The national president of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria, (REDAN) Akintoye Adeoye, has stated that rent prices would continue to escalate unless the government takes urgent steps to address the structural and economic challenges affecting the real estate sector.
According to him, rent will continue to go up and the reason is, “because of what you call urbanisation, that is, people moving from the hinterland to the cities. We are not building at the rate that people are coming into the cities.”
He attributed the surge in rent primarily to the forces of supply and demand, adding that, “So, what is at play is the forces of demand and supply. So, you have many people who are looking for accommodation, but this accommodation is becoming very scarce. And that pushes the price up.”
Adeoye further explained that, the continuous depreciation of the naira is compounding the crisis, even as the value of the currency, naira, has depreciated so much, hence, the weight of the naira is going down.
He emphasised the importance of understanding rent increases in the context of currency devaluation, saying, ‘ when we say rent is going up, we are looking at rent going up from the angle of the quantity of money, not from the angle of the value of money. ‘
Adeoye also called on the federal government to intervene by easing the burden on real estate developers. “The way out of this is for the government to create enabling environments for developers to develop more. If you apply for land now and you look at the rate at which the government will give you land, and you look at the rate for your building approval, for your layout approval, you will see that the government is even compounding this problem.
“So, quantity-wise, rent is going up. But when you look at the value of the currency, even to the landlord, you will realise that it is not actually going up,” he pointed out.
He provided a comparative analysis to drive home his point, saying, “For example, if during the Buhari regime, the dollar was N700, N750, and you are paying house rent of N1m, that was just three years ago. Now, the currency has doubled.
“You will need N1,500 to buy 1$. So, the rent has not even moved to N2m. Maybe the rent has just moved to N1.2m, N1.3m, N1.5m. The tenants who are paying see that increase as something substantial. But for the landlord who is collecting it, the value of his money has actually reduced.”
Challenging the government’s efforts, he asked, “And the question is, what is the federal government doing about the Federal Mortgage Bank? What exactly is the federal government doing to give that bank more money, so that that bank can finance more mortgages for Nigerians, so that more people will become homeowners?”
A landlord in Abuja, Abiodun Shamah, expressed his frustration, saying that, “Being a landlord in Abuja these days is not even sweet again, it has turned into a serious burden. Imagine I used my hard-earned money, blood, and sweat to build this house in Abuja, thinking it would be my retirement plan. But now, with the skyrocketing cost of living, the pressure to raise rent is heavy, yet tenants can’t afford even the current rates. What kind of dilemma is this?”
He explained that even basic maintenance has become nearly impossible. “Cement prices are soaring, and building materials are now luxury items. I can’t even maintain the property properly because the cost of repairs alone is enough to make a man faint. Yet, if I adjust the rent small, tenants complain and threaten to pack out. How do I survive?”
Shamah called for decisive government action: “We need rent control. Let there be fair regulations that protect both landlords and tenants. Give us tax reliefs, subsidize building materials, even if it’s just a little. Nigeria needs housing reform now before it becomes a full-blown crisis.”
A house occupant, Victor Samuel, painted a picture of life as a tenant in Abuja, lamenting that, “Every year, landlords increase rent without making any improvements to the property. From N450,000 to N600,000 and beyond, tenants are expected to pay more for apartments that still suffer from poor electricity, water shortages, leaking roofs, and crumbling infrastructure.
“Government intervention is long overdue. Rent control policies should be introduced. Affordable housing projects must be prioritised, not just for show but for real impact,”
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