Bosgraaf, Jan Herman (2025) The perception of private landlords of housing in Groningen regarding heating and energy performance policies. Master thesis, Sustainable Entrepreneurship (SE).
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Abstract
Abstract This thesis investigates how small-scale private landlords in Groningen perceive and respond to sustainability policies related to heating and energy performance in student housing. As residential buildings represent a major source of CO₂ emissions, this landlord segment is increasingly subject to regulatory instruments such as energy label requirements, hybrid heat pump mandates, and local transition plans. Yet, little is known about how these policies are interpreted and acted upon by individual landlords operating outside institutional frameworks. Based on eight in-depth interviews and guided by a multi-theoretical framework, drawing from the Theory of Planned Behavior, Policy Feedback Theory, and transition studies, this research identifies a nuanced set of behavioural determinants. Financial risk, administrative complexity, policy fragmentation, and limited trust in public schemes emerged as key barriers to engagement. While some landlords expressed openness to sustainability investments, particularly when aligned with maintenance cycles or supported by accessible subsidies, others adopted a reactive or disengaged stance due to uncertainty, perceived hassle, or low behavioural control. The findings reveal that landlord decision-making is shaped by more than cost-benefit logic. Social identity, prior experiences with government schemes, and the perceived credibility of enforcement all contribute to behavioural outcomes. The study underscores the need for targeted, trust-building policy approaches that reduce complexity and recognise the everyday routines of small-scale landlords. Recommendations are offered for future research and practice, including longitudinal studies, experimental interventions, and greater integration of tenant-landlord dynamics in policy design.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
|---|---|
| Name supervisor: | Cardoso Chrispim, M. and Kilian, S.K. |
| Date Deposited: | 02 Sep 2025 08:12 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Sep 2025 08:12 |
| URI: | https://campus-fryslan.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/767 |
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