Maisonettes are commonly positioned over businesses, garages, or other maisonettes, thus they might be thought of as "houses on stilts." These can be single-story structures with maisonette flats, but more typically they are two-story buildings with either rental apartments or commercial space in the lower floor and garage spaces up under the roof. There are also larger versions of this type of building, sometimes called "four-flats". The term "maisonette" was originally used to describe certain types of houses built in France before the 19th century. These were one-and-a-half story structures with small balconies that projected off each room. They were often made of wood and had flat roofs covered in clay or gravel. In English-speaking countries, these became known as "casements" (or "casseries"). So, yes, you can say that people who live in maisonettes are "living above a store." Or a restaurant. Or an office building! There are actually several different names for these kinds of buildings depending on where in the world you are. In French, they are called "maisons en cours" (which means "under construction").