B. Housing unit characteristics
2. Indicate whether the housing unit is...
A. Occupied
[] 1 Occupants present
[] 2 Occupants absent
B. Vacant
[] 3 For sale, rent, abandoned or other
[] 4 Seasonal housing unit (vacation property or other)
If no occupants are present, ask neighbors whether the housing unit is occupied or vacant.
- If the housing unit is occupied but the occupants are absent, return to the unit after completing your route.
- If the unit is vacant, end the questionnaire.
Questionnaire section B: "housing unit characteristics"
[Questions 1 and 2, housing unit type]
In this part of the questionnaire, information about the housing unit that you are recording is entered. The first two questions are by observation; only in cases where there are no persons present in the housing unit should you check with neighbors as to whether it is occupied or vacant.
[Figure omitted, group of images to use as a reference for type of housing unit]
Remember that you can go back to review the definition of privately-owned housing unit and collective unit on pages 21 and 22.
[Question 2]
A. Occupied
1. Occupants present: There are persons in the housing unit when you visit it.
2. Occupants absent: The persons who inhabit the housing unit are not at home at the time, e.g., because they went shopping, went to church or to visit other people.
B. Vacant3. For sale, rent, abandoned or other: The housing unit has been unoccupied for a long time.
4. Seasonal housing unit (vacation property or other): The housing unit is occupied at some times during the year (weekends or vacations), but at the time of the census, it is unoccupied.
[Figure omitted]
Important: When no persons are found to be present, check with neighbors to see if the housing unit is vacant.
[Figure omitted, group of images to take as reference for whether the housing unit is occupied or vacant]
If I encounter a housing unit where the occupants are absent, how does it get entered on the questionnaire and on the C2 or C3 summary sheet?
If, when passing by a housing unit, there are no people in it and the neighbors state that people do live there but are not home at that time, fill out the information in section A, "Identification," of the questionnaire: housing unit number and address. You should not enter the household number inside housing unit because there are no occupants present. Then, complete questions 1 and 2, which are by observation, and transfer this information to the C2 or C3 summary sheet, entering "occupant absent" in the observations. Once you have finished your census tract route, you must return to this housing unit to retrieve information. (For more information, see page 58).
Important: You must record all the housing units in your census tract, both on questionnaires and on C2 or C3 summary sheets, regardless of whether they are occupied or vacant at the time you encounter them on your route.
[Figure omitted, figure of the urban census tract summary sheet]
[p. 17]
If there are people in the housing unit, you must begin the census interview.