Rent Defaults Deepen Lagos Landlords, Tenants’ Frictions

The sharp rise in house rents across Lagos is currently deepening friction between landlords and tenants nationwide.

LEADERSHIP investigation found that the friction is being fuelled by a worsening cost-of-living crisis, a severe housing deficit, high inflation, and the government’s weak enforcement of tenancy laws.

Currently, Lagos State’s housing deficit is pegged at over three million units, thereby creating a landlord-dominated market where tenants have little bargaining power.

This imbalance has been amplified by inflation and spiralling construction and maintenance costs. Prices of key building materials, including cement, have risen sharply over the past few years, while labour costs have also risen sharply. Landlords say they have little choice but to raise rents to protect their investments.

Beyond construction expenses, property owners also grapple with higher property taxes and rising operational costs. In many areas, landlords provide services such as private security, borehole water, and alternative power supply due to failing public infrastructure, and these expenses are routinely passed on to tenants.

Experts, however, said the sudden rent hike had a severe impact on tenants, destabilising their finances.

Speaking to LEADERSHIP, a Lagos-based Housing analyst, Tunde Lawal said Housing had effectively become a luxury.

According to him, families are struggling to feed and stay healthy as rent now competes with survival, forcing tenants to relocate from central and semi-central areas to distant suburbs where rents are marginally cheaper.

Speaking to LEADERSHIP, an Estate consultant, Musa Adeyemi said these disagreements often start with rent defaults or increases and quickly escalate. In many cases, both parties end up in court, which only worsens relationships and leads to evictions.”

Several tenants shared accounts of growing hostility with their landlords. In Olodi-Apapa, a commercial bus driver, who asked to be identified simply as Kunle, said his landlord recently raised his rent despite widespread economic hardship.

“People are barely eating, yet rent keeps going up,” he said. “When I said I couldn’t pay, he threatened court action. That’s how tense things have become.”

In Ejigbo, another tenant, Samuel Ojo, recounted how his rent was increased shortly after the property changed ownership. “The new landlord didn’t care about our history or the economy,” he said. “When I complained, I was told Lagos is not for everyone.”

Beyond rent hikes, tenants also complain of exploitative practices, including excessive service charges and opaque billing, particularly for electricity. In some shared apartments, residents allege that landlords inflate power bills or demand payment without providing utility statements.

A primary school teacher in Ifako-Ijaye, Bukola Olufeko, said his three-year stay in a rented apartment ended after a 30 per cent rent increase he could not afford. “My salary didn’t change, but the rent did,” he said. “I had no option but to leave.”

Landlords, however, argue that they, too, are victims of the harsh economic climate. Many rely entirely on rental income for survival. According to industry practitioners, a large proportion of landlords are retirees or individuals without stable employment.

“Landlords buy from the same market as tenants,” said Adeyemi. “They face the same inflation, rising food prices and energy costs. Maintenance is now costly.”

The problem is not limited to low-income neighbourhoods. In serviced estates across middle- and high-income areas, rising energy costs, especially diesel prices, have forced estate managers to increase power tariffs and reduce supply hours. Residents now contend with higher service charges on top of rent.

Estate managers say they are under pressure as the cost of diesel and general power supply continues to rise. In some estates, electricity tariffs have increased by more than 25 per cent in recent months, sparking disputes with residents already burdened by school fees, transport costs and inflation.

Despite the Lagos State Tenancy Law of 2011, which limits advance rent payments and outlines notice periods for rent increases, enforcement remains weak. Many tenants are unaware of their rights, while others fear retaliation in an oversubscribed housing market.

‎Reacting to the development, Chairman of the Association of Capital Markets Valuers, ACMV, Chudi Ubosi, disclosed that virtually every location and commercial development type is affected by rent default. “The fact is that the adverse effects are hitting every business, so all businesses are reviewing their strategy on their operations as income is negatively impacted.”

‎Ubosi said there is no discrimination in the industry; real estate professionals reject tenants that do not meet the “diligent standards” of the property owner.

‎”That’s not discrimination. I think that’s just setting the bar for the kind or quality of tenant a landlord requires in his or her property. Whilst landlords are naturally fiscally conservative about who they want to let their properties, this has not changed due to the impact of the inflation crisis on businesses.”

‎“As real estate professionals, we are not taken aback because this is normal in the industry and generally occurs for every level of property as landlords and estate agents engage in what can be called risk analysis of each prospective tenant,” he said