There is no overcrowding in tribal villages, but slums have developed in the larger towns. The Botswana Housing Corp., a public enterprise, concentrates its efforts on the main urban centers, where growth, and therefore demand, is greatest. The 1999 National Policy on Housing has shifted some of the control on housing from government to private hands. Part of this policy inlcudes the Poverty Alleviation and Housing Programme, a pilot program through which those who cannot afford to purchase a home might learn the skills necessary to build their own. This self-help policy is particularly helpful to rural residents.
Housing ranges from flats and bungalows to huts and all other structures intended for human use. Squatter-occupied "improvised" housing units account for about 2% of all housing. Of all housing units, about 30% were acquired through tribal authorities. Nearly 71% of the total land area in Botswanan is under tribal control. Sanitation facilities included pit latrines, and flush toilets; however, two-thirds of housing units had no facilities. The water supply is piped or drawn from wells, river beds, rivers, or other sources.