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refimprove = August 2008

[[Image:Cwmbran tower block.jpg|thumb|A local authority 20 [[storey]] [[tower block]] in [[Cwmbr�n]], [[South Wales]]]]
[[Image:Jaguar� - Conjunto Habitacional 2.JPG|thumb|Public housings in [[Brazil]].]]
\'\'\'Public housing\'\'\' is a form of [[housing tenure]] in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local.  \'\'\'Social housing\'\'\' is an [[umbrella term]] referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the two, usually with the aim of providing [[affordable housing]]. In some countries, e.g. Brazil and Spain, qualifying families may own a social housing property rather than renting it. Social housing can also be seen as a potential remedy to [[housing inequality]]. 

Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, definitions of poverty and other criteria for allocation vary.

== Asia ==
===Mainland China===

In mainland China, the government provides public housing through various sources, such as new housing, abandoned properties, and old flats which are rented at a very low price and called \'Lian Zu Fang\' (literally \'low-rent house\'or \'low-rent housing\', Chinese: &#24265;&#31199;&#25151;). Additional housing is built by providing free land and exemption from fees to estate developers: the resulting houses are called \'Jing Ji Shi Yong Fang\' (literally \'the economically affordable Housing\', Chinese: &#32463;&#27982;&#36866;&#29992;&#25151;). The concept of the low-cost rest house can be traced to a 1998 policy statement, but did not truly take off until 2006 due to limited funding and administrative problems.