The Housing Development Advocacy Network (HDAN) has called on the National Assembly to urgently enact legislation that will check arbitrary rent increases and force down the spiralling cost of housing in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The advocacy group said civil servants, artisans and low- to middle-income earners were being crushed under “crazy rent levels and exploitative fees,” warning that Abuja’s housing market was fast becoming unsustainable.
HDAN’s Executive Director, Festus Adebayo, told reporters that Abuja residents now pay as much as ₦1 million annually for a self-contained apartment and up to ₦3.5 million for a three-bedroom flat. In addition, tenants were compelled to pay agency and legal fees amounting to 20–25 per cent of rent, alongside caution deposits and other charges imposed by quacks.
“These costs consume a huge chunk of household incomes, leaving families with little to survive on,” Adebayo said. “Many are relocating to distant satellite towns to find cheaper houses, but that comes with longer commutes, loss of productivity and greater financial strain.”
The group said the lack of rent control measures had created room for exploitation, driving inequality, homelessness, and the spread of informal settlements around the city.
HDAN urged lawmakers to quickly pass a Rent and Agency Control Bill, establish an FCT Housing Authority to regulate rents, and mandate the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to roll out low-cost estates for civil servants, artisans and other low-income earners.
The group also called for stronger oversight of housing policies by the House Committee on Housing and Habitat, and for urgent government intervention to reduce the rising cost of building materials, which it said was a key driver of exorbitant rent.
According to Adebayo, affordable housing is both a social justice issue and an economic necessity. “Without deliberate action, Abuja’s housing crisis will keep pushing people into poverty. We urge the National Assembly to treat this matter as a priority to protect vulnerable residents,” he said.
HDAN, a non-profit with over 5,000 professionals in the housing and construction sector, said it would continue to push for reforms that make shelter accessible and affordable for Nigerians.
