Renovation processes are complex and there is a risk of underestimating architectural, cultural, and social values in favor of exterior and interior upgrading, energy efficiency and financing. A synthesized, systematic process is needed for making decisions about renovation measures. The aim of this paper is to survey decision-making procedures aimed for sustainable renovation. We inventory existing tools and methodologies based on (a) a literature review and (b) results from a workshop with participants from the Swedish buildings sector, academia, and other stakeholders. Our results show that there are many tools available but few seem to have reached acceptance in renovation. None of the more established methods and tools addresses a complexity that balances material and immaterial values and they are often too specific. There is a need for simplified tools, especially for evaluating more intangible, experienced values. Instead of one comprehensive tool preferably a methodology for renovation should be developed with references to different tools. In the building sector, renovation should be considered a service-minded process rather than a merely technical one as often is the case in new construction. There is a need to clarify the process and the meaning of the terms, and that need is even more urgent when it comes to the values that are more difficult to define.

The European building stock was renewed at a rapid pace during the period 1950–1975. In many European countries the building stock from this time needs to be renovated. There is an opportunity to introduce energy efficiency measures in the renovation process, but in this process social aspects should also be taken into account. The purpose of this article is to provide an estimate of the economic and societal challenge of renovating and energy retrofitting the aging building stock. Building specific data on energy usage and previous renovation investments made in the multi-family dwellings in Gothenburg (N=5 098) is aligned with data on tenure type and average income. Based on conducted energy retrofitting projects, costs are estimated for renovating and energy retrofitting multi-family dwellings that will reach the service life of 50 years before 2026. It is found that the pace of renovation needs to increase and that there is risk of increasing societal inequity due to rent increases in renovated buildings

Adaptability, that is, the capacity to accommodate future changes, is described as an intrinsic aspect of sustainable housing. Nevertheless, few studies have provided empirical evidence of what makes housing adaptable for end-users. Based on a sample of 313 modern apartments that have been rearranged by their owner-occupiers, two aspects of adaptability are subjected to a quantitative analysis based on space syntax regarding the generality or polyvalence of space and the physical factors of the floor plans that facilitate reconstructions. The results show that two form factors are linked to occupant rearrangements: the size of the living space and the fragmentation of the initial floor plan. The results spark a discussion on a lack of general use of modern apartments and the long-term sustainability of housing stocks with respect to social aspects, as well as resource use from renovation and adaptation. There is a need for the market to acknowledge residents’ motivations for rearranging their living space, which can be due to a lack of quality in the original design, limitations in choosing a suitable apartment, or as a result of changing household needs.

An important part of the multi-family housing stock in Sweden was built during the record years 1961–1975 and is in need of extensive renovation to be modernized. The stock is also at the center of political discussion of how to sustain ‘good housing for all’, especially in the rental sector. These renovation needs coincide with present energy targets and provides an opportunity to combine renovation with energy efficiency measures. Common for many of these buildings are that neglected maintenance has led to technical shortcomings, such as high energy use and low thermal comfort due to bad insulation, unsatisfactory air tightness and leaky windows, inefficient heating systems and insufficient ventilation, and moisture damage due to leaking building envelope and leaking pipes. However, the people living in these buildings are not willing to or cannot afford to pay the higher rents that extensive renovations would entail. Earlier research has highlighted the broader societal problem of energy renovations, but also that of housing companies’ priority of measures with short payback times, and those that give the possibility to raise rents. However, recent observations indicated a tendency towards more holistic approaches to housing renovation, and this study was initiated to investigate how public and private housing companies deal with renovation levels, rent increases and related social problems. The main conclusions are that sustainability and social responsibility are moving up on agendas in the public sector, but also, apparently, in the renovations strategies among the private companies. What is also seen is a trend moving from extensive total renovations to more tenant-adapted and step-by-step renovations. Renovation options which do not entail such large rent increases are increasingly being seen. Implications are that housing owners favor gentle renovation with reasonable rent increases of 10%–20%, which at the same time, may be a drawback for reaching energy efficiency targets.