Access to Housing for marginalised populations

Community Members Involved

Bandhu, Microsoft Research

Problem Statement

Migrant workers in India often face significant challenges in finding affordable housing when they move to new cities for work. The lack of accessible information and support systems makes it difficult for them to secure safe and affordable accommodation.

How was the problem addressed?

Bandhu was developed as a platform to help migrant workers discover and avail affordable housing. The solution involves integrating housing options, support services, and relevant information into a user-friendly platform that workers can easily access. Through an API, Jugalbandi could access the housing registries compiled by Bandhu along with other third party services such as payment gateways to streamline the process of securing accommodation.

User Journey

• Query Input: Migrant workers enter their housing requirements and preferred locations into the platform.
• Information Retrieval: The system searches Bandhu’s database of affordable housing options and related support services.
• Result Display: The user receives a list of available housing options, complete with details about rent, location, amenities, and additional services.
• Payment & Confirmation: The Jugalbandi enabled service also facilitates secure transactions and official registrations.

What’s happening in the backend?

• Query Processing: User queries are processed to understand the specific housing requirements.
• Third-Party Integrations: Integration with payment portals allows users to make secure payments, while Bandhu’s services help with discovery of the resources, official documentation and registration.
• Search and Retrieval: The system retrieves the most relevant housing options based on the user's query.
• Response Generation: The platform generates a list of suitable housing options, providing users with detailed information.

Implementation Requirements Tools:

• Database of affordable housing options.
• Payment Gateway

Team:

• Developers for technical development and maintenance.
• Housing/migration experts to verify the accuracy of the integrated information.
• Quality assurance team for testing and validating the platform.

Timeline

Status

Roadblocks and Learnings

Complexity in Data Integration: Integrating various third-party services such as payment portals and housing registries was challenging. Ensuring seamless communication between these services and the Bandhu platform required significant effort.