View source for House

{{short description|Building comprising a single dwelling}}
{{about|the form of dwelling|the concept of residence|Home|other uses|}}

{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{multiple image|perrow = 3|total_width=440
| image1 = Katsura Imperial Villa in Spring.jpg|width10=300|height10=
| image2 = 16, Calea Dorobanților, Bucharest (Romania) 1.jpg
| image3 = 8A, Bulevardul Aviatorilor , Bucharest (Romania).jpg 
| image4 = 248 Ashley Ave - 2017.jpg|thumb|Wooden house, [[Charleston, South Carolina]], United States
| image5 = Casa Assan 1.jpg 
| image6 = Cam0492 Habitation de Pouss.jpg|thumb|Cam0492 Habitation de Pouss. Cameroon?
| image7 = Bamboo House in Sambava Madagascar.JPG|thumb|Bamboo House in Sambava Madagascar
| image8 = Yasaka-dori early morning with street lanterns and the Tower of Yasaka (Hokan-ji Temple), Kyoto, Japan.jpg
| image9 = 14 Strada Vasile Conta, Bucharest (02).jpg
| image10 = 103 Hanover.jpg|thumb|Brick house, [[Charleston, South Carolina]], United States
| image11 = 9, Strada Mitropolit Nifon, Bucharest (Romania).jpg 
| image12 = Deras-TreeHouse.JPG|thumb|Deras-TreeHouse
| footer = Various examples of houses throughout the world, in different styles
}}
{{Living spaces}}
A '''house''' is a single-unit residential [[building]]. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary [[hut]] to a complex structure of [[wood]], [[masonry]], [[concrete]] or other material, outfitted with [[plumbing]], electrical, and [[heating, ventilation, and air conditioning]] systems.<ref name=schoenauer>Schoenauer, Norbert (2000). ''6,000 Years of Housing'' (rev. ed.) (New York: W.W. Norton & Company).</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/TTD-113.pdf|title=housing papers|publisher=clerk.house.gov|access-date=December 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117014041/http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/TTD-113.pdf|archive-date=January 17, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Houses use a range of different [[roof]]ing systems to keep precipitation such as rain from getting into the dwelling space. Houses generally have [[door]]s or [[lock (security device)|lock]]s to secure the dwelling space and protect its inhabitants and contents from [[burglar]]s or other trespassers. Most conventional modern houses in Western cultures will contain one or more [[bedroom]]s and [[bathroom]]s, a [[kitchen]] or cooking area, and a [[living room]]. A house may have a separate [[dining room]], or the eating area may be integrated into the [[kitchen]] or another room. Some large houses in [[North America]] have a [[recreation room]]. In traditional agriculture-oriented societies, [[List of domesticated animals|domestic animals]] such as chickens or larger livestock (like cattle) may share part of the house with humans.

The social unit that lives in a house is known as a [[household]]. Most commonly, a household is a [[family]] unit of some kind, although households may also have other [[Group (sociology)|social groups]], such as [[roommate]]s or, in a [[rooming house]], unconnected individuals, that typically use a house as their [[home]]. Some houses only have a dwelling space for one family or similar-sized group; larger houses called [[townhouse]]s or [[row house]]s may contain numerous family dwellings in the same structure. A house may be accompanied by outbuildings, such as a [[garage (residential)|garage]] for vehicles or a [[shed]] for gardening equipment and tools. A house may have a [[backyard]], a [[front yard]] or both, which serve as additional areas where inhabitants can relax, eat, or exercise.

== Etymology ==
[[File:Beowulf - hus.jpg|thumb|left|{{lang|ang|Hus}}, an [[Old English]] word]]
The English word ''[[:wiktionary:house|house]]'' derives directly from the Old English word  {{lang|ang|hus}}, meaning "dwelling, shelter, home, house," which in turn derives from [[Proto-Germanic]] ''husan'' (reconstructed by etymological analysis) which is of unknown origin.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=house |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Etymonline.com |access-date=January 4, 2012}}</ref> The term house itself gave rise to the letter 'B' through an early [[Proto-Semitic language|Proto-Semitic]] [[hieroglyphic]] symbol depicting a house. The symbol was called [[Bet (letter)|"bayt", "bet" or "beth"]] in various related languages, and became ''[[beta]]'', the Greek letter, before it was used by the Romans.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G8bKgl-BTTkC&pg=PT66 |pages=65–66 |title=Letter perfect: the marvelous history of our alphabet from A to Z |last=Sacks |first=David |publisher=Random House Digital |year=2004 |isbn=0-7679-1173-3}}</ref> {{lang|ar-latn|Beit}} in Arabic means house, while in Maltese {{lang|mt|bejt}} refers to the roof of the house.<ref>Grima, Noel (July 24, 2017).  [http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2017-07-24/newspaper-lifestyleculture/The-book-that-came-back-from-death-6736176974 "The Book That Came Back from Death."]  ''Independent.com.mt''.  Retrieved April 29, 2020.</ref><ref>[http://melitensiawth.nl/index/Journal%20of%20Maltese%20Studies/JMS.16.1986/02s.pdf Article title] {{dead link|date=April 2020}}</ref>

== Elements ==

=== Layout ===
[[File:Gingerbread House Essex CT.jpg|thumb|Example of an early [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] "Gingerbread House" in [[Connecticut]], United States, built in 1855]]

Ideally, [[architect]]s of houses design [[room]]s to meet the needs of the people who will live in the house. [[Feng shui]], originally a [[China|Chinese]] method of moving houses according to such factors as rain and micro-climates, has recently expanded its scope to address the design of interior spaces, with a view to promoting harmonious effects on the people living inside the house, although no actual effect has ever been demonstrated. Feng shui can also mean the "aura" in or around a dwelling, making it comparable to the [[real estate]] sales concept of "indoor-outdoor flow".

The [[square footage]] of a house in the United States reports the area of "living space", excluding the garage and other non-living spaces. The "square metres" figure of a house in Europe reports the area of the walls enclosing the home, and thus includes any attached garage and non-living spaces.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Land Management: Challenges and Strategies|last=Iyyer|first=Chaitanya|publisher=Global India Publications Pvt Ltd|year=2009|isbn=978-9380228488|edition=First}}</ref> The number of floors or levels making up the house can affect the square footage of a home.

[[File:Vogelhaus Modell Eduard 4.JPG|thumb|right|[[Nest box|Birdhouse]] made to look like a human domicile]]
Humans often build houses for domestic or [[Wildlife|wild animals]], often resembling smaller versions of human domiciles. [[Familiar animal]] houses built by humans include [[birdhouse]]s, [[henhouse|hen house]]s and [[doghouse|dog house]]s, while housed agricultural animals more often live in [[barn]]s and [[stable]]s.

=== Parts ===
Many houses have several large rooms with specialized functions and several very small rooms for other various reasons. These may include a living/eating area, a sleeping area, and (if suitable facilities and services exist) separate or combined washing and [[Toilet (room)|lavatory]] areas. Some larger properties may also feature rooms such as a spa room, indoor pool, indoor basketball court, and other 'non-essential' facilities. In traditional agriculture-oriented societies, domestic animals such as chickens or larger livestock often share part of the house with humans. Most conventional modern houses will at least contain a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen or cooking area, and a living room.
The names of parts of a house often echo the names of parts of other buildings, but could typically include:

{{div col}}
* [[Alcove (architecture)|Alcove]]
* [[Atrium (architecture)|Atrium]]
* [[Attic]]
* [[Basement]]/[[Basement|cellar]]
* [[Bathroom]]
* [[Bedroom]] (or [[Nursery (room)|nursery]])
* [[Box-room]] / storage room
* [[Conservatory (greenhouse)|Conservatory]]
* [[Dining room]]
* [[Family room]] or [[den (room)|den]]
* [[Fireplace]]
* [[Foyer]]
* [[Front room]]
* [[Garage (house)|Garage]]
* [[Hallway]] / [[Hall|passage]] / [[Vestibule (architecture)|vestibule]]
* [[Hearth]]
* [[Home-office]] or [[study (room)|study]]
* [[Kitchen]]
* [[Larder]]
* [[Laundry room]]
* [[Library]]
* [[Living room]]
* [[Loft]]
* [[wikt:nook|Nook]]
* [[Pantry]]
* [[Parlour]]
* [[Porch]]
* [[Recreation room]] / [[rumpus room]] / [[television]] room
* [[Shrine]]s to serve the religious functions associated with a family
* [[Stairwell]]
* [[Sunroom]]
* [[Swimming pool]]
* [[Window]]
* [[Workshop]]
* [[Utility room]]{{div col end}}

== History ==
[[File:Modèles de maisons de l'Égypte ancienne.jpg|thumb|[[Scale model]]s of some [[Ancient Egypt]]ian house, in the [[Louvre]]]]
[[File:Clay house model from Archanes, 1700 BC, AMH, 19410, 145004.jpg|thumb|[[Minoan civilisation|Minoan]] house model, {{Circa|1700}}–1675 BC, terracotta, in the [[Heraklion Archaeological Museum]] ([[Heraklion]], [[Greece]])]]
[[File:HouseFlrPlan.svg|thumb|[[Floor plan]] of a "[[American Foursquare|foursquare]]" house]]
Little is known about the earliest origin of the house and its interior; however, it can be traced back to the simplest form of shelters. An exceptionally well-preserved house dating to the fifth millennium BC and with its contents still preserved was for example excavated at [[Tell Madhur]] in [[Iraq]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Fifty years of Mesopotamian discovery : the work of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq, 1932–1982|date=1982|publisher=British School of Archaeology in Iraq|first=John|last=Curtis|isbn=0-903472-05-8|location=London|oclc=10923961}}</ref> [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] architect [[Vitruvius]]' theories have claimed the first form of [[architecture]] as a frame of timber branches finished in mud, also known as the [[primitive hut]].<ref name="ReferenceA">[[Jonathan Hill (architect)|Hill, Jonathan]], "Immaterial Architecture", New York: [[Routledge]], 2006.</ref>
=== Middle Ages ===
In the [[Middle Ages]], the [[Manor house|Manor Houses]] facilitated different activities and events. Furthermore, the houses accommodated numerous people, including family, relatives, employees, servants and their guests.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Their lifestyles were largely communal, as areas such as the [[Great Hall]] enforced the custom of dining and meetings and the [[Solar (room)|Solar]] intended for shared sleeping beds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/manor-house.htm |title=Manor House |publisher=Middle-ages.org.uk |date=May 16, 2007 |access-date=January 4, 2012 |archive-date=September 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120906163033/http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/manor-house.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During the 15th and 16th centuries, the [[Italian Renaissance architecture|Italian Renaissance Palazzo]] consisted of plentiful rooms of connectivity. Unlike the qualities and uses of the Manor Houses, most rooms of the [[palazzo]] contained no purpose, yet were given several doors. These doors adjoined rooms in which [[Robin Evans]] describes as a "matrix of discrete but thoroughly interconnected chambers."<ref name="ReferenceB">Evans, Robin "Translations from Drawing to Building: Figures, Doors and Passages" London: Architectural Associations Publications 2005</ref> The layout allowed occupants to freely walk room to room from one door to another, thus breaking the boundaries of [[privacy]]. 
:"Once inside it is necessary to pass from one room to the next, then to the next to traverse the building. Where passages and staircases are used, as inevitably they are, they nearly always connect just one space to another and never serve as general distributors of movement. Thus, despite the precise architectural containment offered by the addition of room upon room, the villa was, in terms of occupation, an open plan, relatively permeable to the numerous members of the household."<ref name="ReferenceB"/> Although very public, the open [[House plan|plan]] encouraged sociality and connectivity for all inhabitants.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

An early example of the segregation of rooms and consequent enhancement of privacy may be found in 1597 at the [[Beaufort House (Chelsea)|Beaufort House]] built in [[Chelsea, London]]. It was designed by English architect [[John Thorpe]] who wrote on his plans, "A Long Entry through all".<ref>Summerson, John "The Book Of Architecture of John Thorpe in Sir John Soane's museum: 40th Volume of the Walpole Society" England: The Society 1964</ref> The separation of the passageway from the room developed the function of the [[Corridor (architecture)|corridor]]. This new extension was revolutionary at the time, allowing the integration of one door per room, in which all universally connected to the same corridor. [[English people|English]] architect [[Sir Roger Pratt]] states "the common way in the middle through the whole length of the house, [avoids] the offices from one molesting the other by continual passing through them."<ref name="ReferenceC">Pratt, Sir Roger "Sir R. Pratt on Architecture" 1928</ref> [[Social hierarchies]] within the 17th century were highly regarded, as architecture was able to epitomize the servants and the upper class. More privacy is offered to the occupant as Pratt further claims, "the ordinary servants may never publicly appear in passing to and fro for their occasions there."<ref name="ReferenceC"/> This social divide between rich and poor favored the physical integration of the corridor into housing by the 19th century.

Sociologist [[Witold Rybczynski]] wrote, "the subdivision of the house into day and night uses, and into formal and informal areas, had begun."<ref>{{cite book |last=Rybczynski |first=Witold |author-link=Witold Rybczynski |title=Home: A Short History of An Idea |url=https://archive.org/details/homeshorthistory00rybc_006 |url-access=limited |page=[https://archive.org/details/homeshorthistory00rybc_006/page/n55 56] |location=London |publisher=Penguin |year=1987 |isbn=0-14-010231-0}}</ref> Rooms were changed from public to private as single entryways forced notions of entering a room with a specific purpose.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

=== Industrial Revolution ===
Compared to the large scaled houses in England and the Renaissance, the [[Dutch Golden Age|17th Century Dutch]] house was smaller, and was only inhabited by up to four to five members.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> This was because they embraced "self-reliance"<ref name="ReferenceA"/> in contrast to the dependence on servants, and a design for a lifestyle centered on the family. It was important for the Dutch to separate work from domesticity, as the home became an escape and a place of [[comfort]].{{cn|date=January 2025}}

By the end of the 17th century, the house layout was transformed to become employment-free, enforcing these ideas for the future. This came in favour for the [[Industrial Revolution]], gaining large-scale factory production and workers.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
[[File:988 High Street, Worsham house, circa 1880s - DPLA - ed69baf409a5eba5d1bff06c2d4dea17.jpeg|thumb|231x231px|A stereoscopic image of 988 High Street, Worsham house, circa 1880s]]

===19th and 20th centuries===
[[File:Doctor's residence and surgery, No 8 Milford Ave, Randwick taken for LJ Hooker Ltd by Sam Hood, 17 July 1951. Sourced from the State Library of New South Wales Home and Away 11690 FL1472550.jpg|thumb|Doctor's residence and surgery, No 8 Milford Ave, [[Randwick, New South Wales, Australia]]]] In the American context, some professions, such as doctors, in the 19th and early 20th centuries typically operated out of the front room or parlor or had a two-room office on their property, which was detached from the house. By the mid 20th century, the increase in high-tech equipment created a marked shift whereby the contemporary doctor typically worked from an [[Doctor's office|office]] or [[hospital]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Doctor's and Dentist's Offices |url=https://melnickmedicalmuseum.com/exhibits/doctors-and-dentists-offices/ |website=Melnick Medical Museum |date=January 29, 2009 |access-date=12 June 2018}}</ref><ref>[https://search.sl.nsw.gov.au/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=ADLIB110007768&context=L&vid=SLNSW&search_scope=E&tab=default_tab&lang=en_US "Doctor's residence and surgery, No 8 Milford Ave, Randwick, New South Wales, photograph taken by Sam Hood for LJ Hooker"], [[State Library of New South Wales]], Home and Away 11690, FL1472550, 1951. Retrieved 14 November 2018.</ref>
 
[[Technology]] and electronic systems have caused privacy issues and issues with segregating personal life from [[remote work]]. Technological advances in [[surveillance]] and [[Internet|communications]] allow insight into personal habits and private lives.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> As a result, the "private becomes ever more public, [and] the desire for a protective home life increases, fuelled by the very media that undermine it," writes [[Jonathan Hill (architect)|Jonathan Hill]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Work has been altered by the increase of communications. The "deluge of information"<ref name="ReferenceA"/> has expressed the efforts of work conveniently gaining access inside the house. Although commuting is reduced, the desire to separate working and living remains apparent.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> On the other hand, some architects have designed homes in which eating, working and living are brought together.

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center" mode="packed" heights="110">
File:German House.jpg|Modern land house in [[Germany]]
File:Casa dr. Ion Popescu, Str. Decebal nr. 9, Ploiești.JPG|The [[Belle Époque]] Ion Popescu House from [[Ploiești]], [[Romania]]
File:House in Poland.png|Modern suburban house in [[Poland]]
File:Casas standard.png|[[Casa chorizo|Standard montevidean houses]] in [[Uruguay]]
File:Bhutanese Farmhouse Soe Yaksa.jpg|Farmhouse in [[Bhutan]]
File:Cambo 169.jpg|Khmer house in [[Cambodia]]
File:La cabaña de Alpina.jpg|Traditional house in [[Colombia]]
File:Rumah Minangkabau.jpg|[[Minangkabau people|Minangkabau]] traditional house in [[Indonesia]]
File:Faza in Kenya's Coast Province.JPEG|Traditional houses in [[Faza]], [[Kenya]]
File:Banaue Philippines Batad-Rice-Terraces-03.jpg|Traditional village house in [[Banaue]], [[Philippines]]
File:Brgule 006.jpg|House in Brgule, [[Serbia]]
File:Varassaari5.JPG|A traditional [[Finland|Finnish]] house from the beginning of 20th century in [[Jyväskylä]]
File:Gokayama Suganuma 五箇山菅沼地区 PA101516.jpg|Traditional house in [[Japan]]
File:দোতলা টিনের ঘর, ঢাকা.jpg|Traditional two-story tin shed house in [[Bangladesh]]
File:Kamena kuca u Pokreveniku.jpg|Traditional stone house in Serbia
File:Xaniyê Gundê Dîlan.JPG|A traditional [[Kurds|Kurdish]] stone house
File:Grachtenstad De Laak.jpg|Energy-efficient houses in [[Amersfoort]], [[Netherlands]]
File:NorthYorkHouse2.JPG|A house in [[Ontario]], Canada
File:Muurschildering Loevenhoutsedijk- Hoogstraat 90, Utrecht.jpg|A decorated house in [[Utrecht]], Netherlands
File:House (May 30, 2020).jpg|A single living house in [[Addis Ababa]], Ethiopia
File:Gentrification with an old and a new home side by side in Old East Dallas.jpg|Old and new houses side by side in Dallas
File:House Darchula.jpg|Traditional house in [[Darchula District]] Nepal
File:A standard house.jpg|A standard house in Ghana
</gallery>

== Construction ==
{{See also|Home construction}}
In many parts of the world, houses are constructed using scavenged materials. In [[Manila]]'s [[Payatas]] neighborhood, slum houses are often made of material sourced from a nearby garbage dump.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unicef.org/philippines/reallives_12171.html |title=Below the poverty line: living on a garbage dump |work=Real Lives |publisher=UNICEF |last=Brown |first=Andy |year=2009 |access-date=July 12, 2013 |quote=Slum houses, often made of materials scavenged from the dump site... |archive-date=January 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107232521/https://www.unicef.org/philippines/reallives_12171.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In [[Dakar]], it is common to see houses made of recycled materials standing atop a mixture of garbage and sand which serves as a foundation.  The garbage-sand mixture is also used to protect the house from flooding.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/world/africa/03garbage.html | work=The New York Times | first=Adam | last=Nossiter | title=In Senegal, Building on Perilous Layers of Trash | date=May 2, 2009}}</ref>

[[File:HouseStructure.JPG|left|thumb|Some houses are constructed from bricks and wood and are later covered by insulating panels. The roof construction is also seen.]]
[[File:Houseoltreilcolle.JPG|thumb|right|Two ''baracche''(slum in Italian) near [[Oltre il Colle]], Italy. <br/> These homes are often illegally built and without electricity, proper sanitation and taps for drinking water. ]]
In the United States, modern house construction techniques include [[Framing (construction)|light-frame construction]] (in areas with access to supplies of wood) and [[adobe]] or sometimes [[Rammed earth|rammed-earth construction]] (in arid regions with scarce wood-resources). Some areas use brick almost exclusively, and quarried stone has long provided foundations and walls. To some extent, aluminum and steel have displaced some traditional [[building material]]s. Increasingly popular alternative construction materials include [[insulating concrete form]]s (foam forms filled with concrete), structural insulated panels (foam panels faced with [[oriented strand board]] or fiber cement), [[Cold-formed steel|light-gauge steel]], and [[Steel frame|steel framing]]. More generally, people often build houses out of the nearest available material, and often tradition or culture govern construction-materials, so whole towns, areas, counties or even states/countries may be built out of one main type of material. For example, a large portion of American houses use wood, while most British and many European houses use stone, brick, or mud.

[[File:Construction maison bambou.jpg|thumb|Construction of a house using [[bamboo]]. Bamboo-made houses are popular in [[China]], [[Japan]] and other [[Asia]]n countries, because of their resistance to [[earthquakes]] and [[hurricanes]].]] 
In the early 20th century, some house designers started using [[prefabrication]]. [[Sears, Roebuck & Co.]] first marketed their [[Sears Catalog Home]]s to the general public in 1908. Prefab techniques became popular after [[World War II]]. First small inside rooms framing, then later, whole walls were prefabricated and carried to the [[Construction|construction site]]. The original impetus was to use the [[labor force]] inside a shelter during inclement weather. More recently, builders have begun to collaborate with [[structural engineer]]s who use [[finite element analysis]] to design prefabricated steel-framed homes with known resistance to high [[Wind engineering|wind loads]] and [[Earthquake engineering|seismic forces]]. These newer products provide labor savings, more consistent quality, and possibly accelerated construction processes.

Lesser-used construction methods have gained (or regained) popularity in recent years. Though not in wide use, these methods frequently appeal to homeowners who may become actively involved in the construction process. They include:
{{div col|colwidth=14em}}
* [[Hempcrete|Hempcrete construction]]
* [[Cordwood construction]]
* [[Geodesic dome]]s
* [[Straw-bale construction]]
* [[Wattle and daub]]
* {{vanchor|[[Timber framing]]}}
* [[Framing (construction)]]
{{div col end}}
[[File:Passivhaus thermogram gedaemmt ungedaemmt.png|thumb|Thermographic comparison of traditional (left) and "[[passivhaus]]" (right) buildings]]
In the developed world, [[energy conservation|energy-conservation]] has grown in importance in house design. Housing produces a major proportion of [[carbon emissions]] (studies have shown that it is [[Energy efficiency in British housing|30% of the total in the United Kingdom]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/BuyingAndSellingYourHome/Energyperformancecertificates/DG_177026 |title=Energy Performance Certificates – what they are : Directgov – Home and community |publisher=Direct.gov.uk |access-date=January 4, 2012}}</ref>

Development of a number of [[:Category:low-energy building|low-energy building]] types and techniques continues. They include the [[zero-energy house]], the [[passive solar house]], the [[autonomous buildings]], the [[Superinsulation|super insulated houses]]  and houses built to the ''[[Passive house|Passivhaus]]'' standard.

== Legal issues ==
[[File:Vandergrift-Biddle House, Junction of US Route 13 and County Road 2, Saint Georges Hundred, Biddles Corner, New Castle County, DE HABS DEL,2-BIDCO,1- (sheet 1 of 8).png|thumb|Houses may be repeatedly expanded leading to a complex construction history.]]
Buildings with historical importance have legal restrictions. New houses in the UK are not covered by the [[Sale of Goods Act]]. When purchasing a new house, the buyer has different legal protection than when buying other products. New houses in the UK are covered by a [[National House Building Council]] guarantee.

== Identification and symbolism ==
With the growth of dense settlement, humans designed ways of identifying houses and [[Land lot|parcels]] of land. Individual houses sometimes acquire [[proper name]]s, and those names may acquire in their turn considerable emotional connotations. A more systematic and general approach to identifying houses may use various methods of [[house numbering]].

Houses may express the circumstances or opinions of their builders or their inhabitants. Thus, a vast and elaborate house may serve as a sign of conspicuous wealth whereas a low-profile house built of recycled materials may indicate support of energy conservation. Houses of particular historical significance (former residences of the famous, for example, or even just very old houses) may gain a protected status in [[town planning]] as examples of built [[Cultural heritage|heritage]] or of streetscape. [[Commemorative plaques]] may mark such structures. [[Home ownership]] provides a common measure of [[prosperity]] in [[economics]]. Contrast the importance of house-destruction, tent dwelling and house rebuilding in the wake of many [[natural disaster]]s.

== See also ==<!-- PLEASE RESPECT ALPHABETICAL ORDER -->
{{portal|Housing}}
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
'''Building'''
* [[House-building]]
* [[Index of construction articles]]

'''Functions'''
* [[Building science]]
* [[Mixed-use development]]
* [[Visitability]]

'''Types'''
* [[Boarding house]]
* [[Earth sheltering]]
* [[Home automation]]
* [[Housing estate]]
* [[Housing in Japan]]
* [[Hurricane-proof house]]
* [[Lodging]]
* [[Lustron house]]
* [[Mobile home]]
* [[Modular home]]
* [[Slope house]]
* [[Summer house]]
* [[Tiny house]]

'''Economics'''
* [[Affordable housing]]
** [[Residential building series]]
* [[Real estate bubble]]
** [[United States housing bubble]]
* [[Housing tenure]]
* [[Show house]]

'''Miscellaneous'''
* [[Domestic robot]]
* [[Homelessness]]
* [[Home network]]
* [[Housewarming party]]
* [[Squatting]]

'''Institutions'''
* [[U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development]]
** [[HUD USER]]
** [[Regulatory Barriers Clearinghouse]]

'''Lists'''
* [[List of American houses]]
* [[List of house styles]]
* [[List of house types]]
* [[List of real estate topics]]
* [[Open-air museum]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Houses}} 
* [https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/395078/housing-through-the-centuries/ Housing through the centuries], animation by ''[[The Atlantic]]''

{{Buildings and structures}}
{{Room}}
{{Real estate}}
{{Subject bar|commons=yes|commons-search=Category:Houses|q=yes|d=yes|d-search=Q3947}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Houses| ]]
[[Category:Structural system]]
[[Category:Housing]]
[[Category:Home]]