The need for customizing maintenance services in social housing

Abstract

Market segmentation theory is based on the notion that although customers are unique they may be grouped into relatively homogeneous categories which respond in a certain manner to the supplier's marketing efforts. Despite the lack of commercial necessity for the Dutch social rented sector in meeting the demands of tenants, public objectives do compel housing associations to be efficient and effective in maintenance spending. Through customization of maintenance service delivery, the match between users' expectations and the results of maintenance may be improved. Given the limited body of knowledge with respect to preferences of target groups in maintenance of dwellings a post hoc approach is used for this purpose. A large-scale survey was conducted among tenants of large housing associations in the Netherlands. By means of respectively principal component and cluster analyses, customer segments were given shape. Profiling of these segments was achieved through ANOVA and chi-square analyses. There seem to be grounds for housing associations to differentiate, to a limited degree, in their maintenance (purchasing) policy. This, however, always depends on the applicable strategic objectives of the housing association in question.Maintenance, service quality, cluster analysis, housing associations,

How Does Communication Influence the Perceived Performance of Maintenance Services in Multi-Storey Public Housing?

“…It also adds new insight to our understanding of the role of resident satisfaction on feedback received from the management team in determining residents' perceived performance of maintenance services and strengthens the general view that good attitudes and good behaviour of the maintenance professionals are vital for the success of maintenance services, as noted by Stewart et al (2006) and Lai and Pang (2010). This new insight complements what is currently understood about the importance of client satisfaction and the need for client orientation or focus in service delivery, as observed by Gruis et al (2005), Mossel and Straub (2009).…”

“…Similarly, in Wilhelmsson's (2008) analysis of the price differentiation of maintained and unmaintained residential buildings, the author demonstrates that well-maintained buildings fetch a 13% higher price than unmaintained buildings of the same age. Mossel and Straub's (2009) survey of tenants of social housing in the Netherlands also reveals the benefits of proper maintenance; these benefits include a sustained quality and an enhanced market value of the residential buildings. Opting for a performance-based maintenance contract, which is aimed towards meeting performance criteria set by clients, compared to the conventional competitive tendering also proved to be a cost-saving act, as it eased both indirect and direct costs (Straub 2009).…”

“…Lujanen (2010) suggested that the establishment of residents' associations should expedite decision making and effective collection of service charges to support major repair works. Mossel and Straub (2009) surveyed tenants in Netherland's social housing and discovered that it is necessary to customise maintenance services according the different needs of the tenants to achieve a high level of tenant satisfaction and, subsequently, an improved maintenance performance. The closest study in Malaysia that focused on the relationship between the main players in multi-storey housing is by Ariff and Davies (2011), who analysed the impact of homeownership on owner-residents satisfaction with their relationships with other players in the low-cost housing in Selangor, Malaysia, but their study did not focus on the performance of the maintenance services.…”

The loosening control of social housing: creating a holistic retrofit system for an ageing population through the lens of governmentality

“…Social housing is monitored by the Scottish Housing Regulator through the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS), as well as compliance to the Energy Efficiency Standards for Social Housing (EESH) (Scottish Housing Regulator, 2017). Within these standards, these organisations are required to establish performance management practice such as regulation, audit measures and key performance indicators such as the numbers completed and timeframe taken for adaptations (Dean, 2010;Van Mossel, 2009). Thus, these traditions of 'care' are threatened by the growing commercialised focus of social housing, which centres upon returned investment and property management, rather than the needs of its residents (Power and Bergan, 2018).…”

Affordable Condominium Housing

“…How acceptable is the maintenance level of a property? The answer to this question is given by the owner and the user of the building and its common physical parts (Lowry, 2002;Mossel, 2008;Straub, 2002).…”