The objective of this Housing Sector Strategy Report is to assist the Government of Iran in aligning its housing policy with its overall national policy of growth-led distribution. The study opens with an overview of Iran's macroeconomic circumstances and the effect its volatile oil-dependent economy has had on the housing sector. It discusses the principal challenges posed by the housing sector, with particular reference to demographic pressures, centralized and supply-oriented housing policies, and segmented markets along income. The remainder of the report examines policies and identifies bottlenecks affecting major sectors: the performance of land markets since the 1979 Revolution; housing subsidies; housing finance including the size of the mortgage market, accessibility to housing loans, and the state's approach; and the construction industry, it's organization and the related regulatory and institutional frameworks. In each area policy recommendations are given. Three overall recommendations are to sever the links between Government and financial institutions and construction companies; develop the private sector's role in the construction sector and reduce the relative dominance of quasi-public companies; and revise and simplify building codes and regulations to balance safety requirements with demand for housing and Iran's available pool of skills and materials.