Housing diagnosis and mapping · Roncal Valley · 2026
Closed-up houses and people looking for a place to live in the same valley
This year we surveyed, house by house and with the people of each village, how the valley’s homes are used. We also recorded who wants to move here or change house. With both, each town council now has a tool to bring together people with an empty house and people looking for one.
Where we come from
In Ansó, six houses were rented out again
In Ansó (Huesca), six private houses that were closed are now rented as main homes through a private rental pool. It did not happen overnight: it is step-by-step work, getting to know each house and talking to each family.
The first step was the same one we have taken here: a diagnosis to find out which houses there are, how they are used and why some are closed.
The valley in figures
Many houses, few year-round residents
The land registry says what was built, but not how each house is used. This year’s mapping gives, for the first time, a picture of how the valley’s homes are actually used.
Aggregate figures for the whole valley. House-by-house detail is only visible to each village’s town council.
What has been done
The project phases
The Junta General del Valle de Roncal commissioned the work from DTR, funded by the Government of Navarre. It was carried out between August and October 2026, in this order.
- 1Before starting
Confidentiality agreement with the town councils
To work with housing data, DTR signs a confidentiality and data processing agreement with each town council. Each town council only sees its own village’s data, and nothing is used for anything other than this project.
- 2September – October
The house-by-house survey, done by people from each village
Volunteers from each village went round the houses, first with paper forms and then by phone. We started from the Navarre land registry and recorded what can be seen and what is known:
Use of the houseHouse typeRoof conditionFaçade conditionWhether the owner has another house in the villageSource of the data: visit or local knowledgeWe also went round the villages with a device that detects wifi signals: another clue as to which houses are lived in and which are closed.
- 3October
Everything on a private platform for each town council
The data was loaded into an online tool. Each town council logs in with its own account, sees only its village and can update each house in a minute, also from a phone: filling in the form, writing a note or speaking, and the tool suggests what to record. Until now, the only objective data was the use recorded in the land registry and, at most, water meter readings; now the town council knows the actual use. It can also download maps as PDF or PNG, CSV tables and a housing use report.
- 4October
Opportunities and proposals for each town council
With what is known about each house, the tool gives it a priority and an opportunity type, and suggests what can be done. We have proposed measures to each town council to make renting worthwhile for owners, and the tool logs how conversations with each family are going.
- 5Since 22 October
Demand: who wants to live in the valley
The “Vivir en el Valle” form, in Spanish and Basque, gathers in an orderly way who is looking for a home, what for and on what terms.
The tool
How a town council works with its map
The full tool is private: each town council logs in with its own account and sees only its village. Here is its public view, the same one published on our website. Move around the map or open it full screen.
The key
Every house, with its opportunity and its next step
Every time someone updates a house, the tool re-assesses it. The calculation is being fine-tuned with use: it is not perfect, but it already helps to know which door is worth knocking on, and with what proposal.
A rental potential index adds up points for the house’s use, water consumption, condition and tourist use.
It tells each situation apart, because each one needs something different:
For each house it suggests the measures that fit. For example, an empty house with no heating:
- Talk to the family and propose renting
- Help with heating
- Rent in exchange for works
The town council logs every call or visit and where it stands, without names, phone numbers or amounts:
The tool does not rent out houses: it shows where to call and with what proposal. The owner always has the final say.
What the town council can do
Giving owners reasons to rent
With the map, the town council knows whom to call. And it can come with an offer that answers the usual doubts. These are some of the formulas we have proposed; each town council chooses its own and adapts them to its by-laws.
What if they don’t pay?Rent guarantee insurance
The town council pays, or helps pay, for insurance against unpaid rent and damage.
It’s very cold in winterHelp with heating
For example, a pellet stove or part of an efficient heating system, in exchange for renting it out for a few years as a main home.
It’s not worth it to meProperty tax relief
A reduction in property tax (contribución territorial or IBI) for homes rented as a main residence.
The house needs repairsRenovate to rent
The town council advances or helps with a basic renovation and recovers it from part of the rent. Reduced building works tax.
I don’t want the hassleRental management
Someone trusted handles the contract, payments and any issues.
I want it for the summerRent from September to June
Seasonal contracts for teachers, health workers or other workers, with the same guarantees.
It’s an inheritanceInheritance mediation
Advice to help heirs agree and, meanwhile, keep the house from deteriorating.
I’m worried about taxes and paperworkHelp with the paperwork
The town council helps with the contract, registration and taxes.
I had a bad experience beforeGuarantees and management
Rent guarantee insurance and a trusted person to manage it: sometimes the answer changes.
Who will be living in my house?Known demand
The town council knows who is looking for a home and can propose a specific profile, whom you can meet before signing.
The grants and amounts are examples: each town council adapts them to its by-laws and current regulations.
Demand
Who wants to live in the valley
The “Vivir en el Valle” form is not just a “sign up here”. It asks questions that require a real answer: what the house is for, for how long, how much you can pay, whether you work in the valley or remotely. Each request goes to the Junta and, if the person authorises it, to the town councils.
That way the town council has, at the same time, who is looking for a home y which houses could be rented, and can act as intermediary through a serious, controlled procedure. For example, if it knows a family would only rent their house to a remote worker, it can propose exactly that profile.
The town council is in the middle: it knows both sides, makes proposals and supports them. That is how renting got moving in Ansó.
Privacy
Data about houses, not people
Nobody sees another village’s data. The tool is private and password-protected.
No ID numbers, phone numbers, tax amounts or water consumption are stored: only categories.
Every change records who made it and when, and can be undone.
Anything said by voice or written in a note goes into the record only once someone has checked and saved it.
Presentations and reports show overall data, never house by house.
Next steps
What comes next
- →
Presentations in each village
The first was on 31 October 2026 in Roncal/Erronkari. Then in the other villages.
- →
Keep completing the information
Town councils and volunteers are updating the remaining houses. The «What is still unknown» map shows which houses to visit and what to ask.
- →
2027: from the picture to action
Bringing empty public housing back into use and a package of municipal measures (guarantees, management, renovation and tax incentives) to bring private homes onto the rental market.
Looking for a home in the valley? Sign up on “Vivir en el Valle”. Have a closed-up house and thinking about it? Talk to your town council.
For your municipality
Want to do the same in your village or valley?
Housing mapping is one of our services for town councils, districts and municipal associations.