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As a result of changes in housing policy in the 1980s and 1990s, social landlords in several European countries have to manage their stock in a more commercial way. They have to anticipate market developments and formulate a strategy for the development of their stock. This kind of asset management is referred to as “strategic housing management”. Being mainly a practitioners' business, and mostly of recent date, strategic housing management lacks a sound theoretical basis. Publications of “good” practice are scarce. This paper sets up a framework for strategic housing management of social landlords. The main question addressed is: “How can social landlords develop their asset management schemes in a strategic way?” From the theory on business planning and housing management, the paper defines strategic stock management and its characteristics. The paper uses Kotler's general model for strategic business planning and illustrates how this model can be applied to social landlords with various examples from The Netherlands and approaches from front‐runners among Dutch social landlords.

Hong Kong has developed one of the world’s largest initiatives of user participation in public service in the public rental housing sector. This paper analyses the development and the impact of such an initiative in tenant participation. Whilst the housing managers and tenant representatives were by and large receptive of such an initiative, tenants were in general more apathetic. Involving tenants in public housing management can also be perceived as a strategy of the landlord in bridging the gap between expensive paternalistic management and the legitimate expectation of the tenants. It can also be viewed as a measure to mitigate the internal conflicts within the Housing Department as a tool to enhance the effectiveness of the management service. Yet, recent development in the public housing sector in Hong Kong may bring fundamental changes in both the provision and management of public housing. This creates uncertainty regarding the further development of tenant participation.

Proper management and maintenance of building stock are vital to sustainable development of a city for a number of reasons, for example, the close relationship between building performance and residents' health. However, effective housing management requires active participation of the residents, particularly the homeowners. Yet, homeowners' participation in housing management in Hong Kong is claimed to remain at a low level because of its voluntary nature. This paper aims to empirically explore the determinants of participation behaviour of homeowners in private housing management in the city based on survey findings.

Founded on the literature reviewed, an analytic model for explaining homeowners' participation behaviour in housing management is developed. The model is then tested by means of logit regression with the data collected from a structured questionnaire survey conducted in summer 2009. A total of 346 respondents from 53 private multi‐storey residential buildings in the western district were surveyed.

In general, older, better educated and less wealthy homeowners are active participants in building management matters, keeping other things constant. Sense of community is also found to be a significant determinant. Besides, homeowners' approach towards building care is predominantly reactive since they engage in housing management because of their dissatisfaction with building quality. The findings of the research will provide valuable insights to public administrators for formulating better policies on private housing management.

The analysis results pose a positive view towards the effects of the communitarian approach to avoid free‐riding problems in housing management. In order to heighten the participation rate of homeowners in private housing management, local authorities or other public bodies can try to boost homeowners' sense of community within their residential communities.

This study is the first attempt to empirically investigate the determinants of homeowners' participation in the management of high‐rise residential buildings in Hong Kong.

Homeownership is considered both economically and socially beneficial for homeowners. However, in the collective living arrangement, reaching a consensus with regard to the residential environment is difficult. The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that can reduce the conflict among the stakeholders in multi‐owner low‐cost housing in Malaysia.

This study tested three hypotheses examining whether the demographic and socio‐economic characteristics of owner‐occupants and occupancy rates affect owner‐occupants' satisfaction with stakeholders' relationships. Data were collected through questionnaires from owner‐occupants of multi‐owner low‐cost settlements in Selangor state. Data on housing characteristics were collected from chairpersons of the respective owners' organisations. The data were treated as parametric, and analysis of variance was conducted.

Four factors – number of children in the family, duration of residency, participation in social activities and participation in meetings – were found to affect owners‐occupants' satisfaction with the stakeholders' relationships. The significant effect of occupancy rates was also indicated.

The Management Corporations (MCs) should encourage social relationships among residents. To avoid conflict, the costs and benefits of participation must be balanced. Policy makers should take two key aspects seriously: owner‐managed strategy practices by the MCs and high rates of tenant‐residents. A mechanism should be identified for assisting the MCs in housing management and for protecting the benefits of homeownership for owner‐occupants.

Past studies on low‐income household settlements examined public housing or low‐income homeowners of single detached dwellings. This study adds to the existing body of knowledge by examining low‐income homeowners in multi‐owner low‐cost settlements.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how performance management control should be optimised for housing management services, through two different organisational contexts in the social housing sector.

Case study methodology was used to examine the performance management control of one typical local authority in England where housing management services are run by a non‐profit‐making Arm's Length Management Organisation, and of another major housing organisation, the Hong Kong Housing Authority, where the services are contracted out to profit‐making consultants.

In a non‐profit‐making organisational context, housing management services should be measured by performance indicators related to the strategic objective of providing efficient and effective services. Benchmarking should be conducted to supplement performance control. In a profit‐making organisational context, market competition should also be introduced so that more tendering opportunities are given to the best performers to optimise the performance of service providers.

The findings of this research are based on two cases representing the social housing sectors in England and Hong Kong. The research forms a conceptual baseline on which further research can be built to find out effective control to optimise the performance of property management services in many other housing and facilities management organisations.

Performance management of housing management services can be optimised by benchmarking and market competition.

This study contributes to performance management of housing management services by conducting empirical confirmatory testing of the validity of performance management theory.

Housing and housing facilities are defined as the object of management science. Some specific features of modernizing housing and housing facilities in Lithuania and other countries of central and eastern Europe are described. Major problems of achieving better quality and higher rate of innovation in this sphere as well as some marketing problems are considered. A number of suggestions concerning the improvement of housing facilities management are also made.

Index by subjects, compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals: Facilities Volumes 8‐17; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐17; Property Management Volumes 8‐17; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐17.

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐17; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐17; Property Management Volumes 8‐17; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐17.

This paper aims to offer an incremental contribution, augmenting the notion of situated rationality as proposed by terBogt and Scapens (2019). Through insights from empirical data, the authors explore the role of situated rationalities of key individual actors in processes of management control change.

A qualitative research approach was adopted with qualitative data collected in a single public service organisation through face-to-face interviews, organisation documentation and observations.

The findings present the important role of key individual actors in bringing about a new situated rationality in a housing department. External austerity forces combined with actors’ experience rationalities acted as a stimulus to change existing management control practices in the management of public services.

The paper conceptualises “experience” rationality, capturing the experiences of a key actor, including elements of leadership style. Drawing on a story of a complex process of management control change, this paper thus reveals interactions between generalised practices and situated rationalities which were not highlighted by the extended framework of terBogt and Scapens.