Census 2027 to Require Multiple Visits to Classify Houses as Vacant

A house will be classified as ‘vacant’ during the Houselisting and Housing Census phase of Census 2027 only after enumerators make repeated efforts to confirm its unoccupied status, according to Census officials. The house-to-house enumeration process is scheduled to begin in July, amid expectations of a potential rise in the number of vacant houses in Kerala, driven by recent migration trends.

In the 2011 Census, 11,89,144 houses in Kerala were recorded as vacant out of a total of 1,12,17,853 houses. Of these, 5,85,998 were in rural areas and 6,03,146 in urban areas. Malappuram district reported the highest number of vacant houses at 1,50,941, followed by Ernakulam with 1,36,722.

For Census 2027, enumerators will visit households between July 1 and July 30 as part of the Houselisting and Housing Census, which marks the first phase of India’s inaugural digital census. Self-enumeration for this phase began on June 16. Approximately 61,282 enumerators and 10,189 supervisors will be deployed for the month-long exercise.

Houses will be categorised based on their use, such as 'residence' or 'residence-cum-other use.' If a house is found locked during a visit, it will initially be marked as ‘locked,’ as occupants may be temporarily away for work or other reasons. Only after multiple visits during the 30-day enumeration period will a house be moved to the ‘vacant’ category if it is confirmed to be uninhabited.

Recent findings from the Kerala Migration Survey (KMS) 2023, conducted by the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation and the International Institute of Migration and Development, suggest that migration is a significant factor behind locked houses in the state. The survey identified approximately 4.2 lakh cases of family migration, with many homes found locked during data collection.