What are the biggest housing problems facing Latin America and the Caribbean? Despite advances in recent years, lack of access to basic infrastructure services continues to plague households in Latin America and the Caribbean. About 21 percent of the region's households lack access to some basic infrastructure services, such as electricity, potable water and sewage connections, according to "Room for Development: Housing Markets in Latin America and the Caribbean", the latest edition of the IDB's flagship publication Development in the Americas. Other problems affecting the region's housing situation shown in the figure are: 12 percent of households use poor construction materials in their houses and 11 percent lack secure title to their homes. As much as 6 percent of households in the region have dirt floors in their house and suffer from overcrowding, which can affect health negatively.