Conventional dwellings are structurally separate premises which are suitable for residential purposes and have direct access from the street or from a public staircase in permanent buildings. The dwelling stock is based on the Housing census. Every ten years, the Housing census takes place at the same time as the Population census and the Census of enterprises and their local units of employment in Austria. Since 2011, the census has been carried out as a register-based census. The information is taken directly from existing administrative registers. The Building and dwelling register is the basic register for the Housing census.
The data recorded on the stock of dwellings includes use as main residence or other residence, useful floor space, number of rooms, features of the dwelling and ownership/tenure status.