As the second most populous and fifth least urbanized country in Africa, Ethiopia is currently facing the pressure of rapid urban expansion and growing urban housing demand. Ethiopian cities generally have a large proportion of sub-standard housing stock and a deficient affordable formal rental market. In a context where the government owns all urban land and exerts considerable control on development since 2006 Ethiopia has undertaken an ambitious housing program to significantly increase the quantity of affordable urban housing units, although challenges remain. This working paper assesses the impact of national housing policy instruments in Ethiopia on housing affordability and urban form and provides insight to enable a more robust framework for compact and affordable cities.