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Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law
Journal Prestige (SJR): 0.227  Number of Followers: 8  Hybrid journal * Containing 4  Open Access article(s) in this issue *ISSN (Print) 2514-9407 - ISSN (Online) 2514-9407 Published by Emerald  [362 journals]
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- Fights within little republics: condominiums as moral economies of urban
India-
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Authors: Sony Pellissery, Mallika Sharma
Abstract: This paper aims to present narrative experiences of conflict management in two condominiums in South India. Using narrative experiences, theorisation of condominiums as moral economies is developed. Two of these condominiums selected are from South India, and their conflicts have been settled without approaching courts and legal channels. The general body meetings of condominiums are attended to identify friction points between members. These friction points are discussed in in-depth interviews with Resident Welfare Association (RWA) office bearers and residents. The authors use the two cases to conclude that migrants typically living in condominiums experience in-betweenness of property enjoyment. Being multi-ethnic communities, members associate with ethnic affiliations, creating multiple publics within condominiums. This poses an additional challenge to resolve conflicts. Self-governing mechanisms to advance value addition from collective living necessitates a moral economy decision-making. As a result, the legal approach of upholding the case of one party over the other does not follow the logic of in-betweenness. Property enjoyment as a category to understand the nature of conflict in condominiums is brought out. The element of property enjoyment is a transformative experience of in-betweenness of private and collective property holding. Municipal authorities should incorporate principles of self-governing of semi-commons into by-laws of condominiums. Better societal arrangement through multi-identity community living. Descriptive reporting of conflicts within RWAs in India is being done for the first time. There is hardly any literature on the moral economy and in-betweenness of property experience.
Citation: Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law
PubDate: 2025-04-17
DOI: 10.1108/JPPEL-11-2023-0054
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2025)
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- Narratives of class and home: the visualization and meaning of mass
housing complexes in urban science-fiction dystopias in film and TV-
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Authors: Marko Kiessel, Jonathan Stubbs
Abstract: This paper aims to investigate the urban, architectural and spatial mise-en-scène of mass housing in science-fiction film dystopias of the 20th and 21st centuries. These films reflect real-life experiences with mass housing and are thus part of a “critical discourse on what the home is and what it should be” (Taunton, 2009). The authors therefore investigate whether patterns of visualization and meaning occur and whether they reflect real-world concerns, complaints and conflicts. The analysis focuses on a purposive sample of 22 films and 2 television series, selected based on specific criteria. A semiological approach is used to interpret the symbolic meaning of urban, architectural and spatial settings in science fiction cinema while considering cultural semiotics, according to which symbolic meanings relate to cultural contexts. Whereas the visualization of mass housing in the early film Things to Come (1936) reflects the utopian aspirations of a modern collectiveness, a dystopian mise-en-scène has prevailed since the late 1960s. The major themes are class segregation, human isolation and the absence of “home.” Initially established as a utopian motif, mass housing thus underwent a postmodern semiotic transformation, reflecting postmodern critiques of modern architecture and urbanism. This development can be associated with the established interpretation that science-fiction films are best understood as critical commentaries on contemporary society. However, while extensive scholarship exists on mass housing and the city and similarly on architecture and the city in film, the interpretation of mass housing in science-fiction film remains under-researched.
Citation: Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law
PubDate: 2025-04-08
DOI: 10.1108/JPPEL-10-2023-0049
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2025)
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- Protecting homeloan borrowers in the emerging EU secondary market for
non-performing loans-
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Authors: Héctor Simón-Moreno, Padraic Kenna
Abstract: This paper aims to explain the provisions of the New Directive on Secondary Mortgage Markets, in particular it considers consumers protection issues and whether the principles of Life Time Contracts epitomise the proper balancing of principles underlying European law, now set out in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The present work outlines first the legacy of the European financial and mortgage crisis and the need for new rules on cross-border sales of non-performing loans (NPLs). Then it provides an overview of the Directive, analyses the complexity of the cross-border supervision and addresses consumer protection issues and the potential role the Life Time Contracts and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights may play to protect consumers in this field. The current paper shows that the provisions of the Directive, the Mortgage Credit Directive and the Consumer Credit Directive fail to protect consumer borrowers when NPLs are sold to third parties. Advancing this human rights protection could transcend the regulatory, legislative and consumer protection approaches of the Union in this area. The Directive establishes the regulatory and operational structures for the sale of NPLs. However, some important issues have been raised, including how the cross-border supervision will operate to protect consumers. Accordingly, the research may help to increase consumer protection in this field. This paper explains the provisions of the New Directive on Secondary Mortgage Markets and its complex and unique cross-border regulatory framework, as yet untested. This work may serve as an inspiration for the EU to improve existing consumer rules at the EU level.
Citation: Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law
PubDate: 2025-04-07
DOI: 10.1108/JPPEL-07-2024-0028
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2025)
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- Housing professionals in Europe. Special attention to the Spanish case
Open Access Article-
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Authors: Gemma Caballé Fabra
Abstract: The European Commission has no jurisdiction to decide whether Member States should regulate real estate or housing professions or not. In EU terms, the term “regulation” is understood as the requirement of a specific academic qualification as a prerequisite for practicing the profession. Thus, it is each European country who decides whether or not to regulate professions linked to housing and real estate, such as real estate agents and property managers. These are precisely the two real estate or housing professions that are involved in private transactions and management. Real estate agents intervene in the pre-contractual or marketing phase of the process for accessing a home and property managers intervene in the residential phase, once people are permanently residing in the homes, they also interact with non-resident owners. This paper aims to analyse the differences between some European countries in terms of how these professions are regulated and what impact this regulation might have on the legal security of transactions, consumer protection and the right to access decent and adequate housing. This paper studies both the regulation framework of these professions in some European countries, with a special focus on Spain, comparing it with Germany, which are similar in terms of their respective conveyancing services systems (both have a latin notary system) and Germany is also the European country that most invests in the Spanish real estate market. This could be interesting from the point of view of consumers in both countries. It also takes into account the position of the EU, to ascertain what European countries can and cannot do in terms of the regulation of real estate and housing professions. This paper identifies the importance of having an adequate legal framework for the professions of real estate agents and property managers to ensure the satisfactory implementation of housing policies and to make access to decent and adequate housing, an effective right. This paper offers a general view of the regulations in some European countries that represent the four existing conveyancing systems (legal services associated with real estate and housing transactions). However, further research into each country would be necessary to precisely determine the limitations regarding real estate professions and the impact this has on housing policies. There are not many recent studies and references on the subject, especially at a European level. The only recently published European report on housing professionals is from The European Association of Real Estate Professions (CEPI, 2024). Real estate agents and property managers might be the only professionals who offer their services to people who wish to access a home, whether through leasing or buying. This is why it is necessary to have an appropriate legal framework to regulate them and to provide minimum quality guarantees to consumers and users who receive their services when they are buying, renting or living in a home, as proposed in this paper. This paper offers for the first time a general overview of the situation of these professions in Europe and offers information to consumers concerning the training and regulation of these professionals in different countries.
Citation: Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law
PubDate: 2025-04-03
DOI: 10.1108/JPPEL-11-2024-0053
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2025)
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- High-rise high profits high controversy
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Authors: Balkiz Yapicioglu, Can Kara
Abstract: This paper aims to explore the relationship between recent instances of corruption in land-use development and the unique political landscape of Northern Cyprus, and how the centralized planning system fuels corrupt activities in land-use laws, manipulated by residential building construction companies. Furthermore, it seeks to emphasize the critical role of stringent regulations within Northern Cyprus’ real estate industry and highlights how the absence of consistent urban planning regulations fosters corrupt activities in land development. The study uses an exploratory and narrative approach, delving into the political framework of Northern Cyprus. It aims to highlight the correlation between unplanned land-use development and the everyday business practices prevalent in the region. Furthermore, it delves into the narratives directly associated with the incidents discussed in this paper, as reported in newspapers and information gathered from the Chamber of Turkish Cypriot Urban Planners. The findings indicate that the behaviours associated with clientelism, rent-seeking and nepotism, prevalent in the governing regime of Northern Cyprus, are not exclusive to politicians or land-use development; rather, these patterns are also exhibited as a whole in Northern Cyprus and supports the idea that internalized values and societal influences exert pressures that lead individuals towards engaging in corrupt and unlawful practices. Although the paper adopts a narrative approach, it innovatively explores the challenges faced by states like Northern Cyprus in safeguarding public rights. This exploration sheds light on the intricate dynamics between city planning, rent-seeking behaviours and their swift entanglement with corruption. More research is necessary for this area of inquiry, especially as to how to enforce already in place regulations.
Citation: Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law
PubDate: 2025-03-25
DOI: 10.1108/JPPEL-12-2023-0056
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2025)
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- The challenges of human rights in housing cooperatives which adopt a
cohousing approach. The Spanish case
Open Access Article-
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Authors: María Paula Rodríguez
Abstract: This work analyses the operability of human rights in the access to housing cooperatives, which adopt a cohousing approach, as well in the treatment of current residents and those who leave or are forced to leave. The purpose of this paper is to detect problems and propose measures to strengthen human rights in this model. This work uses the case method and its multidisciplinary analysis, covering the areas of philosophy of law and civil law, through various methodologies, with legal dogmatics and comparative law being among the most noteworthy. The legal framework that gives cooperatives extensive powers for self-regulation and the specific dynamics of the cohousing model, especially those related to the high level of social interaction and collective life, carries the potential risk of violating human rights. The case of Spain is a clear example of this problem which, being a structural issue, may be replicated in other countries. Despite the growing presence of housing cooperatives with a cohousing approach, there are few studies that analyse the problems these can cause in practice, including the legal insecurity of their tenure and the potential risk of human rights violations. This paper aims to propose measures for the prevention and rectification of situations that breach human rights, as well as to offer some guidelines for the building of a legal framework providing minimum protection to residents in housing cooperatives. To the best of the author’s knowledge, no other scientific study has been found that analyses the operability of human rights in the framework of housing cooperatives with a cohousing approach. Therefore, no study contains proposals for measures to protect those rights.
Citation: Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law
PubDate: 2025-03-06
DOI: 10.1108/JPPEL-04-2024-0018
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2025)
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- Management struggles with flammable cladding in multi-owned properties –
stakeholder stories from Melbourne, Australia-
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Authors: Gideon Kwame Otchere, Rebecca Leshinsky, Dulani Halvitigala, Judith Callanan, Sarah Sinclair
Abstract: Cladding has been used to improve the quality of buildings over the years. However, flammable cladding materials have presented safety risks and problems in some properties. About 800 multi-owned buildings in Victoria have been identified as having flammable cladding. The purpose of this paper is to explore managing flammable cladding risk in multi-owned residential buildings in Melbourne. This research adopts a qualitative approach through focus groups of property stakeholders. Narratives from owners’ corporations, strata property managers, building committee members and lot owners were collected to elicit first-hand experiences in managing/living in problematic residential multi-owned properties. This study suggests stakeholders experience an asymmetry in information access and availability regarding cladding risk information. Property managers indicated that cladding risk information is available, while other stakeholders, such as committee members, reported a lack of risk information to support informed decision-making for rectification. It was also identified that a lack of a transparent data register of cladding properties is problematic. A targeted housing policy that effectively monitors occupant health and safety to guarantee building safety compliance would ensure current and future residential housing is fit for purpose. Also, this study recommends that local governments work with multi-owned developments to construct a live database of flammable cladding properties, categorizing properties with a risk rating to aid emergency services. This paper contributes to the literature on flammable cladding used in multi-owned properties.
Citation: Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law
PubDate: 2025-02-20
DOI: 10.1108/JPPEL-09-2023-0047
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2025)
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- Delivering a culture change in property guardianship: recommendations for
reform to the regulatory landscape-
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Authors: Chris Bevan
Abstract: Property guardianship is increasingly being viewed as an alternative and, in many cases, a last resort to the unaffordable private rental market. This upsurge in the incidence of guardianship necessarily amplifies the existing legal grey areas and the inherent insecurity and precarity in the sector for guardians. Drawing on interviews with property guardians and archival research, the purpose of this study is to explore the background to the guardianship occupation model; highlight the key problems guardianship generates and, building on this, propose recommendations for reform to the regulatory landscape of guardianship. This study argues that a culture change in property guardianship is needed so that guardians can be better protected, and local authorities empowered to be more proactive in overseeing standards of guardian properties in their areas. This study draws on qualitative semi-structured interviews with 46 property guardians and archival research. The author argues that property guardians routinely enter the sector largely as a matter of last resort based on financial considerations or following difficult life experiences. Insecure and precarious, guardianship operates under licence agreements which provide less protection for guardians. Coupled with ambiguity around the application of existing housing legislation to guardianship and research showing non-engagement by local authorities with guardianship, this study suggests regulatory reform is urgently needed. With traditional residential tenancies in the private rental sector increasingly unaffordable for many and guardianship becoming a viable alternative, this study argues for significant regulatory reform to the guardianship sector to ensure guardians are adequately protected under the law. This study presents a series of proposals to deliver a culture change in the sector.
Citation: Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law
PubDate: 2024-06-03
DOI: 10.1108/JPPEL-02-2024-0007
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2024)
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- Is mandatory disclosure an effective panacea for buyer beware'
Open Access Article-
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Authors: Vicki Catherine Waye, Collette Snowden, Jane Knowler, Paula Zito, Jack Burton, Joe McIntyre
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine whether mandatory disclosure of information accompanying the sale of real estate achieves its aim of informed purchasers. Using a case study approach focused on mandatory disclosure in South Australia data was collected from interviews and focus groups with key personnel in the property industry involved in the production of information required to fulfil vendors’ disclosure obligations. The authors found that purchasers are ill-served by a long and complex form of mandatory disclosure with a short time frame that prevents the use of the information provided. Without good form design and increased digital affordances provided by the cadastral and conveyancing systems, mandatory disclosure is insufficient to ensure minimisation of information asymmetry between vendor and purchaser. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first Australian qualitative study that examines the utility of mandatory vendor disclosure in real estate sales and the first to consider the impact of the digitalisation of cadastral and conveyancing systems upon the efficacy of mandatory disclosure regimes.
Citation: Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law
PubDate: 2023-12-25
DOI: 10.1108/JPPEL-07-2023-0034
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
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- Public-private partnership in municipal solid waste management in the
Sunyani municipality of Ghana-
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Authors: Bernadette Ekua Bedua Afful, Michael Addaney, David Anaafo, Jonas Ayaribilla Akudugu, Felix Kwaku Borkor, Elvis Oppong Yeboah, Joshua Sampana
Abstract: Poor municipal solid waste management is a major characteristic of urban development in Africa. In Ghana, local governments are mandated to ensure the collection, treatment and disposal of solid waste. However, this has been a herculean task for local governments in Ghana, owing to inadequate resources and weak technical capacities. This has prompted calls for, and actual involvement of the private sector through public-private partnerships (PPPs) in municipal solid waste management, particularly in the urban areas. This study aims to assess the roles, effectiveness and challenges of PPPs in urban waste management in the Sunyani municipality of Ghana. Adopting a case study design, the study used a qualitative research approach to provide in-depth insights into PPPs in municipal solid waste management in the Sunyani municipality of Ghana. Therefore, key informant interviews and two focus group discussions were conducted. The study revealed that some policies and actions of the local government (Assembly) do not positively facilitate the effective functioning of PPPs in municipal solid waste management. There is also lack of effective stakeholder consultation, collaboration and grassroot inclusion in the PPPs which affect the effective management of the increasing volumes of solid waste being generated within the municipality. To achieve the objectives of the PPP arrangements, local authorities should initiate steps to effectively coordinate all the involved private companies. There must also be ways of involving the beneficiaries in the design and implementation of PPPs on waste management to allow for effective grassroots and participatory monitoring and evaluation. The uniqueness of the case study being a mid-sized and secondary city in a developing country enhances the value of the findings and the application of recommendations in cities with similar characteristics and initiatives in improving PPPs in municipal waste management.
Citation: Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law
PubDate: 2023-12-18
DOI: 10.1108/JPPEL-04-2023-0012
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
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- Overcoming the “tenant-owner dilemma” to foster energy efficiency in
residential private rented housing-
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Authors: Rosa M. Garcia-Teruel
Abstract: The Recast Energy Efficiency Directive 2023 has defined the concept of “split incentive,” also known as “tenant-owner dilemma.” This dilemma refers to the situation where neither landlords nor tenants have incentives to invest in energy efficiency upgrades. Although the Energy Efficiency Directive calls Member States to overcome legal barriers to remove split incentives and to encourage retrofits, the list of possible measures is too vague. This paper aims to discuss tenancy law measures designed to increase the energy efficiency of residential housing and to detect which Member States have already addressed this phenomenon. This paper analyses, from a civil legal perspective, the possible private law barriers arising from the tenant-owner dilemma when performing energy efficiency works in selected countries and proposes legal reforms in tenancy law and related policies to overcome them. To do so, this paper follows a legal-dogmatic and comparative law methodology. This paper concludes that some tenancy law provisions, such as the possibility to increase the rent after energy efficiency renovations and long-term leases, may challenge the tenant-owner dilemma in private rented markets, thus promoting renovations and retrofitting for energy efficiency purposes. It also proposes other policies intended to increase parties’ willingness to undertake works. More research on the economic and legal efficiency to regulate some of the civil law measures to challenge the tenant-owner dilemma should be necessary. The civil law measures included in this paper may help national policymakers meet the energy efficiency targets, according to what is established in the Recast Energy Efficiency Directive 2023. Based on the economic theory of the tenant-owner dilemma, this paper investigates the elements of tenancy law that may contribute to less energy-efficient homes, proposing policies for those countries interested in addressing the energy-efficiency challenge from a private law point of view.
Citation: Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law
PubDate: 2023-12-12
DOI: 10.1108/JPPEL-02-2023-0006
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
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- Regulating informal housing for the Syrian reconstruction. Between urban
renewal and upgrading-
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Authors: Antonio-Martín Porras-Gómez
Abstract: Informal housing stands out as a major challenge surrounding the massive reconstruction of Syrian cities, devastated by a bloody war and a terrible earthquake. The purpose of this article is to assess the adequacy of the Syrian Law to adequate provide a solution to this problem. With the purpose of informing the question, this paper offers a legal-institutional analysis of the informal housing phenomenon and the corresponding regulatory responses in Syria. A literature review is conducted, and functional analysis of the legal texts and their effective implementation is provided. First, informal housing in Syria has been fostered by the existence of an erratic regulation, particularly burdened by the incoherence of passing repressive provisions against informal housing while master plans were conspicuously absent or incomplete. Second, the regulatory policy seems to be leaning toward the urban renewal option, indicating a supply-oriented housing approach that may face serious challenges due to the scarcity of capital. In this context, regulation should not underestimate any policy tools at hand (renewal and upgrading; with the contribution of public, private and cooperative sectors). Although there have been several studies on informal housing in Syria, none has taken a legal institutionalist approach. Furthermore, this study offers an up-to-date account of the problem, taking into account the problematic after the 2023 earthquake and the content of Law 2/2023.
Citation: Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law
PubDate: 2023-11-27
DOI: 10.1108/JPPEL-04-2023-0013
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
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- The “just and equitable” test in New Zealand’s strata law:
reflections and lessons for other jurisdictions-
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Authors: Thomas Gibbons
Abstract: The purpose of the paper is to examine the phrase “just and equitable”, and associated terminology, within New Zealand’s strata law, to inform other jurisdictions. In particular, this paper temporarily suspends the notion of a statutory hendiadys to consider what kind of justice is reflected in judicial consideration of the phrase. This paper takes a mixed-methods approach, drawing on a combination of black-letter law, property law theory and insights from literary and philosophical analysis. While justice is often considered as “treating like cases alike”, this is not apparent from this study. The analysis shows that different kinds of justice outcomes emerge, with some emphasis on justice as economic efficiency. In addition, the paper highlights the inherent uncertainty in what is “just and equitable” and how associated disjunctive phrases, such as “unjust or inequitable” are still treated as hendiadys, but are no more clear. The research is limited to consideration of a single jurisdiction (New Zealand), though the useful degree of case law from this jurisdiction provides broad insight. Among other things, the paper argues for further consideration of the usefulness of the “just and equitable” test in light of the kind of justice we want to achieve. The addition of mandatory considerations to existing statutory tests may allow more of a focus, beyond the exigencies of individual cases or narrow outcomes of economic efficiency. While there is existing literature on the “just and equitable” phrase within strata law, the paper is the first, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to provide an analysis focused on how suspending the statutory hendiadys normally inherent in “just and equitable” provides insight into the kind of justice that emerges from the application of this test within a single strata jurisdiction. As such, the paper provides lessons for other jurisdictions on how to improve relevant statute and case law outcomes.
Citation: Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law
PubDate: 2023-07-11
DOI: 10.1108/JPPEL-05-2023-0020
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
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- Condominiums facing delinquency: stringent remedies from a comparative
perspective
Open Access Article-
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Authors: Héctor Simón-Moreno
Abstract: With the aim of monitoring the existing regulations that are applicable to community of owners facing delinquency, in view of the importance of this issue for the achievement of the Urban Agenda, the present study aims to analyse the most stringent and controversial measures available for the community of owners facing delinquency from a comparative perspective. The present work addresses the recent legislative amendments that have taken place at national level in this field in several countries and analyses to what extent they have addressed the delinquency problem faced by community of owners. The current paper shows that, in the end, legal certainty, the prospective legal and economic effects on mortgage lending and constitutional concerns are the underlying reasons behind the reluctance to implement some stringent measures to face delinquency. It also shows that recent amendments concerning alternative dispute resolution mechanisms are a missed opportunity. Community of owners plays a key role in cities for the achievement of the Urban Agenda, so the periodical contributions from co-owners are paramount to the proper implementation of urban regeneration, energy efficiency and accessibility policies. To this end, the paper analyses existing regulations that are applicable to community of owners facing delinquency, which may increase in the coming years due to the current socioeconomic context. This paper builds on existing research and goes one step further by addressing the recent legislative amendments that have taken place recently at national level in this field. These measures may serve as an inspiration to other EU legal systems.
Citation: Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law
PubDate: 2023-06-14
DOI: 10.1108/JPPEL-02-2023-0008
Issue No: Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print (2023)
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