The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Muttaqha Rabe Darma, has revealed plans to reform Nigeria’s housing sector through a new regulatory framework aimed at protecting homebuyers, restoring investor confidence and promoting a more transparent and accountable real estate market.

Speaking at the Business Day Abuja Real Estate Conference, Darma decried that many Nigerians continue to lose their life savings to unlicensed developers, while buyers remain largely unprotected due to the absence of escrow arrangements and other regulatory safeguards.

He also noted that despite the real estate sector contributing about 13.36 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), making it one of the country’s largest economic sectors, the absence of a comprehensive regulatory framework continues to undermine investment and public confidence.

According to him, they are developing a National Housing and Built Environment Regulation Policy that will introduce developer licensing, escrow protection for buyers’ funds, construction quality assurance, professional registration and a National Housing Industry Data Observatory to improve transparency and accountability across the sector.

Darma hinted that the Land4Growth initiative, the ongoing digitisation of land administration through the e-Certificate of Occupancy, and the work of the National Housing Data Technical Committee, which has established Nigeria’s housing deficit at around 15 million inadequate housing units as of 2025.

“Under the proposed reforms, developers will no longer be permitted to sell housing units off-plan without obtaining the necessary licence and securing buyers’ payments in regulated escrow accounts, describing the initiative as a critical step towards protecting Nigerians from dubious practices, while bringing the country’s housing market in line with international standards.”

Reaffirming the Government’s commitment to affordable housing delivery, the Minister said implementation of the Renewed Hope Social Housing Programme remains on course, with plans to deliver hundreds housing units in each of the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria

Darma therefore announced that they will begin a formal stakeholder engagement process next week on the proposed regulatory reforms, inviting developers, investors, financial institutions, professional bodies, tenant associations and other critical stakeholders to contribute to the process.

On the nation’s worsening rent crisis, he said the Ministry is proposing measures that include a National Rent Registry, registration of large-scale landlords, stronger enforcement against the unlawful conversion of residential buildings and model tenancy legislation to promote fairness for both landlords and tenants.

“The projects that will define Nigeria’s housing future are not yet built. The capital that will fund them is not yet fully mobilised. But the policy framework that will make them bankable, safe, and worth investing in is being written now. Come and help write it”, he said.