As developing Asia transforms under neoliberalism and decentralisation, urban inequality and housing deprivation are deepening. Are contemporary shelter innovations for the poor in developing Asia effective? How? Why? These questions lead this paper to qualitatively critique and compare four innovative shelter programmes from Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Here, innovative implies an enlargement of the roles of local governments and/or other stakeholders in shelter delivery. The analysis illuminates how the historical evolution of institutions affects a programme's institutional arrangements; which, with other contextual idiosyncrasies, impact objectives and outcomes. The paper posits scalability, habitability, affordability, accessibility and inclusivity as dimensions of effectiveness. It finds that under neoliberal influences shelter policy's pro-poor focus is shrinking. Albeit context-specific, the outcomes reveal key influential commonalities: (1) multi-stakeholder arrangements with non-state partners are more effective; (2) greater civil society and community participation yield more equity; (3) strong leadership by some institutional partner is imperative; (4) private sector involvement can significantly boost scaling-up. The findings offer lessons for improving pro-poor shelter policies and suggest future research needs and pathways.