Harry Van der Heijden

Delft University of Technology | TU · Management in the Built Environment

In 2010, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive announced that all new buildings are to be nearly zero-energy as of January 2021. Having reached year 2022, it can be said that the transition has proven to be slower than anticipated. Transition research has long acknowledged the potential impact of the human factor in the process of change. W...

After being neglected since the establishment of the housing market in the 1990s, China has recently shown great enthusiasm for developing the housing rental market. It is essential to understand why people choose private renting as it enables us to better identify the demands of tenants and develop policies accordingly to promote private renting....

In 2018, the average number of occupants per dwelling is steadily decreasing, creating a demand for small, affordable housing. According to European Union energy targets, new small homes should be energy efficient. However, data clearly shows that energy efficient homes are mostly unaffordable and there is an urgent need to design and build small a...

In 2015 the Housing Act was revised in order to further regulate the social housing sector in the Netherlands and thereby improve the steering possibilities for the central government to coordinate housing associations. This included local performance agreements for social housing policy obtaining a legal status. By introducing this policy instrume...

In recent years, Chinese housing policies have been shifting from encouraging homeownership toward developing the private rented sector, especially in the superstar cities. Nevertheless, what are the target groups and characteristics of private rental housing in Chinese superstar cities, and whether the private rental housing is capable of meeting...

After more than ten years since the introduction of Near Zero-Energy Buildings (NZEBs), the transition towards a zero-energy new built environment can still be considered slow despite European Member States’ various efforts to facilitate, promote and accelerate their implementation and uptake. The barriers to sustainability measures in general and...

Despite efforts to promote and accelerate the adoption of innovative, affordable, and zero-energy dwelling solutions, the number of dwellings complying with standards such as the EPBD remains relatively low as we reach year 2020. Studies have already explored potential challenges and opportunities to the uptake of such designs. However, despite pre...

The management of the public rental sector has undergone tremendous change worldwide. Especially in China, given the large supply of public rental housing (PRH) in the short term, the management of PRH (PRHM) has been faced with a series of problems. The existing PRHM is unsustainable and a new scheme has been proposed. In this study we analyze whe...

The Netherlands is not known for the occurrence of earthquakes. This is, however, a hot topic in the province of Groningen. Because of gas extraction, this area suffered from more than 1000 earthquakes. Most of them are not very intensive, but also bigger earthquakes of between 2 and 3 on the scale of Richter have been measured. In the last few yea...

In the original publication of the article, Figure 2 was published with error. © 2018 Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature and dimension of non-compliance (defiance) with lease agreement obligations in private rental housing market between managers (agents/private rental housing providers or landlords) and end-users (tenants – rental housing consumers), with a view to identifying challenges in rental hou...

Tasan-Kok T., Groetelaers D. A., Haffner M. E. A., van der Heijden H. M. H. and Korthals Altes W. K. Providing cheap land for social housing: breaching the state aid regulations of the single European Market?, Regional Studies. European Union member states are not permitted to provide aid that will distort competition by favouring certain undertaki...

This article analyses the changing role of the private rental sector in (Western) Europe. It shows that after decades of decline, the private rental sector is now again gaining ground in at least some European countries. This apparent revival of the private rental sector is often enhanced by government interventions, such as rent deregulation and t...

Government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) in the United States are privately owned financial corporations which operate under a public (federal) charter. They were created by the Congress in order to enhance credit availability to specific sectors of the economy: housing finance, agriculture, and education. The mortgage market in crisis in the Great...

The central proposition advanced in this paper is that differences in the structure of housing systems, and specifically the differences between dynamic and static housing systems, are crucial to an explanation of the varying impacts between countries of the international financial crisis. The proposition is illustrated with reference to Ireland, E...

The paper will argue that the meaning and definition of private renting varies from country to country, and this presents a series of challenges for comparative research. It will demonstrate a lack of equivalence between 'private rented housing sectors' in western Europe and show that this arises from variations in definitions, property rights, the...

This paper aims to make a contribution to the debate about the meaning of competition as applied to social housing and the usefulness of a competitive paradigm as a comparative analytical tool. Social housing providers have been asked to become more competitive and more market orientated in Europe. But what exactly do these terms mean and what are...

This paper will set out the concept of a 'gap' between the social rented and market rented housing sector. This will be examined with respect to one aspect of competition between the two sectors in England, France, the Netherlands and Germany: substitutability. The analysis will involve an examination of the extent to which tenants can choose betwe...

In an attempt to promote efficiency and consumer choice, many governments in Europe have in recent years required social housing organisations to be more market-orientated and competitive. Competition, however, is being discussed and implemented without any detailed examination of what is meant by the term 'competition' outside a conventional 'mark...

In deze bijdrage brengen we in kaart hoe de Nederlandse praktijk van lage grondprijzen voor corporatiewoningen zich verhoudt tot de Europese regelgeving over staatssteun. Is de huidige praktijk toelaatbaar en zo nee, hoe kan wel worden voldaan aan de Europese regels?

The once clear demarcation of funding and roles of the social and market rental sectors seems to have become blurred in a number of European countries. Social renting is no longer provided only by non-profit organisations. The extent to which a gap can be identified between the social and market rental sectors in six countries in north-west Europe...

"This article discusses the application of the concept of competition to social housing in Europe. A distinction is made between competition amongst social housing suppliers and between social housing organisations and commercial suppliers of housing. The competitiveness of social housing is examined using evidence mainly from England and the Nethe...

Social rental housing has once again captured a strong position on the Dutch political agenda. This has happened especially since the European Commission sent a letter to the Dutch government indicating that the Dutch social rental sector was not considered EU-proof from the viewpoint of the European Union's competition policy. The letter coincided...

This paper examines the stagnation of the Dutch housing production in the late 1990s and identifies possibilities for raising production in the near future. Dutch housing production is placed in a theoretical and historical context. Special attention is devoted to the relationship between housing production, price developments, the economic cycle a...

What lies ahead for the social rented sector in western Europe? Do countries differ merely in degree, or do differences between countries offer grounds on which to sketch divergent scenarios for the future? This paper treats these questions in light of the work of Harloe and Kemeny. Based on the development of the policy context and the size and th...

This contribution depicts therecent development of the housing expenditure quotefor various income groups in the social and privaterented sector in six West European countries. Thedevelopment reflects the similar policy efforts inthese countries, not only to reduce the regulatoryand subsidizing role of government but also topromote market mechanism...

This introduction to the special issueon putting comparative housing research intopractice elaborates on how and why internationalcomparative housing research should be conducted. Aclassification made by Oxley is used as a frameworkfor introducing the four contributions about thefinancial aspects of housing to this special issue.

The pre‐war growth and development of the social rented housing sector in Western Europe was related to substantial quantitative housing shortages, and was largely supported and controlled by central governments. However, since the 1970s there have been reductions in government subsidies for this sector and a shift away from government regulation t...

In the period after the Second World War, the dominant position of the private rental sector in the housing market in many West European countries came to an end. Economic developments and government policy both contributed to the greatly deteriorating competitive position of the private rental sector in many countries. Although there have been com...

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In 1989, OTB Research Institute for Policy Sciences and Technology initiated a study of housing systems in several West European countries. Before determining the approach and design of the research project, an inventory was made of previous international comparative studies. This contribution centers on the results of this inventory. It discusses...

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De opleving in de bouw van vrije-sectorwoningen, die gepaard gaat met een veel grotere nadruk binnen het woningbouwprogramma op de vrije sector, is voor het Nederlands Instituut voor Ruimtelijke Ordening en Volkshuisvesting (NIROV) de reden geweest een onderzoek op te dragen aan het Onderzoeksinstituut voor Technische Bestuurskunde (OTB) naar de co...

De Randstad neemt in Europa een strategische plaats in. Door dit uit te buiten kan de Randstad zich ontwikkelen als een toplokatie in Europa. Daarnaast kent de Randstad opvallend veel problemen: luchtvervuiling, geluidshinder, files en kriminaliteit. De Randstad is tegelijkertijd een probleemakkumulatiegebied. Deze bundel is door medewerkers van h...

In de praktijk van de woningproductie is er regelmatig discussie over de gronduitgifteprijs: de prijs die de grondexploitant in rekening brengt bij de vastgoedexploitant. Deze discussie spitst zich toe op de prijs die de gemeente (als grondexploitant, bijvoorbeeld in een bouwclaimmodel) in rekening brengt bij projectontwikkelaars. Dit rapport inven...