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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present defects reported by cooperative owners, and to determine the relationship between building characteristics, developer's/contractor's company size and defect type. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is based on defects reported by board members of cooperatives in Sweden through a survey questionnaire. The 1,563 questionnaires were posted by regular mail to the boards of cooperatives for buildings. The current research presents results from analysis of responses from 394 regular residential projects constructed between 2006 and 2013. The responses represent owners' experience from a total 1,107 buildings. Findings Findings presented in this study indicate that building quality might be one of the factors contributing to the energy gap. The analysis indicates that the most severe problems reported by cooperatives are issues related to building envelope, particularly shortcomings in the function of windows, issues related to the function of the balcony and cracks in the facade and leakage caused by rain water. The results show that the building quality differs depending on developers' size, measured by number of employees. The authors have also found a significant relationship between reported defects and location expressed by size of the city/municipality. Originality/value The discussion on newly constructed residential buildings has been dominated by the perspective of professionals (inspectors) and contractors (or developers) rather than of the owners/users themselves. This study presents findings from the owners' perspective, thus contributing the owners' viewpoint to the debate on building quality.

PurposeDespite awareness of climate change for over 3 decades, per capita energy and water consumption increase and environmental impacts grow. The built environment contributes around 40% of total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; action is vital. Whilst building code standards have increased, rating tools and technology to reduce energy and water consumption are developed; environmental impact grows because of human behaviour. In the tertiary education sector, student accommodation constitutes a large part of the property portfolio, contributing significant amounts of GHG emissions and environmental impact. Property Managers can educate and install systems and technologies to improve behaviour if they understand it.Design/methodology/approachThis exploratory study used a questionnaire survey to explore how student's worldviews vary and the possible limitations to behaviour in respect of climate change. In total, 71 responses from international university students living in residential accommodation on campuses in Stockholm were analysed.FindingsThe results show different perceptions about the environment and actions that are needed, and this leads to different behaviours. Limited knowledge and inability to relate environmental consequences to one's own actions, effective communication and risk averse behaviour, are critical in mitigating climate change. A deeper understanding of participants worldviews and the different resulting behaviours was achieved.Research limitations/implicationsThis pilot study involved a small number of participants and future studies should expand participant numbers, including those with more varied backgrounds, education levels and age groups.Practical implicationsIf property managers gain a deeper understanding the different behaviours of their residents, they can develop effective strategies to facilitate action that will lower the environment impact and GHG emissions of student accommodation.Originality/valueThe knowledge gained about environmental attitudes and human behaviour can help property and facility managers, policy makers and regulators to develop more effective strategies to deliver improved sustainability outcomes.

Principal-agency problems due to hidden incentives might be amplified, for example, under circumstances when unjustified trust in an inspector is associated with higher perception of building quality. This paper sets out to determine whether a significant difference exists in the owner's perception of the building quality based on the perception of the inspector and the inspection process within multi-dwelling housing. A principal-agent theoretical perspective and the question of trust is applied on data from a survey sent to 1563 housing cooperatives in Sweden and analysed using a one-sided ANOVA as well as Kruskal-Wallis and post-hoc Dunn's test. The major finding is that differences in perception associated with the company size of the developer, the timing of the inspection as well as the complexity of the process for the owners affects reported defect. The main implication is that efforts to address shortcomings related to the gap between the developer and the owner, in the context of building quality and perceived severity of defects, need to be customised to different owner groups. A better understanding of the inspection process by the owner improves active participation, which leads to efficient quality improvement. Society benefits from improved comprehension and utilisation of the results.

The study presented in this paper focuses on the subjective opinions of occupants of multistory residential buildings by examining the relationship between occupants’ satisfaction and indoor environment quality, and analysing the effect the problems experienced with noise level may have on general satisfaction and the perceived acoustic quality. The analysis is based on data collected through surveys addressed to adults living in green and conventional buildings. The results show that occupants are very satisfied with their apartments, and subjectively rated acoustic quality received very high scores. The responses indicate that noise from neighbours has been experienced relatively seldom by occupants; however, the analysis shows that it is the factor that has the strongest effect on satisfaction with acoustic quality. We have found that the environmental profile of a building has a significant effect on general satisfaction expressed by occupants; however, this effect has not been confirmed for acoustic quality.

This paper investigates the literature and theoretical underpinning of the concept of “willingness to pay” (WTP) for green infrastructure (GI) with consequences for residential development. The benefits of GI in urban settlements include improved air quality, attenuation of the urban heat island, thermal insulation and lower energy bills for green roofs and walls, the creation of social amenity space, a habitat for biodiversity, and stormwater water attenuation. Collectively, these benefits are termed eco-system services and enhance sustainability. The role of GI, the “lungs of the planet”, is heavily correlated to atmospheric conditions; high levels of GI improve air quality, which is acknowledged widely with many cities increasing GI to make them more resilient to future predicted challenges with respect to heat and poor air quality. In addition, there is evidence that the biophilia effect enhances human well-being. There are some studies claiming that purchasers pay a premium for property with good GI. However, there is little research about the process in consumers’ minds leading to such a premium—if, how, when (under what circumstances), and then to what extent are consumers willing to pay for GI. This process, if better understood, may enable sellers or policy makers to influence the amounts of GI in developments, thus making it possible to enhance the value of GI to buyers. There is some research pointing to factors to be considered when modeling such processes. For developers, knowing the optimum amount of GI would enable them to design and construct developments with maximum purchaser appeal. To do this, stakeholders need to predict the level of WTP amongst potential purchasers for which they need to understand the decision processes behind WTP. In this way, sustainability in residential property development could be optimized. The paper analyzes the literature and theories concerning WTP, focusing on dwellings and GI. Our findings are that some quantitative evidence exists that purchasers pay more for residential property with high levels of GI in some cities, but they do so without any understanding of the possible decision processes leading to those premiums (if, how, when, and then to what extent). The paper proposes a comprehensive conceptual model that may explain buyers’ WTP for a dwelling based on a presumed cost–benefit analysis performed by buyers, which has been extended here to include GI and psychological factors. Thus, the paper has a consumer perspective. The model may be used to select variables and test them in empirical studies, and by integrating with other factors in the model, it can attain a more comprehensive understanding of WTP for GI in residential development.

As climate-related issues are important and concern all aspects of the built environment, there is a need to better understand the motives underlying household recycling behavior. The purpose of the present study is twofold: to investigate factors important for explaining the recycling behavior of young people and to explore respondents’ own ideas regarding barriers to recycling. This paper reports on a survey conducted from 2020 to 2021 among residents of student housing in Stockholm, Sweden. Eight hypotheses were formulated based on earlier research and a model was constructed. Answers from 1202 respondents were first analyzed by logistic regression to test factors affecting respondents’ self-reported recycling of paper, plastic, glass, and metal. Results show that the full model containing all predictors was statistically significant. The results showed that only four of the hypotheses were confirmed. Positive attitude toward recycling, personal norms, perceived behavioral control, and perceived convenience of recycling are positively affecting recycling behavior. In addition, 673 open answers were analyzed to provide information on unforeseen factors of importance for recycling behavior. This study adds to research by testing factors affecting recycling behaviors in a national context and by identifying new possible factors of importance. The results are also of benefit to business practitioners within the construction sector or within facility management in identifying activities that would add to sustainable development.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the commercial aspect of \"green\" building construction and whether increased investment costs are profitable taking the reduction in operating costs into account. The investment viability is approached by comparing investment in conventional and \"green\" residential building, particularly passive houses, using real construction and post-occupancy conditions.Design methodology approach - The key data were obtained by surveys and personal interviews. The first survey was directed to the companies which had experience of building low-energy housing and the second survey to housing companies that actively manage operation of low-energy houses.Findings - Findings indicate that low-energy buildings are considered an interesting and sound business opportunity, and investment analysis indicates that low-energy houses (particularly passive houses) can be more attractive investments than conventional residential buildings. The long-term strategy of building low-energy buildings can give competitive advantages. The government initiative and the construction regulations are found to be necessary in eliminating the initial barrier to energy-efficient projects and achieving long-term environmental goals.Originality value - This paper provides insights into the investment decisions and contributes to the understanding of the construction, operation and profitability of energy-efficient residential buildings.

Purpose – The aims of this paper is to investigate the overall satisfaction of occupants of green and conventional residential buildings and their perception of indoor environment quality (IEQ) and to study factors that may cause occupants’ dissatisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through a survey sent to occupants of comparable green and conventional multi-family buildings. The difference in responses between occupants of green and conventional buildings was analysed using Mann–Whitney (rank sum) test. The ordered logistic models were applied to the data to test whether the overall satisfaction changes depending on the level of acceptance of indoor environment quality and whether the building environmental profile and the apartment tenure affect occupant satisfaction. Findings – The results show that both categories of occupants are very satisfied with their apartments and that there is no statistically significant difference between the stated overall satisfaction of occupants living in green and conventional buildings, although a difference was found in the acceptance level for thermal and sound quality. The research highlights the importance of occupant feedback, user-friendly technical installations and the ability to control indoor environment. This knowledge is important for designers, engineers and developers alike in enabling them to improve dwelling quality and minimize post-occupancy problems. Research limitations/implications – It was not possible to include physical measurements of IEQ parameters; the analysis is based only on occupants’ responses, which may carry a certain subjectivity. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the understanding of IEQ from occupant perspective and to knowledge on green building performance.

When the external measurements of a building are fixed, an increase in external wall thickness caused by additional insulation, for example, will lead to loss of saleable floor area. This issue has to be taken into account in the evaluation of investment profitability. This paper examines how technologies used in energy-efficient residential building construction affect the available saleable floor area and how this impacts profitability of investment. Using a modeled building and an analysis of the average construction cost, we assessed losses and gains of saleable floor area in energy-efficient buildings. The analysis shows that the impact of potential losses or gains of saleable floor area should be taken into account when comparing investment alternatives: building energy-efficient green dwellings or building conventional ones. The results indicate that constructing energy-efficient buildings and introducing very energy-efficient technologies may be energy- and cost-effective even compared with conventional buildings. Employing new products in energy-efficient construction allows benefit to be drawn from lower energy consumption during the life cycle of the building, but also from the increase in saleable floor area.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the strategy, selection and perception of facility management (FM) services and the effect it may have on perceived building quality.Design/methodology/approachData was collected through a survey distributed to board members of cooperatives for newly constructed buildings in Sweden. Responses from 394 cooperative boards were included in the data set and analysed. The difference in cooperative choice of FM strategy and satisfaction with FM services was examined with non-parametrical Kruskal–Wallis tests and the effect of FM strategy and satisfaction with FM services on perceived building quality was examined with a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test.FindingsThe results suggest information asymmetry and indicate urgent need for an objective accreditation system for FM services, which will inform and assist housing owners in the FM selection process. The study validates the hypothesis that facilities management strategies applied by housing cooperatives have a significant effect on perception of building quality.Practical implicationsThe findings will assist developers, facility and property managers to understand the needs and services valued by the housing cooperative. The findings highlight the information asymmetry, restricted techniques and weak signalling methods among FM services, and advocates promoting an objective accreditation system for FM services.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the discussion on the concept of building quality and the results presented provide a better understanding of facilities management strategy on perception of building quality.