Nigeria is typical of the third underdeveloped world with regard to the inadequacy of decent shelter for citizens. Nigeria, a richly endowed and blessed country with an estimated human population of 175 million is still plagued by rising housing deficit with a large chunk of its people taking refuge in shanties in different parts of the country.
Most tenants and those seeking new accommodation are finding it difficult to cope as rental values on residential apartments have skyrocketed in most parts of the Nigerian Capital Territory.
This is not the best time to be a tenant or accommodation seeker in Abuja due to the astronomical increase in rental values in the last one year.
Apart from the low-disposable income of an average Nigerian, which has already been eroded by the general rise in the prices of commodities, high energy and transport costs and huge unemployment rates, unjustly increase in house rents by landlords via their caretakers is another hurdle to cross by sitting tenants and new accommodation seekers.
Increase In House Rents
Facts have emerged that high rental prices of houses in the nation’s capital, Abuja have driven residents, especially, civil servants and low-income earners to seek accommodation in the outskirts.
The biggest drops in rental affordability over the past five years are in areas like Asokoro, Maitama, Wuse I and II, Wuye, Jabi, and Garki, where two-bedroom flat goes between N1.8million and N2 million per annum,
THE QUEST TIMES finding shows that a two-bedroom duplex in Maitama, Wuse II and Asokoro, goes for N2 million and N2.5 million depending on the location.
Areas traditionally seen as some of Abuja’s most affordable, also recorded a significant decline compared to the rest of the Federal Capital Territory.
In Garki and Wuse Districts, for example, three bedroom duplex is rented between N2.2 million and N2.5 million per annum, while two bedroom duplex in Maitama, Wuse II and Asokoro goes for N2.5million.
Rental prices of three bedroom duplex in Maitama, Wuse II and Asokoro Districts is N3 million and N3.5 million per annum respectively.
Due to this development, prospective tenants now prefer buying plots in the outskirts or renting houses in such places earlier considered as suburbs.
The situation has also caused a decline in rents in some of these areas.
Buying Plots In The Outskirts Or Rent Houses
Narrating his experience, one of the affected tenants, Mr Fanwa Femi, a photographer described most of the landlords in Abuja, as ‘callous’ noting that they were insensitive to the plight of tenants.
“They just believe you have to pay any money they call or you vacate their property so that they can make more money through the collections of commission, caution and agreement fees from new tenants,” he said.
He narrated how his landlord woke up one morning and served all tenants in the four units of one-bedroom flat-apartments in Kubwa Pipeline, a notice to inform them that the house rents have been increased to N450,000 from N300,000 within one year.
When they tried to register their disbelief, he said the landlord told them (sitting tenants) that they have the option to quit or comply with the new directive.
Despite the fact that the house was built about 20 years ago, he said the landlord cited high cost of food items and the rising high cost of building materials such as iron rods, cement, tiles and granites as one of his reasons for the rent increase.
Fanwo, who claimed his monthly hustle was not up to N100,000, wondered how he would cope with the new rent, bearing in mind other costs such as children’s school fees, electricity, feeding and transportation competing for the meagre monthly income.
Weighing his option, he said would prefer to pay the new rent rather than look for new accommodation, which he said would come with additional cost.
Another tenant at Lugbe, Mr. Ejike Okoro explained that his landlord jacked up the rent of his three-bedroom apartment to N1.2 million from N600,000 per annum, being an old building.
For new buildings in the neighbourhood, he said the rental values are as high as N1.2 million to 1.5 million, depending on nearness to the expressway.
Why We Increase Rents – Landlords
Some landlords who spoke with THE QUEST TIMES explained the reasons behind the recent increase in rents.
A landlord, Mr. Zakari Sati, who owns 5 units of two bedrooms in Jabi said living the cost of housing materials had increased, noting that sometimes they deliberately increased rents to scare away some types of accommodation- seekers.
He said, “As landlords, we meet a lot of tenants. Some would use the house as if it wasn’t built with money. Others would just want to deliberately owe one. I am usually particular about the kind of people that come to my house. When I meet some, I deliberately call a higher amount for them, so they don’t come. I want people who value others and have respect for good things.”
While Mrs Favour James said six blocks of two and three-bedroom apartments with two boy quarters had been her family’s source of income after her husband’s death.
She said, “My children were young when my husband died and I had been funding their education. As they grow, expenses also increase. I have two of them in tertiary institutions and the other two in secondary schools.
“We all know that everything is expensive now, so I have also recently increased rents. It’s something I do every three years and I don’t add so much. This last time, I only added N50,000 to the rent. My tenants know I am not a difficult person.’’
Estate Agents’ View
Speaking with THE QUEST TIMES in Abuja, an estate agent/caretaker, who manages many houses for landlords, Kayode Alebiosu, said that most landlords did not joke with rents nowadays.
Besides, he added that most sitting tenants too wouldn’t joke with the payment of their rents because they knew the implications as landlords have zero tolerance to default.
“If you owe rent you need to pay before the expiration to avoid being ejected by the landlord,” he said.
Alebiosu, said that many agents in Abuja are responsible for the increments of the house rent. He said the agent put pressure on the landlords to increase their rents so that their own ten percent of the rent can be big.
Despite the high rental values, Alebiosu said that people that needed accommodation would collect, attributing high rents to exorbitant materials’ cost.
Another estate agent, Mr James Okunowo, attributed rising rental values in most of Nigeria’s cities to high building materials and land costs.
“Cost of building materials has skyrocketed, per square metre (sqm) of land has gone up, whereas investors are in the business to make profits. Many people are running to Ogun State,” he said.
Nigeria’s Housing Deficit
A World Bank report estimated that 75 per cent of the housing deficit in Nigeria affected families who earned less than three times the minimum wage. It noted that some of these people have to spend as much as 60 per cent of their average disposable income on rented apartments. This figure is higher than the 20 to 30 per cent recommended by the United Nations.
Similarly, a report by the Central Bank of Nigeria showed that in 1991, the country’s housing deficit was about seven million units but by 2007, the figure rose to 12 million units and currently sits at about staggering 17 million units. The World Bank estimated that about N59.5tn was needed to tackle the country’s housing deficit.
In 2018, the World Bank further noted that to solve Nigeria’s housing deficit problem, about 700,000 housing units were required to be built annually over 20 years to accommodate the increasing population.
In 2019, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, picked holes in the 17 million often quoted as the country’s housing deficit figure.
He stated that there was no Nigerian city where there were no empty and unoccupied houses. He added that valuers owed the country the responsibility of explaining why the houses were empty, for how long they had been empty and what could be done to make them habitable.
Since independence in 1960, many administrations had embarked on many housing policies. Some of these housing policies included the National Development Plan 1, 2, 3, and 4, the National Housing Policy and the National Housing Programme. Unfortunately, the policies were unable to effectively tackle the housing deficit.
Senate Considers Bill To Regulate House Rent Payment In Abuja
A bill seeking to make the advanced payment of rent illegal in the Federal Capital Territory has scaled second reading in the Senate.
Tagged: “A Bill for the Regulation of Advanced Rent on Residential Apartments, Office Space” was sponsored by Senator Smart Adeyemi (Kogi West).
The former lawmaker, in his lead debate on the general principles, said the bill seeks to regulate the mode of payment of rent on residential apartments, office space, rooms and accommodation in the FCT.
According to him, the move by the chamber to regulate the payment of rents in the FCT stemmed from the obligation of its constitutional responsibilities, aimed at impacting the lives of residents.
“If passed, this Bill will improve the well- being and standard of living of residents and minimize corruption and immorality emanating from the oppressive tenancy system in the Federal Capital Territory.
“This Bill will make life less stressful and less painful for majority of the down-trodden and low-income earners in the Federal Territory”, Adeyemi said.
He explained further that due to the global economic recession, life has become very challenging and almost unbearable for the low-income earners despite the huge palliative measures by the Federal Government through the N-POWER trader’s money.
He noted that in the FCT, landlords demand between one to three years of advanced rent, a situation which he said: “automatically adds a huge burden on the masses, subsequently giving rise to desperation and corruption.”
He lamented that the “tenancy system has continuously impoverished Nigerians who are salaried employees that can only pay rent after receiving their first remuneration.”
“This tenancy system is un-African, un-Islamic and indeed unbiblical”, the lawmaker added.
Adeyemi expressed concern that many residents of the FCT are finding it difficult to cope with huge rent payments, adding that, “many houses built within the city centre for such purposes are empty.”
He said that yearly tenancy has continued to breed corruption, moral decadence and huge inequality as low-income earners who cannot afford to continually pay their rent.
According to him, some tenants now engage in corrupt practices, immorality, and even criminal acts to meet the pressing need for shelter.
He underscored the need for legislation aimed towards justice, fairness, equity and improved standard of living.
He noted that in the FCT, a single one-room apartment ranges from N1 million to N2 million within the city.
According to the lawmaker, in the satellite towns such as Kubwa, Nyanya, Kuje, Lugbe, rents are still not affordable for the common man as it ranges from N350,000 to N500,000.
He stated that the bill, therefore, seeks to reduce advance payment for new tenants to three months and, thereafter, proceed with the monthly payment scheme.
“It also seeks to protect low-income earners from any form of oppression by homeowners.
“The bill also seeks to provide a window for legal action for any form of oppression.
“Importantly, it will also serve as a safety net for Landlords against erring tenants”, he added.