How we check facts about each town

A fact must belong to the place

A town-specific fact has a defined location and a source supporting the statement made. A regional rule repeated under a different town name does not become a local fact. Our town pages and town topics require at least five verified local facts. Each carries a source reference and check date.

Municipal statistics keep the municipality’s boundary and period. For example, a count for Teulada is not silently relabelled as a count for Moraira alone, and data for l’Alfàs del Pi does not describe only Albir. The INE tourist-dwelling estimates are identified as experimental statistics with their stated month. They do not establish that a particular dwelling is registered or available to rent.

Check the source against the claim

For an ordinance, we seek the official bulletin text, publication date and relevant provision. An announcement of initial approval does not prove final adoption. For a planning instrument, we need its identity and approval position. For climate guidance, the selected station, reference period and distance must support the comparison being made.

Coastal and flood-map claims need an actual location check. Opening a viewer’s homepage cannot establish whether a named property lies within a mapped area. Unknown values remain unknown; the page is withheld where mandatory evidence is missing.

Record an unsuccessful search accurately

An unsuccessful search records the date, the official source searched and the result. It can support a limited statement that no specific rule was found in that search. It cannot establish that no rule exists. If a decision depends on the missing information, the relevant authority or current official record must resolve it before the guidance treats the matter as settled.

Keep historical data in context

Housing-age figures from the 2011 census describe that census, not today’s condition of individual homes. We retain the year in visible wording and distinguish buildings, properties and dwellings where the source does. A town average does not diagnose a defect in an apartment or establish a maintenance interval for a villa.

Connect evidence to useful decisions

The purpose is to identify the next check an owner needs: the correct municipality, a local ordinance, a relevant technical assessment or a property-specific map record. General guidance does not substitute for those documents. See the editorial policy for author responsibility, freshness checks, translations and corrections.