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Does everyone have all twelve houses?

Yes, and some are empty

The short version

Yes. Every birth chart has all twelve houses, because they are twelve slices of the same sky. What differs is the sign on each house and which planets sit inside. Nobody is missing a house.

Why some houses look empty

There are ten planets and twelve houses, so at least two houses are always empty, and most people have more. An empty house does not mean that part of life is missing or unimportant. It is still there, and it is read through its sign and the planet that rules that sign.

How to read an empty house

Look at the sign on the house, then find where the planet that rules that sign is in your chart. That planet carries the story of the empty house. If Libra is on your 7th house, for example, look at where Venus is, since Venus rules Libra. Houses explains this in the empty houses guide.

Why they are not the same for everyone

Your houses depend on where and when you were born. Two people born on the same day can have different houses, and so can twins born minutes apart in different places. The signs on the houses shift as the sky turns through the day.

Can a house hold more than one sign?

Yes. In the Placidus system Houses uses, the twelve houses are different sizes. A house can be large enough to cover parts of two signs, and some signs can end up inside a house without sitting on its start. Astrologers call a sign like that intercepted. It is normal and it does not mean anything is wrong with the chart.

A rare exception

Very close to the poles, roughly above 66 degrees north or south, the house system Houses uses (Placidus) cannot be calculated. This only affects a small number of births. Everywhere else, you have all twelve.

What it means for you

You will always have something to read in every area of life. Where there is a planet, read the planet. Where there is none, read the sign. Either way, all twelve houses are part of your chart.