Building regulations for the improvement of the quality of the housing stock

The quality of the housing stock in Dutch cities fails to meet adequately the varied housing preferences. In order to meet these varied preferences an appropriate housing supply is required. This can be achieved by demolition followed by radical new construction methods and a strong product innovation of the existing housing stock. Adequate building regulation for existing housing is needed. However, like the building regulation in most Western countries, the Dutch building legislation is basically oriented to new construction. The production of new construction accounts only for about 1% of the annual increase in the housing stock so the effect of quality policy is marginal. At the moment, the building regulations mark the minimum quality, but local authorities want requirements at a higher level in order to improve the quality of housing. Solutions for this problem could be found in the proposal of the Dutch Consultation Platform Building Legislation (OPB) to introduce a Building File. This file describes the condition of the building in relation to the building requirements, helps consumers to make their choice between buildings, and functions as a manual for use and maintenance. It is the description of the state of the building that can be used in local quality policy to improve the quality of the housing stock. The Dutch government welcomed the ideas of the OPB as a valuable initiative. Nevertheless, the concept has not yet the support of a few important interest groups of the building sector. This paper describes the importance of instruments and regulations regarding to the housing stock and the research into the pros and cons of this Building File. The Dutch approach will be compared to other European building regulations and instruments in relation to the quality of existing buildings. The first results of this international comparative study are described.