Participatory social housing retrofit: a semi-systematic review

Housing retrofit aims to enhance building standards across multiple dimensions and is integral to Europe’s 2050 net-zero energy transition goals. The European Union and the United Kingdom identify social housing retrofit as key to the energy transition, combating fuel poverty, and improving tenants’ wellbeing. Environmental upgrades are steadily increasing amid the climate transition and legislative energy performance requirements. Tenant participation should be examined to increase holistic sustainable outcomes, but how best to approach tenant participation throughout retrofit processes remains underexplored in the literature. This research aims to clarify the motivations of building owners to retrofit, identify how tenants can engage in retrofit design and implementation, and examine how tenant participation can improve outcomes. Using a semi-systematic review, this article examines how tenants have(not) been integrated in social housing retrofit. A thematic analysis identified three themes responding to the research objectives: (1) motivations of housing associations, (2) the retrofit process, the methods of decision-making, and (3) the social impact retrofit has on its stakeholders. The analysis revealed that insufficient tenant participation can detrimentally affect the sustainability of social housing retrofit. Findings were synthesised into 12 insights for social housing retrofit stakeholders to engage tenants in decision-making processes.