Property management and maintenance in the multifamily housing sector in Sweden
Several studies and government reports have indicated that a large number of apartments in Sweden built during the 1960s and 1970s require extensive refurbishment and that there is concern that some companies in the rental housing sector and in the tenant-owner cooperative (TOC) sector may have difficulties carrying out the needed activities. The overall purpose of the thesis is to increase the understanding of the factors that influence the decisions made within the multi faceted property management of multifamily housing in Sweden which would mitigate some of the shortcomings. Econometric analysis and semi-structured interviews as well as questionnaires carried out within the TOC sector as well as the public and the private rental housing sectors provide the basis of the conclusions arrived at. The aim is to contribute to raising efficiency in maintenance and property management within the housing sector in Sweden. The major conclusions presented in the thesis are that: maintenance as a concept is unnecessary from a decision-making perspective as the concept of investment embraces all the relevant decisions; maintenance models in manufacturing industries could be applied within the housing sector but building maintenance is different and should be grounded on a strategy that allows for the continuous adjustment of maintenance plans based on a regularly up-to-date decision support system in the company or TOC; reported maintenance costs within the municipal (public) and the private rental sectors in Sweden continuously diverge mainly due to principal-agency issues of a socio-political character, in the form of political involvement in the operations of public housing companies, as well as the way companies define maintenance together with the timing of the maintenance measures; hidden incentives in the form of cooperative members, managers or service providers that seek short term gains together with the lack of a long-term perspective in the decision-making as well as a high turnover rate of committee members ...