A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

, the other chamber being the upper house

Upper house

An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...

.

Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power. The supremacy of the lower house usually arises from special restrictions placed (either explicitly by legislation or implicitly by convention) on the powers of the upper house, which often can only delay rather than veto legislation or has less control over money bill

Money bill

In the Westminster system , a money bill or supply bill is a bill that solely concerns taxation or government spending , as opposed to changes in public law.- Conventions :...

s.

Under parliamentary system

Parliamentary system

A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....

s it is usually the lower house alone that designates the head of government

Head of government

Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...

 or prime minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

, and may remove them through a vote of no confidence. There are exceptions to this however, such as the Prime Minister of Japan

Prime Minister of Japan

The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...

, who is formally selected with the approval of both houses of the Diet

Diet of Japan

The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...

. A legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.

Common attributes

In comparison with the upper house, lower houses frequently display certain characteristics:

• Greater power, usually based on restrictions against the upper house.
• Directly elected (apportionment
  Apportionment (politics)
  Apportionment is the process of allocating political power among a set of principles . In most representative governments, political power has most recently been apportioned among constituencies based on population, but there is a long history of different approaches.The United States Constitution,...
  
   is usually based on population).
• More members.
• Elected more frequently, and all at once.
• Has total or original control over budget and monetary laws.
• Able to override the upper house in some ways.
• In a presidential system
  Presidential system
  A presidential system is a system of government where an executive branch exists and presides separately from the legislature, to which it is not responsible and which cannot, in normal circumstances, dismiss it....
  
  , given the sole power to impeach the executive (the upper house then tries the impeachment
  Impeachment
  Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
  
  ).

Common names

Many lower houses are named in the following manner: House/Chamber of Representatives/the People/Commons/Deputies.

• Chamber of Deputies
  Chamber of Deputies
  Chamber of deputies is the name given to a legislative body such as the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or can refer to a unicameral legislature.-Description:...
  
  
• Chamber of Representatives
  Chamber of Representatives
  There are at several political assemblies known as the Chamber of Representatives. Each one forms the lower house of a bicameral legislature.*French Chamber of Representatives, the lower body of the French Parliament during the Hundred Days...
  
  
• House of Assembly
  House of Assembly
  House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level....
  
  
• House of Representatives
  House of Representatives
  House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national states. In some countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often called a "senate". In other countries, the House of...
  
  
• House of Commons
  House of Commons
  The House of Commons is the name of the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada and historically was the name of the lower houses of Ireland and North Carolina...
  
  
• Legislative Assembly
  Legislative Assembly
  Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....
  
  
• National Assembly
  National Assembly
  National Assembly is either a legislature, or the lower house of a bicameral legislature in some countries. The best known National Assembly, and the first legislature to be known by this title, was that established during the French Revolution in 1789, known as the Assemblée nationale...