Many residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have raised the alarm over the relentless increase in house rents across the territory.
A cross-section of residents who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said the excessively high rent in the territory and its districts is pushing them to the brink of displacement.
They explained that unaffordable housing costs are forcing them to move out of their homes and neighborhoods, often to areas with fewer resources, inadequate infrastructure, and increased vulnerability to violent attacks.
They appealed to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, and the federal government to urgently intervene and regulate the housing market in the territory.
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NAN reports that this growing concern arose as landlords, aided by "shylock" estate agents in several districts, continue to arbitrarily hike rents, agent fees, agreement fees, and caution fees.
According to Mr. Moses Danjuma, a civil servant, low and middle-income earners in the FCT are finding affordable housing very challenging due to high rental costs and arbitrary fees, especially in areas previously known to be budget-friendly.
Danjuma stated that the situation is fast becoming unsustainable, particularly in areas like Kubwa, Lugbe, Gwarimpa, and Lokogoma, where most of the middle class reside.
"I was living in Lokogoma before, where rent for a two-bedroom flat was between N1 million to N1.2 million. Suddenly, my landlord increased my annual rent to N2 million," Danjuma recounted. "Where am I supposed to get that kind of money when the minimum wage is just N70,000? I had to move to Zuba where I paid N700,000 for a two-bedroom flat, but the challenge, however, is the longer period and higher cost I spend going to work daily."
NAN reports that the distance between Lokogoma and the Abuja city center is about 10km, while the distance from Zuba to the city center is about 36km.
"If I drive my car, a Toyota Camry, to work, I spend an average of N10,000 for fueling to and from daily. On days I don't drive, I spend up to N4,000 on public transportation," he explained. "This is overwhelming because the farther you go to get a cheaper house, the more expensive your transportation becomes; so, I don't know which is better."
Danjuma, therefore, appealed to the federal government and Mr. Wike to intervene and regulate rents in the FCT.
Mr. Auwal Idris, another civil servant living in Kubwa, said: "My landlord just increased my annual rent for a one-bedroom apartment I occupied from ₦500,000 to ₦700,000, without any justification. This is an apartment I have lived in for two years. Salaries are not increasing, yet rent keeps going up. How are we supposed to survive?"
Idris added that when he tried to look for another apartment, he was shocked by the rent amounts and the conditions attached.
"In the course of my search, I discovered that a self-contained flat in Kubwa now costs between N600,000 to N800,000, a one-bedroom flat is between N1 million to N1.2 million, while a two-bedroom is between N1.5 million to N2 million. Before you can secure any of these, you will pay an additional mandatory 20 percent agent/agreement fee and 10 percent caution fee," he said.
NAN reports that to rent an apartment in the FCT, besides the actual rent, an agent fee is paid to the real estate agent who facilitates the rental process, while the agreement fee is for drafting, reviewing, or processing the tenancy agreement. The caution fee, also known as a security deposit, is a refundable amount held by the landlord to cover potential damages or unpaid bills.
Idris said, considering the frustrating development, he had no choice but to quickly renew his rent with the increased amount before the landlord would issue him a quit notice.
More pathetic is the story of Mr. Akanni Ogundipe, another civil servant, who said his landlord, for a two-bedroom apartment he lived in Kubwa, notified him of a 30 percent increase in his house rent.
He said his wife encouraged him that, rather than paying the increased rent of N1.5 million, they should use the money to complete their house project in Kaginni, a developing community close to Kubwa.
"In addition to my savings for the annual rent, I took a N2 million loan from the cooperative society in my office and used it for the housing project," Ogundipe stated. "Though not fully completed, I made the house habitable and I moved in with my family happily. At least, we got a reprieve from the landlord 'palaver'."
Ogundipe said their joy was, however, short-lived because within six months of moving into the new house in Kaginni, they were attacked twice by armed robbers.
He said during those attacks, the armed robbers made away with their phones, money, and other valuables.
He added that the robbers carted away their household equipment and wounded his first son, who resisted during the second operation.
Ogundipe further narrated the ordeal of his friend, whom he simply identified as Michael, who equally moved to his new house under similar circumstances.
According to him, Michael hurriedly completed his house in Chikakore, another community in Kubwa, to escape the onslaught of "Shylock" landlords and agents, and moved in with his family members.
He said less than a year later, in the new house located at a remote site, they were attacked by bandits who kidnapped Michael and his wife.
"When the kidnappers demanded ransom for their release, we rallied around and paid N20 million," Ogundipe sadly recounted. "Unfortunately, after spending over a month in captivity, it was only Michael that returned alive; his wife was killed by their abductors."
Ogundipe said both of them had abandoned their houses and moved to respective smaller rented apartments in Gwarimpa.
The civil servant appealed to the FCT authority to promptly address the challenges of high rental costs, limited availability of suitable options, and insecurity, which are resulting in the displacement of residents.
Mrs. Aniete Umanah, a teacher in Gwarinpa, lamented: "People are being evicted because they can't afford the unreasonably inflated rents. This is not just a housing issue; it is a humanitarian crisis waiting to happen in the FCT. House owners who built their houses long ago are giving excuses of the present high cost of land and building materials to increase rents as if they just built a new house. This is not fair, and the government needs to intervene."
Many residents who spoke to NAN called for legislation or a housing policy to cap rent increments and address the housing deficit in the FCT.
They called on the FCT minister to rescind his earlier pronouncement that he could not regulate tenancy in the territory because "it is market-driven."
The residents said they believed that government's intervention is the only way to restore balance and protect vulnerable tenants.
Specifically, they called on the FCT authority and the elected representatives in the National Assembly to take a cue from the Lagos State government, which has made significant progress in passing a Bill for a Law to regulate tenancy in the state.
Landlords, agents justify rent hikes
House owners, on the other hand, attributed the rent surge to a combination of inflation, inadequate housing supply, and high demand.
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Mr. Moshood Aremu, a landlord, explained that although he built his house long ago, the low rent he was collecting could not meet his needs.
"Things are high in the market, and I have no other sources of income, so I have to use what I have to make ends meet," he said.
Mrs. Edna Yakubu, a landlady in Dutse Alhaji, said that estate agents sometimes were to blame for the hike in house rent, as well as the desperation of some people to live in certain areas.
"These people succeeded in defining highbrow areas and attaching some kind of price tags to houses in those areas. (NAN)
"Sometimes too, estate agents do some sort of manipulations to make extra money off both house owner and tenant.
"My two-bedroom flat was going for N800,000, but for two years the agent was collecting N1 million and keeping the extra N200,000 for himself. He felt the house should be higher than N800,000, and the tenant was paying, before I discovered," she explained.
On the other hand, some house agents who spoke to NAN said it was not their fault that house rents are expensive.
Mr. Abdullahi Gambo, an agent in Gwarimpa, said that most landlords don't compensate them when they introduce tenants to occupy their vacant apartments.
He said the 20 percent fee for agreement and legal fees was devised in order to get paid for their services before the tenant could move into the house. Gambo justified that the fee was increased from 10 percent to 20 percent because of the nation's economic reality, characterized by persistent challenges, headline inflation, and for them to make ends meet.
The FCT Minister had earlier said there has been no specific law to peg house rent in the nation's capital, saying until such laws exist, the administration can do nothing. (NAN)
