived from educational attainment, social class, housing tenure and household car availability at each census). These were combined to generate two indicators of Intercensal social mobility: measuring no change, and upward/downward mobility between censuses. The relationship between mobility (2001-2011) and (separately) self-reported mental ill-health (MIH) at the 2011 Census and all-cause mortality (2011-2015) were examined using logistic regression and Cox PH modelling respectively. Results Population comprised 288,262 individuals aged 25-74 in 2011, recording 19,318 deaths (2011-2015) and 23,959 (8.3%) reporting MIH. MIH: those with no intercensal mobility followed the standard pathway associated with persisting disadvantage (comparing with the most advantaged the least advantaged recorded OR=16.13:95%CI=13.50,19.28); and while both the upwardly and downwardly mobile generally recorded higher ORs than those consistently most advantaged, the magnitude of ORs increased with social distance traversed; and ORs for downward mobility were consistently higher than with upward mobility. Patterns associated with all-cause mortality were similar. ConclusionsThis suggests: upward mobility retains something of the social patterning pertaining in social disadvantage levels left behind; downward mobility may be connected to ongoing health issues. Poor health outcomes remain strongly associated with socio-economic circumstance. Implications Research focusing on relationship between social mobility, disadvantage and health outcomes in NI is limited: access to more precise administrative data will enhance possibilities associated with evidence-based policy formation.

Evaluation of the Adult Migrant English Program for the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs

Objective and ApproachThe Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) is a free service to help eligible migrants and humanitarian entrants with low English proficiency to improve their English skills and elevate their participation in Australian society. In partnership with AMEP funder, the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, we have completed a longitudinal research study analysing the effectiveness of AMEP by linking participant information for over 400,000 AMEP clients with administrative data from social services, taxation, and the national census, from 2003 – 2019. This is the first time AMEP participant data has been linked with other data assets and represents the most comprehensive evaluation of AMEP since program inception in 1948. ResultsAMEP participation was associated with improved English proficiency of clients, especially when clients studied for longer periods. Migrants with higher levels of English on-entry had better labour market outcomes, higher income levels (male and female), lower rates of public housing tenancy, and were less likely to receive income support in the years following program exit. ConclusionsWhile the design does not support true causal inference, this evaluation provides good evidence that AMEP is effective at improving English proficiency and suggests AMEP participation can improve a range of economic and social outcomes for eligible migrants with low English proficiency. ImplicationsThe launch of these results coincided with new investment in AMEP and a broadening of eligibility criteria to make AMEP available to a wider range of migrants with low English proficiency.