Who feels secure in customary tenure and why? A triangular framework of perceived tenure security in China's small property right housing

Abstract Customary tenure is inherent to the informal urbanisation process and institutional ambiguity in the developing world. However, factors that influence perceived tenure security remain poorly understood. We develop an analytical framework to understand the constitutive and heterogeneous nature of perceived tenure security. We employ social capital theory to explicate the individualised perception of exogenous threats. Focusing on China's small property right housing (SPRH), we examine the proposed conceptual framework and uncover the heterogeneous formation of perceived tenure security, which is shaped by homeowners' structural social capital that decides their capability of seeking backing power against external threats from the state and the village. Our hypotheses are substantiated by an analysis of empirical data collected from a household survey and ethnographic investigations in Beijing. Results show that homeowners with adequate structural social capital, namely, local buyers, those working in the public sector and more embedded in the community social network tend to perceive higher degree of security in their tenure. The inconsistent effects of villages' acquisition of political patronage for customary tenure on homeowners' perceived security suggest a triangular rivalry among the state, village and homeowners on the land rent of SPRH.