Hi Vicky, A "house" is a building that you occupy as an inhabitant. It can also mean a building where people gather for social events (e.g. a movie house, houses of Congress). "Housing" is a system where houses and flats are collectively referred to. For example, a government should have a sound housing policy to ensure that property prices are not beyond the reach of most citizens. "Housing" is often used to describe the prices (e.g. cheap housing), availability (e.g. shortage of affordable housing) or quality of houses (e.g. poor housing) in an area. Other examples: A housing estate is made up of many houses. // The cost of housing in a city depends on the average prices of all houses. Just as a side discussion, "house" can also be a verb which means to provide accommodation for people. Example: I cannot imagine how they managed to house twenty people in a rental flat. Lastly, "housing" can also be a rigid and protective casing to contain parts of a machine or something delicate. I hope this helps.

in the UK you will come across the second meaning of Housing "a hard casing" around delicate or precious instruments. or sometimes around dangerous machinery to protect humans. Used equally as much as housing meaning housing as described by others. You will hear the second alternative meaning used in all english speaking countries by Native born speakers. You will also see it in technical manuals for machinery and on machines and "warning signs". You will read instructions to remove the screws and remove the Housing in repair books. You must take all answers including Chris's into consideration if you wish to learn English. All the computers and mobile devices etc used by all italki members they all have housing. The internal disc are all enclosed in separate housing to protect the most vital part of all our devices. Hope this helps.

A house is a building where one family lives. "Housing" is the general idea of giving people places to live. "This government has a very liberal housing policy--it tries to ensure that every family can buy a house or apartment." Another meaning of "housing" is a hard case that contains delicate equipment. "In order to fix your watch, first, open the outer housing, and carefully examine the gears inside."

In English, the word "housing" can apply to ANY place you live. It can mean an apartment, condominium, semi-detached home or even a room in a college residence. It is a synonym for "LIVING SPACE". The word "housing " would be used in sentences like, "Can you find adequate housing in the city?" or "I can't you afford suitable housing downtown". The word "house" is generally used to describe a detached BUILDING that is not used for retail or business purposes.