This document is a brief description of microfinance for housing, the institutions involved, typical loan products, the constraints on its expansion to a more meaningful scale, and the greater role it might potentially play in relieving the shelter problems facing the poor, especially the urban poor.  Microfinance for housing (MFH) is a subset of microfinance, designed to meet the housing needs of the poor and very poor, especially those without access to the banking sector, including formal mortgage loans.