Reframing Residential Property Repairs as a Tool for Built Environment Social Sustainability: An Exploratory Case Study of Relational Service Delivery from a Professional Perspective

Sustainability debates in the built environment have concentrated on adaptation and retrofit as the principal mechanisms for extending building life and reconciling financial and social value. The repairs service, arguably the most routine and continuous point of contact between landlords and the fabric and inhabitants of a building has attracted comparatively little scholarly attention, despite its equal claim to be a site of sustainable practice. This study addresses neglect by reframing responsive repairs as a relational function contributing to wider social sustainability goals, rather than a reactive, transactional exercise in asset maintenance. A single exploratory case study of an innovative, bespoke repairs service for older residents introduced by an English social housing organisation is examined through a qualitative analysis from a professional perspective. Quantitative outcomes and resident evaluation are not incorporated in this research, rather semi-structured interviews and a workshop with frontline and strategic professionals embedded within a volatile regulatory and legislative context, capture practitioner-informed reflections on novel practice. Findings suggest that reframing repairs as an interaction, rather than a transaction, generates complex, mutually reinforcing, and often unanticipated outcomes spanning landlord–resident relations, inter-professional working practices, and organisational culture, with perceived implications for resident wellbeing, while exposing the persistent methodological challenge of evaluating such intangible, relational value. By extending the sustainability lens to the everyday practice of repairs, the paper offers original empirical evidence and conceptual insights to inform scholars and policymakers navigating the sector’s evolving social and environmental remit.