Rents Higher Than Salaries: Nigeria’s Urban Housing Crisis Deepens

     

Rents Beyond Reach: How Nigeria’s Housing Crisis Is Pushing Families to the Brink

NIGERIA’S urban housing crisis has entered a dangerous new phase. Across major cities in the South-West and South-South, rent levels have surged so sharply that they now exceed the annual income of many working families, forcing mass displacement, social instability and quiet desperation.

In high-income neighbourhoods, two-bedroom apartments now command over ₦1 million annually, while even modest accommodation in suburban areas is slipping beyond affordability for civil servants and minimum-wage earners.

A Market No Longer Guided by Income Reality

For households earning ₦70,000 a month or slightly above, annual rent has become an impossible burden. Residents report routine rent increases imposed without corresponding upgrades in infrastructure, leaving families trapped between deteriorating living conditions and looming eviction.

Demand for housing continues to rise, fuelled by urban migration, insecurity in rural areas and population growth. Yet supply, particularly of affordable rental units, remains stagnant. Nigeria’s housing deficit, estimated at nearly 28 million units, continues to widen as public housing delivery lags behind demand.

The World Bank’s projection that Nigeria’s urban population could increase by 200 million by 2050 has intensified fears of slum expansion and deeper social fractures.

Soaring Construction Costs, Shrinking Options

Despite recent moderation in headline inflation, building material prices remain stubbornly high. Cement sells for over ₦10,000 per bag, iron rods cost up to ₦12,000 per length, while sand and granite can reach ₦80,000 per tonne.

Developers say these costs have pushed construction expenses to extreme levels. Building a two-bedroom apartment in Lekki now costs as much as ₦270 million, while even studio apartments can exceed ₦80 million. Unsurprisingly, these costs are transferred to tenants through rent.

South-West Cities Feel the Squeeze

In Lagos, rent increases of over 100 per cent within two years have become common. Areas like Ikeja GRA, Maryland and Ogudu now attract rents between ₦1.5 million and ₦5 million for three-bedroom flats. On Lagos Island, Banana Island remains Nigeria’s most expensive enclave, with two-bedroom apartments renting for about ₦25 million annually.

As costs escalate, residents are relocating to more affordable outskirts such as Sango-Ota, Mowe and Arepo. Similar trends are visible in Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti, Osun and Ondo states, where once-modest rents have doubled or tripled.

South-South: Quiet Displacement, Loud Consequences

In the South-South, the crisis has taken on a more human face. From Calabar to Yenagoa, families are retreating to villages, uprooting children from schools and abandoning livelihoods in cities.

In Calabar, two-bedroom apartments once rented for ₦400,000 now attract up to ₦1.2 million. In Yenagoa, self-contained units that cost ₦150,000 a decade ago now demand over ₦1 million. University communities have become especially volatile, with students and staff competing for scarce housing.

Housing activists describe the situation as a social emergency, warning that rising rents are eroding mental health, family stability and economic productivity.

Major Northern Cities: Moderation but Rising Fast

In the North-West, cities such as Kano remain comparatively more affordable but are still under pressure. Rental prices for apartments in central neighbourhoods often fall generally between ₦200,000 and ₦400,000 per year, reflecting slower growth and lower demand relative to Lagos or Abuja — but rents are still climbing each year due to population growth and commercial activity.

North-East cities, including Maiduguri, are also experiencing significant increases. Reports indicate that 2-bedroom apartments that once went for between ₦200,000 and ₦300,000 per year can now fetch ₦700,000–₦1.2 million (and up to ₦1 million–₦2 million) in prime neighbourhoods.

In North-Central, cities such as Abuja’s satellite towns, like Karu, Maraba, and Kubwa, host 2-bedroom units in the ballpark of ₦1.5 million–₦2.5 million annually — rates once seen only in prime urban areas.

Southeast and South-South Markets: Surprise Pressures

In the South-East, cities like Enugu have seen rents escalate sharply. In middle-class districts, medium 3-bedroom flats now typically start from around ₦1.5 million per year or higher, and even smaller units draw elevated rents due to increased demand and urban migration.

In smaller urban markets of the South-South, such as Calabar or Uyo, rents are quickly catching up. A 2-bedroom apartment in Calabar’s housing estates can cost between ₦850,000 and ₦1.2 million per annum, with smaller rooms in formerly affordable districts reaching ₦250,000–₦500,000.

Living Conditions Beyond the Cities

For rural and suburban Nigeria, housing affordability presents a stark contrast. Monthly costs are markedly lower outside metropolitan regions — single rooms or basic self-contained units may range from ₦40,000 to ₦100,000 monthly, with 1-bedroom rents commonly ₦80,000–₦300,000 depending on town infrastructure and services.

However, living conditions in many rural and peri-urban areas are shaped by limited amenities: inconsistent electricity, poor road access, sparse healthcare and education facilities. While rent may be lower, families often trade proximity to opportunity for affordability, facing higher transport costs and less access to formal employment.

Estate Agents Under Fire

Across regions, tenants accuse unregulated estate agents of inflating rents, manipulating demand and pressuring landlords to impose unjustified increases to boost commissions. Several residents recount losing apartments after agents arbitrarily raised prices during negotiations.

Professionals argue that weak regulation has allowed unethical practices to flourish, distorting rental benchmarks across entire neighbourhoods.

Government Response: Too Little, Too Slow

Experts from the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) attribute the crisis to rising construction costs, population growth, demand pressure and limited public housing investment. They argue that housing must be treated as a social service, not just a market commodity.

Some state assemblies are beginning to respond. Delta and Bayelsa are considering rent regulation bills, while Cross River lawmakers have described the crisis as economically destabilising.

But analysts warn that without decisive action — rent control laws, mass housing schemes, agent licensing and cheaper building finance — Nigerian cities may soon become unliveable for the workers who sustain them.