Housing Quality Assessment Criteria

Abstract

An apartment is a basic need and a primary unit of human habitation, and in most cases, it represents the largest investment of someone's life. For that reason, and because of constant changes in housing needs, it is necessary to continuously evaluate the housing quality of apartments. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the criteria used for housing quality assessments in existing studies. Due to the large number of defined criteria, four groups of criteria were established: apartment unit quality criteria, apartment building quality criteria, neighborhood quality criteria, and social and economic criteria. The defined criteria can be divided according to the different scales of the assessed spaces (apartment unit, building, and neighborhood), and according to the method of assessment (quantitative or qualitative). The trend suggests that the numbers of individual criteria and criteria groups have increased over time, and they have become more complex. Also, it can be concluded that the number of criteria related to adaptability and sustainability will increase and lead to even more complex criteria relations. The defined criteria can be used in future research and serve as a basis for the proposal of a set of highly valuable criteria for examining attitudes toward housing quality.

Evaluation of Housing Quality in a Selected Urban Fringe of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria

“…Moreover, Sinha et al (2017) opined that housing quality has been addressed by various stakeholders at different levels, and thus, there are different perspectives on its meaning, measurability and possible applications. Nonetheless, issues of housing quality assessment criteria could be broadly divided into four main categories: apartment unit quality assessment criteria; apartment building assessment criteria; neighbourhood quality assessment criteria, and social and economic criteria (Brkanić, 2017). Evaluation of residential and housing quality using residents' satisfaction has been described as the best method of measuring or assessing the housing quality.…”

“…In a summary presented in Brkanić (2017) dwelling unit quality criteria are related to the dwelling units' internal spatial organization, design and atmosphere and consist of the following: general unit characteristics, dwelling unit area, design and construction of dwelling units and dwelling units' atmosphere and comfort. In addition, building quality is related to an apartment building's interior and structure, as well as its immediate outdoor environment (Brkanić (2017). Characteristics such as general building characteristics, structural methods and integrity, building's immediate surroundings, and building utilities.…”

“…As stated by Clark & Huang, (2003) cited in Adedire and Adegbile (2018), neighbourhood quality is defined by the effects that neighbourhood characteristics have on a residence as a result of the environment in which it is located. Similar parameters are used to describe neighbourhood quality assessment criteria in Brkanić (2017). They include: general neighbourhood characteristics, traffic criteria, dangers or hazards within and around residential building, and the presence of services and facilities such as shops, restaurants, schools, medical centres, recreational and sporting facilities, police stations and others.…”

“…Housing is often considered as a multi-functional element; basic human need (Yoade et al,2018), which often reflects the personality status of the owner when is it reduced to individual unit (Owoeye and Ogundiran,2014). For most people, a house represents the largest investment of their life (Brkanić, 2017). As asserted by Agbola (1998), a house is something much more than an envelope offering protection from elements of weather it includes facilities, amenities and utilities which support community interaction or cohesion, economic prosperity, physical and sound mental health.…”

“…This shows other factors have to be considered in selecting the criteria. There are three contexts in which housing quality can be seen; neighbourhood, location and structural quality (Babalola et al,2019;Brkanić, 2017;Adriaanse,2007). Users or resident's satisfaction is also a major component of housing quality evaluation.…”