Tenants’ expectations of the “Client’s Choice Programme”

• Main Authors: Sake Zijlstra, Vincent Gruis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Urbanistični inštitut RS 2009-01-01
• Series: Urbani Izziv
• Subjects: freedom of choice; social housing; tenure; empowerment
• Online Access: http://urbani-izziv.uirs.si/Portals/uizziv/papers/urbani-izziv-en-2009-20-02-002.pdf

In the Netherlands, several housing associations have started offering a substantial part of their housing reserve with a purchase option. This allows tenants from either new or existing dwellings to choose between entering into a standard tenancy contract and purchasing the dwelling. Housing experts expect many positive effects of what is referred to as “Client’s Choice” programmes, but many of the effects have not been evaluated. In this article, we evaluate several effects based on the tenants’ opinions gathered through the use of interviews. The tenants appreciate the offer but their expectations of and experiences with the Client’s Choice programme differ from those of the management of housing associations and are generally less optimistic.