Assessment of Residential Satisfaction: Evidence from Public and Private Housing Schemes

Abstract

The provision of satisfactory housing that meets prescribed standards of quality and user’s needs, expectations and aspirations have always been the goal of every housing programme. Identification of residential satisfaction provides insights into inhabitants’ needs, preferences, and quality of life. Housing is provided by the public and private sectors, and there is little
knowledge whether the provision of housing accommodates the quality and satisfaction of the occupants. This study assesses the residential satisfaction in public and private housing schemes in City of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The study examines the residential satisfaction three angles viz., housing support services, dwelling unit’s quality features and the neighborhood environment facilities. 100 households were selected using convenient sampling method. The five-point Likert scaled questionnaire was used to
collect data from the residents, including occupants of both private and public housing complexes. The findings show that the dwelling unit feature and housing supportive services are significantly influenced for the residential satisfaction in private housing scheme. In public housing scheme, the residents are satisfied on neighborhood environment which makes the positive influence for the residential satisfaction. In Sri Lanka's public housing development projects, there is a necessity to improve housing supportive services by improving the quality of residential units to maximize residential satisfaction. Also, the private housing development need to be enhanced the neighborhood environment facilities which requires attention in the context of future planning. 

Keywords: Residential Satisfaction, Public and Private Housing, Neighborhood Facilities, Housing Support Services, Dwelling Unit Feature Quality