Hundreds of youths took to the streets of Akure, the Ondo State capital, yesterday, to protest against skyrocketing house rents in the state, which they labelled exorbitant and arbitrary, as well as unchecked by the state government.
 
While staging a peaceful protest within the metropolis, the youths lamented over the crippling cost of accommodation, blaming the situation on the unscrupulous activities of landlords and agents.
 
According to the infuriated youths, the incessant increases have made decent housing unattainable for a vast majority of young residents and civil servants, pushing many to the brink of homelessness as well as into substandard and unhealthy living conditions.
 
With the protesters disclosing that the situation is prevalent within the Akure metropolis, they warned that the development is capable of making the state a hub for criminals.

 Armed with placards, the youths chanted solidarity songs as they appealed to the state government as well as relevant stakeholders to urgently address the situation.
 
According to findings, a one-bedroom self-contained apartment in Akure ranges from N250,000 to N350,000; a room and parlour apartment is N300,000 to N500,000; and a two-bedroom flat is N500,000 to N1.3 million.

Speaking on the development, one of the youths who joined the protest, Kemisola Ologun, stressed that many young individuals in the state could no longer afford decent accommodation due to the exorbitant rent.
 
“It is really disturbing that agents and landlords have turned to something else in Akure. How on earth will you say a two-bedroom flat will be given out for N1.2 million, just two bedrooms in Akure?
 
“Ondo State is basically a civil service state, so how do they want people to afford that kind of rent? But we actually know who they will give such types of houses to. Landlords now use tactics to evict tenants to hike rents and, in turn, give them to these boys.
 
“What is really disturbing is that the government has not been saying anything. No control at all. The landlords and agents will just wake up and increase rents arbitrarily. It is so unfortunate,” she stated.
 
Meanwhile, the youths emphasised that the trend was fast eroding their standard of living and worsening economic hardship in the state, adding that the state government should introduce a digital housing regulation app to monitor and control the activities of landlords and agents in the state.
 
They added that such a platform would not only protect tenants but also serve as a veritable source of internally generated revenue for the state.