Abstract:
This thesis explores the challenges of long-term livability of housing complexes and assesses the potential of institutional frameworks that could support housing projects to serve as an affordable housing option for low-income city dwellers. Looking into a case of state-subsidized housing project in Tripoli Lebanon, the thesis explores the key three factors that have severely weighed against the ability of the project to operate as a viable housing option. First, the adopted form(s) of tenure, which assumed automatically that freehold would be reached for all residents, which led to the majority of residents in insecure tenure conditions. Second, the absence of a functional governance structure for the building complex through which the building can be managed and maintained disempowers the residents, leaving this project with multiple repair challenges. Third, limited financial means and high levels of poverty prevent the residents of these dilapidated buildings from maintaining and upgrading their homes.
In response to these challenges, the thesis proposes a framework in which the challenges of tenure security and building maintenance are addressed through exploring alternative tenure arrangements providing different bundles of rights in the property outside the exclusivity of freehold. Additionally, it explores cooperative mechanisms that can accommodate these different bundles of property rights while providing the opportunity for residents to contribute to the management of the building complex and its maintenance.
The thesis derives from these findings lessons that can be extrapolated to other cases in Lebanon. As state-built housing projects in Lebanon are limited, this case study is key in understanding the real impact and value of such projects in the context of Lebanon.
