Bukola Afeni, Abiola Sopeju, Peter Okafor
Living in the Federal Capital Territory for low income earners is a great hassle, as most residents and families living in Abuja struggle to pay exorbitant rent to have good and habitable housing.
Urbanisation happens to every country, in which Nigeria is not an exception. As demand for affordable houses increases, so has the shortage of cheap houses increased.
The demand for affordable housing hardly corresponds with supply, as many Nigerians who are civil servants, artisans, traders, and more can hardly afford to build one, while rent is increasing by the day due to high rise in inflation.
A cross-section of residents in the federal capital territory(FCT) believe that the Federal Government and the Federal Capital Authority’s efforts at mitigating the shrinking space in terms of housing deficit, is still not enough to cater to the demand for affordable housing. Hence the need for government to do more to meet the need for more affordable homes and shelters in Abuja.
These residents also expressed concern over the high cost of rent in the FCT in recent times, noting that their income is not commiserate to the high amount they pay on rent. They said house rent consume most of their earnings and income.
According to some of the residents we spoke with, house rent in the centre of the town is so expensive that they cannot even afford it. The range for a studio apartment, also known as self-contain is between N500,000 and N800,000, depending on the location. While it costs up to N1,000000 to rent a one bedroom apartment in the city centre.
This make most low income earners in Abuja to see houses built in the suburbs as the last resort for them. Although it may not offer major amenities for comfort, but they believe it is cheaper and more affordable for them to rent than accomodations in the heart of the FCT.
Unfortunately, rents in the suburbs have also increased due to current harsh economic realities in the country.
Landlords, land developers and property owners are of the view that house rent will continue to increase as long as inflation rate is showing no sign of slowing down. They believe that as the cost of living in Nigeria keeps increasing, they have to measure up with the rising cost of maintaining and managing their houses.
Other reasons for increase in rent and inaccessibility to affordable housing disclosed by landlords who spoke with us include volatility and high exchange rate, removal of fuel subsidy, which they stated has led to petrol price hike, high cost of building materials, growing urban population, lack of an efficient mortgage system, poverty, increasing cost of construction and declining household income.
For Mr Sunday Oduma, a landlord in Kurudu area, under Abuja Municipal Council, an area classified as one of the suburbs in the FCT, the rise in foreign exchange, the fall in naira and fuel subsidy removal impacted the increase in house rent in the area
“The crash of naira affected everything including house rent , because of high cost of maintaining the house .
“When the naira crashed some of us the landlords around this area had a meeting if you go to all these houses around you , you will notice that price range is almost the same let me tell you why we decided to add money to rent.
“When tenants stay for a while and they pack out , they will vandalize some property which will cost money to fix , just because it is not their houses some people intentionally scatter almost everything before leaving.
“Secondly the value of a house appreciate just like any other properties, that is why the prices cannot remain the same, but prices varies based on the type of apartments and things inside the apartment,”Oduma said.
The Kurudu landlord further lamented the inability of tenants to promptly pay their rent. This he noted has caused discomfort for most landlords. “As a landlord if you get rent , the money is hardly enough for you , while most times, the tenants struggle to pay their rent . Some end up running away with your money which is not good at all.
“My tenant pay to me every year , I have three houses in this kurudu, and they all have agents and caretakers , I do everything through my caretaker .
” I have had experiences with some of my tenants, there was a particular man , who stayed for close to a year and six months without paying he kept telling me stories, so I decided to give him quit notice , he took me to court. They gave him three months to pay or leave the house , this man cursed and threatened me , eventually after three months, he destroyed the whole things in the house , the wall , the sockets were broken , tiles etc, I had to do a total renovation in that particular house , in this hard economy, after I finished I had to increase the price of the house for the next tenants,” he said.
Mr. Oduma further gave a breakdown of categories of facilities available to meet the needs of tenants according to their earnings.
“I have self contains that goes for N150,000 without water, N350,000 for a two bedroom without water. I have another house that has water and the tenants there pay more, my self contain is N170,000, one bedroom apartment N250,000. I have a house of N400,000 too per annum, and that is because I am very considerate.
“So the subsidy removal and increase in dollars have affected things in this our very country including maintenance of property,” he lamented.
While speaking with an Abuja resident, Magdalene Adisa who lives in Dutse Baupma, under Bwari Area Council, she says ‘ Paying for house rent is a quagmire, we pay through our noses before we can pay our landlord. Every year, we pay close to N400, 000 to our landlord.
“If you see the house where we live, you will pity our lives. Affordable housing is like a tall dream to people in my category. We hope that one day the government will help us, and subsidise housing prices.
According to an Estate Developer and Chief Executive Officer of Emerald Shelter Abuja, Mr. Rotomi Ayodele, the challenges in Abuja’s housing sector are multi-faceted, from skyrocketing land prices to inadequate urban planning.
“Access to good housing has become an elusive dream for many, as echoed by Mr. Usman, a civil servant: “The cost of land and property is astronomical. It’s a privilege for the wealthy, not for the masses like us.”
An Architect, Mr Nkem Okonkwo, said the payment of houses is exorbitant, especially in places like central area, Lokogoma, Maitama, Asokoro and other high brow areas in Abuja.
“We do not have enough affordable housing projects, but they are often out of reach for the majority. It is only the rich that can afford it.”
He noted that the affordable housing schemes created by government have complicated eligibility criteria. “They end up benefiting the well-connected, not the common man”, he explained .
On the role of government in providing affordable housing and the policies regulating the sector, a housing analyst,
Mr. Anthony Ogunor stressed the need for government to run a fair and affordable housing scheme for the masses to rent, in order to reduce housing deficit in Abuja.
According to Mr. Ogunor “The government have to play an active role , when it has gotten to this level government takes the bull by the horn , they should come in and not leave it in the hands of the private sectors. Government must start implementing the laws and the rules through their own system, charity they say begins at home.
“We have 12 Area councils , billions of naira are being assigned to these area councils every year for these projects and they have their own budget as well. The truth is they have every resource to actually start building quality houses and start renting them out. I don’t see any limitations,” he said.
He recommended measures government can put in place to mitigate the challenge confronting the housing sector, which he noted has deprived many residents in Abuja affordable shelters.
“Through the policies and laws. For me the laws that have been promulgated governing the housing sector are not strong enough, implementation too is even worst , so basically policies and laws concerning the sector are badly implemented.
“Bwari Area Council alone has enough land for quality houses, hundred and thousand of houses, and so let the government come in and play an active role by providing quality houses and renting it out. let’s have a system where by it is even government at all levels that is renting these houses out. It might get to some stage and they want to sell it out, fine, but government should build houses,” he said.
Speaking on the need for government to collaborate with the private sector to build affordable houses and provide solution to housing deficit, Mr. Ogunor
said that “government/private partnership is recommended, but we need the government to be at the fore front, taking the lead, technological start up can also help.
“Consider the percentage of the population that cannot afford even the cheapest of quality houses, consider renting and mortgage, that’s what I feel and the regulations will also help, having some technological products and starts up, that could help also, but I think the regulations comes first”.
“The partnership can really help, we have many of them in the private sector and some of them have fundings. we could have them start building quality houses but the regulations and laws have to be put in place, so that the quality of the houses will not be compromised. With this we will have enough of these houses,’ he said.
This project is funded by Oxfam in Nigeria,and supported by Connected Development (CODE)
