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Movimiento Tecnológico Rural

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Service for town councilsHousing and population

Housing mapping: which houses there are, how they are used and who needs them

A service for town councils, districts and municipal associations. We survey the village house by house with its people, record who is looking for a home and hand it all over in a tool owned by the town council, which shows which closed-up houses could be rented out again.

00 · The problem

Villages with closed-up houses and people who cannot find a place to live

Many villages have more homes than residents, and yet anyone who wants to stay or move there cannot find a house. The problem is not just a shortage of homes: nobody has the full picture of which houses there are, how they are used and why they are closed.

DemandPeople looking for a home

Young people wanting to leave home, people who work in the area and want to stay, families from elsewhere with ties to the village. Often they do not know whom to ask.

SupplyEmpty or barely used houses

Homes closed because of an inheritance, pending renovation or the owners’ fear of renting, and second homes that are hardly used. They do not appear on any property portal.

One of the 10 barriers holding back the rural tech movementLack of homes to rent

01 · The tool

Try it yourself: the town council’s map

The full tool is private: each town council logs in with its own account, sees only its village and updates each house. Here is its public view, the same one published on our website. Move around the map or open it full screen.

Access profiles
    movimientotecnologicorural.org/mapeovivienda/en ↗ New tab
    Loading the tool…

    02 · The key

    Every house, with its opportunity and its next step

    Every time someone records something about a house, from the form, with a note or with «Tell by voice», the tool re-assesses it: it gives it a priority, says what kind of opportunity there is and suggests what can be done. Then the town council logs in «Follow-up» how conversations with the family are going.

      The situations it tells apart · tap one

      And a priority to organise the work. A rental potential index adds up points for the house’s use, water consumption, condition and tourist use.

      The owner always has the final say

      The tool does not rent out houses: it shows where it is worth knocking on a door and with what proposal. Knowing which houses have potential, and what is holding them back, lets you talk to the right person with a specific offer. That is how the service moves the market and gets some closed-up houses lived in again.

      Try it in the tool →

      03 · What the town council can do

      Giving owners reasons to rent

      With the map in hand, the town council knows whom to call. And it can come with an offer that removes the usual fears: security, trust in who will move in and some incentive. Choose what an owner might say:

      The grants, tax relief and amounts are examples: each town council adapts them to its by-laws and current regulations.

      04 · How we work

      Four phases, from the land registry to proposals

      This is the method we apply in every municipality. It was born in Ansó, where the association is based, and has already been applied to an entire valley. Tap each phase.

      05 · Where the data comes from

      The land registry, plus what the village knows

      The land registry says what was built, but not how each house is used. That is why the mapping combines several sources and records, house by house, what is really there.

      Land registry“Whole house”One reference, one home… in theory.
      In realityThree homesThe house was split into flats years ago and the registry does not show it.

      The tool counts only real homes: each registry reference is checked and what is really there is recorded (one home, several, part of another, an annex…).

      06 · Privacy by design

      Data about houses, not people

      Working with housing means working with sensitive information. That is why the tool and the method were designed from the start to store the minimum and show only what is needed.

        07 · Where it already works

        From one village to an entire valley

        The service grew out of the Ansó experience and has already been applied in the seven municipalities of the Roncal Valley.

        08 · For your municipality

        A service tailored to your area

        The mapping adapts to a municipality, a municipal association or an entire valley. At the end, the town council has a living tool to track each house, its own diagnosis and proposals to bring homes onto the rental market.

        What the town council gets

        Request your proposal

        Tell us about your municipality and we will prepare a proposal

        No commitment. With these details we can estimate the fieldwork and timeline.

        No house should stay closed for lack of a map

        Tell us about housing in your municipality and we will work out together how to map it.