The global housing problem remains unresolved for more than two centuries and still has no solution’s prospect. The research presents a view of the evolution and development of public and private housing policies, commencing from the problem raised by Friedrich Engels in two works: The Condition of the Working Class in England, from 1845, and The Housing Question, from 1872. Since then, in the period of the Industrial Revolution (term created by Engels), so much has been done for the housing problem, but little has been solved. The performance of the State about this problem begins to gain space in the middle of the 19th century, with “hygienist urbanism”, based on Haussmann, through the Welfare State, from the beginning of the 20th century until near 1970, and derailing in austerity and neoliberal policies to the present day, with rare exceptions, such as Brazil, which had built a Welfare State adjusted with neoliberalism, forming a unique development policy, but which has not been able to solve the problems of the capitalist structure, including housing.