Understanding tenants’ responses to energy efficiency renovations in public housing in Sweden: From the resigned to the demanding

Abstract

This study focuses on the experiences of tenants in renovation projects of public housing rental apartments in Sweden. Tenants’ perspectives are under-researched in the context of energy efficiency renovation projects, which is a considerable oversight given the many ways in which such projects impact their lives. The aim of the paper is to reveal rare qualitative insights into tenants’ experiences of, and attitudes towards, energy efficiency renovations in a public housing context and the extent to which they feel motivated and able to influence the renovation project. Participatory observations at tenant meetings were conducted as well as semi-structured phone interviews. An empirically driven typology is developed indicating that tenants have different interests and attitudes regarding energy efficiency renovations. Six different types are identified: the satisfied; the demanding, the conservative, the resigned, the sceptical and the resistant.

Keywords

• Energy efficiency
• Renovations
• Tenants
• Principle–agent
• Multi-family dwellings