@misc{10481/110673,
year = {2026},
month = {1},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10481/110673},
abstract = {The large-scale transformation of the housing stock towards net-zero energy has already mobilised
substantial public and private investment and is set to accelerate in the coming decades.
While many studies examine the effects of decarbonisation on rents and prices, less is known
about cost-reducing benefits for households, how these gains are distributed across tenures and
whether they ultimately improve affordability. These distributional questions are particularly salient
in Western Europe where persistent unaffordability cleavages between homeowners and renters
exist. This article investigates the impact of decarbonisation on housing costs across tenures.
The analysis draws on registry data from Dutch households between 2018 and 2023, employing
heating degree day-adjusted gas consumption as a proxy for decarbonisation. To estimate the
impact of decarbonisation on costs, the article combines a matching procedure with a staggered
diff-in-diffs design, followed by a series of distributional measures. Across these indicators, outright
owners exhibit the largest relative reductions in housing costs, mortgagors the largest absolute
reductions, private renters the smallest reductions, and social renters are in an intermediate
position. These findings, when understood within the context of current decarbonisation policies,
comprising subsidies for homeowners and cost-neutrality measures for tenants, point to the
entrenchment of current unaffordability cleavages.},
organization = {European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 956082},
publisher = {Sage},
keywords = {Decarbonisation},
keywords = {Energy transition},
keywords = {Housing affordability},
title = {Unequal rewards to decarbonisation: A diff-in-diffs approach to measuring housing costs across tenures},
author = {Fernández Pérez, Alejandro and Haffner, Marietta and Elsinga, Marja},
}