Housing Policy Matters for the Poor: A Study of the Housing Sector and Housing Policies in Argentina, Chile and Colombia: Housing Conditions in LAC 1995-2006

Shelter is a basic need for human beings. As with food, humans need a constant supply of the services provided by a house to survive. However not everybody have access to adequate shelter, especially low income households in developing countries. This study reviews the housing conditions of urban households in urban Latin America and the Caribbean and its evolution from 1995 to 2006. The estimations made in this work-based on data from household surveys for 18 countries that comprise 95 percent of the urban population of the region, show reductions in the proportion of urban households facing housing shortages. This reductions hold for all income levels, particularly in the lower quintiles of the income distribution structure. Despite these optimistic findings, the number of households facing different deprivations of housing services is still increasing. Lack of infrastructure is the main deficiency in the urban dwellings followed by deficient materials and overcrowding.