Catalonia to use AI to identify vacant homes

The Generalitat de Catalunya is developing an artificial intelligence system to identify vacant homes in Catalan municipalities. The project, commissioned to the Centre Internacional de Mètodes Numèrics a l’Enginyeria (CIMNE), aims to increase the rental market supply by more accurately detecting unoccupied properties.

The system will cross-reference various data sources, including water and electricity consumption, municipal registry data, and information collected directly from local councils. This approach is intended to reduce the need for physical inspections by officials. The government plans to create a map of vacant housing prevalence starting next year to better understand the distribution of the phenomenon across different territories.