The housing shortage in Venezuela is partly due to the underdevelopment of the country and partly due to the lack of an appropriate national policy. The main factors affecting the housing shortage. There exists an incompatibility between housing costs and per capita income. The housing construction industry is poorly organized. The absence of appropriate legislation. There are not enough stimuli for private initiative. The lack of due consideration to the problem in the preparation of the National Budget. The incompatibility between housing costs and per capita income plays an important role in the selection, among many alternatives, of a solution to the housing shortages.