The article is about the housing issue in Brazil and Uruguay at the beginning of the Twentieth century as a political issue. With first hand-data, speeches and draft bills from parliamentary elites in both countries, the article reveals how these Brazilian and Uruguayan elites coped with the housing issue in the political agenda form 1904 to 1914. There were debates from Brazilian and Uruguayan Parliaments upon housing as a social issue, but adopting differentiated approaches. To Uruguay´s elites, housing was associated to worker status recognition as a social agent. To Brazil´s elites, housing demands little attention and, when discussed, it was about real-estate titles legislation. It was possible to verify that political elites discussed housing due to growing urbanization and social pressures. Despite the differences, Brazilians and Uruguayans recognized in the State the political agent to address the issue.