Explaining disrepair: Examining owner occupiers’ repair and maintenance behaviour

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Abstract
There is a large outstanding repair bill in the owner occupied stock. There has been considerable debate about the causes of this disrepair, which is directly relevant to the design of policy solutions which are intended to tackle the problem. This paper develops an analytical framework in which the fact that housing provides both consumption and investment benefits to owner occupiers is used to predict the factors which will cause owners to invest in the maintenance and improvement of their properties. The model explicitly recognises that owners’ preferences may not always fully accord with surveyor recommendations. The model is estimated using logit analysis of data from the Scottish House Condition Survey. The model shows that there is a complex mix of factors that underpin the repair decision, but that disrepair is overwhelmingly linked with the characteristics of the dwelling. The analysis suggests that policy measures should therefore target poor house condition primarily.

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