Determination of the reference value of the rental housing using the TODIM method

Setting rent reference values for residential housing units is normally performed under multiple, conflicting criteria. This article shows how the TODIM method of Multicriteria Decision Aiding can be of a significant help in that task. A case study was carried through in the city of Volta Redonda, in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The TODIM method allows considering quantitative as well as qualitative evaluation criteria and is founded on Prospect Theory. In order to obtain a maximum adherence of rent reference values to market values, some housing units that had just been rented were taken into account in the study. The application of the TODIM method produced the ordering of all such housing units and then led to identifying ranges for rent. A sensitivity analysis complemented the study by providing useful insights on the numerical results that were obtained.