For most tenants in Lagos suburbs or hinterlands, these are trying times as landlords in these areas seem to have conspired to make the cost of living more unbearable with endless increases in house rents.

Many of the tenants had left the city centres for the suburbs due to the rising cost of rents, but they have now found that their annual rents are equivalent to what they paid in downtown Lagos.

Gideon Mbonu is a company worker living in Ketu-Ijanikin area of Lagos, from where he commutes to his office on Lagos Island. Mbonu shared his rent experience with BusinessDay at a wedding event of the daughter of a family friend last weekend.

?There?s no hiding place any more for low-income earners in this city,? Mbonu started out in a rather subdued tone. ?My first place of dwelling in this city was Surulere, where I first lived in a two-bedroom apartment and later upgraded to a three-bedroom flat after I got married and subsequently had children. My rent at the time was N250,000 per year.

?From here, in a space of three years, the rent rose to N850,000. This was the reason we relocated from Surulere to Idimu where we paid, by our first year, N450,000 per annum for a three-bedroom apartment. But, with more influx of people from places like Surulere, Ilupeju, Gbagada and others, which are classified as middle-class locations, rent rose significantly to over a million,? he narrated.

He explained that by January 2023, a two-bedroom apartment in a nearby rural neighbourhood was renting for just N500, 000 per annum. But in the last six months, rent for the same size apartment has jumped to between N1million and N1.2 million.

Mbonu wondered where low-income earners should go to look for houses to rent if they cannot afford what is on offer in rural communities. ?It is painful that costs and rents are rising almost on a daily basis when our incomes as workers remain static,? he lamented.

Fatoki Jaiyeola, another Lagos resident who lives in Ojo-Igbeda, a sleepy community that drives whatever vibrancy it enjoys from Alaba International Market, shared a similar experience, saying that the situation in the community has put tenants are on edge, unsure what to do next.

?Almost all the new houses here are constructed in two-bedroom forms because that apartment size is in high demand. Landlords are charging above N1 million for each apartment. Some who are still paying N1 million have been served notice of increase as from 2025,? Jaiyeola said.

He pointed out that about 300 metres from where he lives, a two-bedroom apartment goes for between N1.2 million and N1.5 million per annum. ?They call that place Akai and most of the residents of that enclave are ?big boys? who are making efforts to ensure that the place is exclusive,? he added.

There are other locations where house rents have jumped in the last 12 months. Cornelius Ibeagwu, a real estate consultant, told BusinessDay in an interview that rent in Lagos Mainland is no longer affordable to most people living there.

Ibeagwu cited Okota, especially along Ago Palace Way, where, according to him, rent has jumped so high that a two-bedroom apartment now goes for between N2 million and N2.5 million while 3-bedroom apartment is priced between N3 million and N3.5 million depending on the age of the house.

?I can confirm to you that Ago Palace Way has become the Island of the Mainland because of property prices. Land prices are not so different from what are offered in both Festac and Amuwo Odofin where a standard plot of land now goes upwards for N100 million,? he said.

?As we speak, you can hardly get land for sale in this area in the primary market. All the land there has been sold out and whatever is available is in the secondary market, which is why the prices are so high. It is the same story for commercial properties. Shops are hard to come by and where you find one, it is pricey,? he added.

Reasons for Rent Increases

House rents in Lagos rise for several reasons, chief among which is the city?s high urbanisation rate. Obafemi Hamzat, the state?s deputy governor, noted recently that about 6000 people come into the state on a daily basis with about 3000 of them not having any plan to go back.

These people need places to stay and that exerts significant strain and pressure on the city?s infrastructure, especially housing. Demand from such people also leads to increase in house prices.

In the same vein, a report by Pison Housing Company on the State of Real Estate Market says Lagos has an estimated three million housing deficit. The report, which was confirmed by Moruf Akindero-Fatai, the state?s commissioner for housing, adds that over 80 percent of the state?s 20 million population live in rented accommodation. (BusinessDay)

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