Housing is more than houses.

Adequate shelter means more than a roof over one’s head. It also means adequate privacy; adequate space; physical accessibility; adequate security; security of tenure; structural stability and durability; adequate lighting; heating and ventilation; adequate basic infrastructure, such as water supply, sanitation and waste-management facilities; suitable environmental quality and health related factors; and adequate and accessible location with regard to work and basic facilities; all of which should be available at an affordable cost.

A house therefore is to be seen not only in terms of what it physically is but also in terms of what it does socially, economically and environmentally for the people who have to live in it.