Sustainable Retrofit of Dutch Social Housing: The Role and Future of Multi-Year Programs and Strategic Partnerships

Dutch housing associations, being semi-public construction clients, have been assigned an important role in helping to realize the national goal of a CO2-neutral housing stock by 2050. To achieve this goal, a growing number of housing associations have added sustainable retrofit projects into multi-year programs. Those programs are being implemented by entering into strategic partnerships with retrofit contractors. The aim of this paper is to explore the rationale behind this asset and property management approach, the process, and the organizational conditions and consequences for the partners involved. To do so, a cumulative case study for research, including seven cases, was conducted. The findings show that the rationale is primarily about improving and accelerating the retrofit process by using the knowledge, competencies, and resources of the supply-side partners as effectively and efficiently as possible. This novel approach increases the retrofit rates and tenant satisfaction with the process. Trust is key in the collaboration between housing associations and contractors. For this, partner selection is an intensive and careful process. The factor hindering the upscaling of the approach is the cultural and organizational changes needed on both the demand and supply side.