Stilt houses are residential structures raised on an elevated platform. A stilt house is popular in environmentally-sensitive regions.

Stilt houses are most commonly built in places that are prone to flooding, stilt houses are raised on stilts and are higher than a regular house. Regular homes are built on land but stilt houses use strong stilts, to avoid the risks of flooding or even pests and vermin.

Not just flooding, different regions and the people therein, construct stilt homes for various reasons. For example, while in Assam water villas (i.e., stilt homes) are common, in the Arctic such homes protect the inhabitants from the permafrost’s impact.

Using stilts is one of the most effective ways to keep the permafrost stable. Note that permafrost in the Arctic is 70%-80% of water. Thus, if the homes were built at the ground level, the heat radiating out of the house would cause the frost to melt, causing the property to sink.