BETWEEN MARKETING AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT: DUTCH MUNICIPAL POLICY INSTRUMENTS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF PRIVATE HOUSING STOCK

misbe2011 Tracking Number 167

Dutch municipalities are faced with an ageing private housing stock, of which parts show a diversity of quality backlogs, including their energy quality. Dutch municipalities are in the process of developing a combination of communicative and economic policy instruments to seduce private homeowners to invest in their dwellings’ quality. Homeowners’ willingness and capability to invest, and their level of organization play key roles here. This paper investigates, if the applied policy instruments to improve the quality of private housing stock in three Dutch municipalities are effective as well as cost-effective for both municipal governments and private homeowners. First results indicate that municipalities are marketing quality improvements to private homeowners by organizations that support and communicate with homeowners, but yet it seems without the hoped-for large-scale improvements. A multi-level policy approach seems to be needed for private dwelling improvement to become successful. This implies an improved playing field shaped by the national government, in which municipalities can make use of their local long-term oriented economic policy instruments more efficiently, such as property taxes and rebates on such taxes for (e.g. energy) quality improvements.