Climate change adaptation in the rental sector

Instone, Lesley; Mee, Kathleen; Palmer, Jane; Williams, Miriam; Vaughan, Nicola

doi:10.1002/9781118845028.ch41

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 54 publications

(86 reference statements)

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“…The findings also add further support to literature that argues household tenure is a determinant of adaptive action (e.g. Burby et al 2003;Instone et al 2013;Mee et al 2014).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

“…Similarly, drawing on evidence from the United Kingdom, Porter et al (2014) found households' predominately cope with climate hazards and autonomous household action is unlikely. Within Australia, a reliance on coping strategies to respond to climate hazards, such as heatwaves (Akompab et al 2013;Banwell et al 2012;Loughnan et al 2014) and floods (Bird et al 2013), and mitigation strategies to respond to the threat of climate change has also been documented (Dowd et al 2012;Instone et al 2013;Reser et al 2012a;van Riper et al 2013). While risk perception is an important determinant of adaptive action, even communities exposed to severe climate hazards have not demonstrated a significant rate of adaptation comparative to coping (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How are coastal households responding to climate change?

Elrick-Barr¹,

Smith²,

Preston³

et al. 2016

Environmental Science & Policy

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In Australia, shared responsibility is a concept advocated to promote collective climate change adaptation by multiple actors and institutions. However, a shared response is often promoted in the absence of information regarding actions currently taken; in particular, there is limited knowledge regarding action occurring at the household scale. To address this gap, we examine household actions taken to address climate change and associated hazards in two Australian coastal communities. Mixed methods research is conducted to answer three questions: (1) what actions are currently taken (mitigation, actions to lobby for change or adaptation to climate impacts)? (2) why are these actions taken (e.g. are they consistent with capacity, experience, perceptions of risk); and (3) what are the implications for adaptation? We find that households are predominantly mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and that impact orientated adaptive actions are limited. Coping strategies are considered sufficient to mange climate risks, proving a disincentive for additional adaptive action. Influencing factors differ, but generally, risk perception and climate change belief are associated with action. However, the likelihood of more action is a function of homeownership and a tendency to plan ahead. Addressing factors that support or constrain household adaptive decision-making and action, from the physical (e.g. homeownership) to the social (e.g. skills in planning and a culture of adapting to change) will be critical in increasing household participation in adaptation.

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“…The findings also add further support to literature that argues household tenure is a determinant of adaptive action (e.g. Burby et al 2003;Instone et al 2013;Mee et al 2014).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How are coastal households responding to climate change?

Elrick-Barr¹,

Smith²,

Preston³

et al. 2016

Environmental Science & Policy

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“…The policy focus on ‘greening’ home‐owners has drawn attention away from the broader politics of housing provision in the city and the 27% of households living in rental housing in Australia. Tenants in the residential rental housing market in Australia are vulnerable in a world of changing climate due to the legislation that governs and restricts what changes they can make to the physical fabric of their homes, their lack of access to green rebate schemes, and often their reduced financial capacity (Gabriel et al ., ; Instone et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Tenants are not simply passive actors limited and bound by the regulations of their tenancies and their often meagre financial capacity (Gurran et al ., ; Toohey and Fritze, ); they also have access to resources, skills, and assets that assist them in caring for their homes (Mee, ; Instone et al ., ). However, the discursive and material context of tenancy means that tenants and property managers are faced with a number of barriers when attempting to access ‘resources for adaptation’ and implement changes designed to increase the sustainability of rental property, partly in response to climate change.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The project included a mixed methodology involving analysis of sustainability guides for renters; media coverage of sustainability in the rental sector; an analysis of relevant legislation; and interviews and focus groups with property managers and tenants about their role and perceptions of climate change and sustainability in the rental sector (see Instone et al ., ). Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 22 tenants and 17 housing managers across the public and private sectors, and three focus groups, two comprised of tenants and housing managers and one of tenants only, were held.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Renting Over Troubled Waters: An Urban Political Ecology of Rental Housing

Mee

Instone

Williams

et al. 2014

Geographical Research

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In this paper we explore the urban political ecologies (UPEs) of rental housing through the lens of water to draw attention to the different conditions of access to ‘resources for adaptation’ in the material relations of public and private rental housing provision in a world of changing climate. Climate change introduces a profound dimension of uncertainty in the socio‐material relations of urban life. However, the capacity of urban residents to make changes to their housing is uneven, and this uncertainty is amplified by the limited access of many tenants to ‘resources for adaptation’ such as gardens, water efficiency, and alternative energy and is exacerbated by regulatory practices, including leases, insurance, and capital investment, that help shape the socio‐natural relations of tenure. UPE emphasises the hybrid nature of cities and the flows of people and materials that constitute the built environment. We draw on the insights of UPE alongside an appreciation of the dynamics of normal standards of comfort, cleanliness, and convenience in the home to reveal the complexities of attempts to engage more sustainably with water in rental property. This paper draws on a case study of rental property managers and tenants in Newcastle, NSW, Australia, to explore social and cultural processes that are both shaped by and shape rental housing provision. We reveal a suite of practices, materials, and discourses that assemble to make ‘resources for adaptation’ and simultaneously render water useful, troubled, or troublesome.

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