SR444 Residents' perspectives of maintaining medium-density housing (July 2020)

This report investigates residents’ experiences of maintaining medium-density housing (MDH). The study presents different perspectives of MDH from those commonly heard – one that represents views generated from lived experience. Research of this kind is important because understanding barriers to MDH maintenance from the perspectives of residents may help BRANZ address gaps in knowledge for owners and bodies corporate around the maintenance requirements of MDH buildings.

During the study, BRANZ researchers sought to identify how maintenance needs are perceived by residents within three different MDH typologies. Residents of stand-alone houses were included in the survey as a control group, providing a benchmark from which BRANZ could establish whether there are certain maintenance issues more commonly experienced by MDH residents. This was investigated on two fronts: challenges relating to the physical structure of the dwelling and challenges relating to the dependencies between stakeholders during the formation of maintenance decisions.

See the BRANZ Research Now fact sheet for a short and accessible summary of this report.