Barriers to Stakeholder Participation in the Recovery Process of Multifamily Housing: Experiences from Condominium Reconstruction after the 2016 Meinong Earthquake in Taiwan

Many disaster studies indicate the importance of stakeholder participation in post-disaster recovery. Effective stakeholder engagement facilitates consensus-building and strengthens social capital, thereby accelerating the recovery process. However, following major disasters, the involvement of stakeholders with diverse values can present challenges that impede recovery efforts. In urban areas, buildings such as condominiums often have complex property rights, where stakeholder participation and consensus-building directly influence both the trajectory and pace of housing recovery.

This study examines the condominium reconstruction process following the 2016 Meinong earthquake in Taiwan, focusing on the perspectives, roles, and interactions of stakeholders, including homeowners, government officials, professionals, and donations. In Taiwan, condominium homeowners hold individual unit ownership, while land is jointly owned. Reconstruction decisions require collective consensus, with legal thresholds that must be met before reconstruction can proceed. In addition to financial concerns, homeowners must also reach a consensus, which often slows condominium reconstruction compared to single-family homes.

In the early post-disaster phase, the government was initially reluctant to support condominium homeowners in rebuilding on the original site. Instead, they prioritized the use of disaster relief funds and donations to assist affected residents in purchasing or renting housing elsewhere. Nevertheless, some homeowners preferred to rebuild on the original site. They collaborated with professionals to overcome challenges related to consensus-building, funding, and reconstruction barriers, ultimately leading to a shift in government attitude. Reconstruction was completed 5–6 years after the disaster.

The collaboration of professionals and the empowerment of homeowners were crucial to the successful reconstruction of the condominium cases examined in this study. The findings also highlight that current recovery policies in Taiwan lack mechanisms that promote collaboration between professionals and affected residents, hindering the recovery of condominium-type buildings after major disasters.