From Civ World
A House is the Building where the citizens of the nation live. A House's location affects its happiness and productivity. Players can set their citizen's job by hovering over the house, then choosing "Change Jobs" option in the tooltip.
Once a player has built sixteen houses in their City, they have reached the housing limit for their City. Although more than sixteen houses can be built, they will be abandoned houses. If the player continues to acquire a population beyond sixteen, their houses will be converted into Townhouses in order of oldest to newest.