Does tenure matter for occupant experiences of low-energy housing?

Abstract

International policy settings are looking toward low-energy and near zero-energy homes as a solution to address environmental impacts, particularly anthropogenic climate change. There is increasing research evaluating sustainable housing developments from a technical and occupant perspective. One of the key determinants of household energy use is tenure. However, there is limited research which has looked at if tenure impacts on how occupants experience low-energy homes. This paper contributes to the literature by exploring three low-energy housing developments and exploring the role of tenure in relation to how the households experience the dwellings. The case studies demonstrate that social housing tenants have frustrations with a lack of control over what they could, or could not, do to their low-energy dwellings, in comparison to owner-occupier housing.