People in countries all over the world have to deal with houses built on expansive clays (clay soils that shrink and swell). The ways in which they tackle the problem vary considerably. Not only do solutions differ technically but they also depend on the property market, the legal framework of the country, insurance policies, the attitude of insurers, the history of the region, the degree of building regulation, the experience and training of construction professionals and perhaps above all the sensitivity of the house owner to the cracks in his house. Relatively minor cracking is seen in some places as an early sign of impending disaster. Rarely is the house owner's attitude in accordance with what technical research tells us is the structural significance of cracks. In the UK with the involvement of insurers for nearly three decades, there is high sensitivity to extremely small cracks. Costly procedures are used to deal with them. In Australia, South Africa and USA foundations consist mostly of reinforced concrete rafts which are cheap and quick to underpin. Where insurers are not involved house owners pay for their own remedial works, sometimes using additional mortgage. In general it appears that private financing and little local authority regulation of underpinning produces low cost and variable quality solutions