Institutional Barriers to Near Zero-Energy Housing: A Context Specific Approach

After more than ten years since the introduction of Near Zero-Energy Buildings (NZEBs), the transition towards a zero-energy new built environment can still be considered slow despite European Member States’ various efforts to facilitate, promote and accelerate their implementation and uptake. The barriers to sustainability measures in general and NZEBs in particular have been extensively explored by academic literature and despite different research scopes, perspectives, locations and times, previous studies have reached similar outcomes. Similar barriers were perceived by different housing professionals in different geographic contexts and these same barriers also persisted through time. This study argues that while this could be interpreted as a validation of outcomes, it also underlines a limitation resulting from a general level of analysis. Thus, this study contributes to the discussion by adopting a context-specific approach in its investigation of barriers to near zero-energy housing in small towns in Flanders, Ireland and the Netherlands. The data was collected from a series of focus groups with housing professionals in Leuven, Kilkenny and Almere. Through descriptive coding, this study’s outcomes echoed previous research findings. However, a closer look through inferential coding resulted in the identification of 21 new contextual barriers leading to the formulation of more specific policy suggestions with a different allocation of precedence that depends on every context.

More Than a Hostile Environment: Exploring the Impact of the Right to Rent Part of the Immigration Act 2016

This article is based on original data from a qualitative study on the impact of the Right to Rent part of the Immigration Act 2016 in Scotland. Our findings show that in addition to being an integral part of the government’s project of creating a ‘hostile environment for immigrants’, the process of extending the state’s ‘law and order’ functions to organisations responsible for providing welfare services and distributing public goods is of wider political importance. Here, we argue that this process, what Bourdieu calls the rightward tilting of the bureaucratic field, results in widespread discrimination as it entails a shift in focus of its criminalising gaze from ‘conduct’ to ‘status’. The effects of this rightward shift altered the categories through which welfare services were both conceived and delivered more widely. We found that the almost universal opposition of the housing sector to the unwanted imposition of duties previously confined to border control agencies shows the extent to which the state is not a unitary monolith but is, rather, a site of perpetual struggle and contestation. By locating the perspective of housing professionals in relation to the government’s attempts to redraw the boundaries of the state’s own responsibility, we can gain a valuable insight into the processes of state crafting, which have wider implications beyond merely the creation of a hostile environment for immigrants.

Taking preventative health messages into the wider caring professions: the views of housing staff and tenants

ABSTRACT Background In order to harness the potential impact of the wider public health workforce, innovative services are providing opportunities for social housing staff to extend their public health role. This study explored the views of housing professionals and social housing residents on the delivery of preventative health messages by housing staff in the context of the evaluation of the roll-out of a new service. Methods We conducted semi structured interviews with 21 neighbourhood housing officers, 4 managers and 30 social housing tenants to understand their views on the widening role and the potential impact on the preventative healthcare messages being delivered. Results Neighbourhood officers were willing to discuss existing health conditions with tenants; but they often did not feel comfortable discussing their lifestyle choices. Most tenants also reported that they would feel discussions around lifestyle behaviours to be intrusive and outside the remit of housing staff. Conclusions Resistance to discussions of lifestyle topics during home visits was found among both housing staff and tenants. Appropriate staff training and the development of strong and trusting relationships between officers and tenants is needed, if similar programmes to extend the role of housing staff are to succeed in terms of health impact.

Adoption of sustainable retrofit in UK social housing 2010-2015

Purpose The Retrofit State of the Nation Survey has tracked the perceptions of social housing sector professionals’ views of retrofit since 2010. It has taken the form of three surveys conducted in 2010, 2013 and 2015. Here, the authors bring together the three surveys to specifically address the adoption and perceived effectiveness of retrofit technology in social housing projects. The purpose of this paper is to identify the changing perceptions of social housing professionals over a period of significant policy change within in the sector. Design/methodology/approach The research takes the form of a cross-sectional attitudinal, self-completion survey, covering sections considering the adoption levels and perceived effectiveness of different retrofit technologies. The target sample was medium to larger scale registered social housing providers. The surveys were conducted in 2010, 2013 and 2015. Findings In terms of effectiveness, the reliance on tried and tested technologies is apparent. Emerging or more complex technologies have declined in perceived effectiveness over the period. It is clear that social housing has adopted a wide range of technologies, and the larger providers, with whom this survey is undertaken, potentially represent a significant pool of UK retrofit experience. Originality/value The survey provides a record of the changing attitudes of social housing providers to specific technologies over the period of 2010-2015, which has seen significant changes in the energy and social housing policy. The findings show the link between policy instruments and adoption, with policy instruments mapping to adoption in the sector. Perceived effectiveness reflects a preference for more established technologies, an issue that is highlighted in the recent Bonfield Review.

“Building beyond Brexit: what now?”

Purpose A policy insiders view on the implications of Brexit for housing and welfare in England and Scotland. Why did voters choose to reject the Eu and what happens next as the government prepares for Brexit with no clear route map and growing uncertainty. Will the housing market shrink and what changes lie ahead for housing professionals. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach The author provides their viewpoint on Brexit and what is next for Britain. Findings This viewpoint discusses the potential effects of Brexit on the economy, housing, local authorities and so on. Originality/value This paper contains the viewpoint of the author.

‘Deal or No Deal?’: Assessing the UK’s New Green Deal

The UK government has recently implemented the Green Deal, a new pay-as-you-save policy which seeks to fundamentally reform the existing housing stock to make it more energy efficient. Regarded by its proponents as a ‘revolutionary programme to bring our buildings up to date’ (HM Government 2010: 2), generate cash savings for householders, and simultaneously yield environmental benefits by reducing energy consumption, it promises much. However, there have been many critiques of the Green Deal from industry, environmental pressure groups and housing professionals. Moreover there has been very limited take up of Green Deal loans by householders, and those measures which have been installed offer perhaps only minimal improvements in overall energy efficiency. This paper therefore considers the potential generative and productive outcomes of the Green Deal by looking across three related issues: households with low incomes and in fuel poverty; the potential impacts on elements of the housing system; and, the extent of environmental benefits. The paper concludes by suggesting that the instead of being a revolutionary way to improve the energy efficiency of the UK’s domestic building stock, the Green Deal may potentially perpetuate existing social injustice and environmental degradation. The effort should, instead, focus on understanding how energy demand is created in the first place (e.g. desire for larger homes, energy-hungry appliances, heating in every room) through householders’ expectations and changing domestic practices.