Firms, groups tap into German social housing model

A new hope for Nigeria’s housing delivery may have been ignited by stakeholders in Nigerian housing market. It is aimed at ensuing an acceptable housing delivery tool that will engender a lasting solution to Nigeria’s housing problems.

The innovative collaborative move involved a team of Nigerian development stakeholders visiting the City of Munich, Germany to expand knowledge on affordable, social and cooperative housing approaches.

The adoption of participatory models for affordable housing development It also involved possibility of adopting the German social housing model in other to mitigate the nation’s housing deficits.

The housing policy in Germany is not linked to specific providers, but entails public subsidy of any kind of housing providers in exchange for the use of a dwelling for social purposes (enforcing income ceilings and lower rents) on a temporary basis. Germany’s social housing model entails Integrated Housing and Labour Services in the Social Rental Enterprise model.

According to  Debo Adejana, the  managing Director and Chief executive  officer of Realty Point Limited and estate developer, who was in the team,  adoption of this model in Nigeria social housing schemes will  address the development of ghettos.

He informed that the cooperative social housing model seen in Munich incorporate every class of German citizens without segregation. “It is not so in Nigeria  where we have  low cost and high cost housing schemes which is segregating and tend to create a ghetto .

“Some of the positives  derived from the visit will of course be adopted in Nigeria social housing schemes which can address the development of ghettos”,  he said.

Also  The Guardian learnt that the team led by Arctic Infrastructure (AI) and Heinrich Boll Stiftung Nigeria (hbs) met officials of City of Munich, leadership of social and cooperative housing organizations and other influential stakeholders in the city development, in addition to viewing different construction projects and completed houses. Other members of the  team include Mrs. Monika Umunna  of Heinrich Boll Stiftung Nigeria (hbs), Lookman Oshodi of  Arctic Infrastructure (AI); Mrs. Adeyemi Oginni  of  Department of Architecture, University of Lagos, Mr. Raymond Gold of Nigerian Informal Settlements Federation,  Mrs. Victoria Ohaeri of Spaces for Change and Ms. Abimbola Junaid  of Arise Women.

A member of the team and Architect,  Lookman Oshodi said the working visit coordinated by  Mrs. Beate Adolf of Heinrich Boll Stiftung Berlin (hbs) and Ms Sophia Pritscher of the Department of Architecture, Technischen Universitat Munich (Technical University of Munich) was an eye opener.

According to him,  some of the key learning points in Munich housing development are government funding support to the developers of housing for low income groups, market funding rate for housing below two percent , utilization of land for common good and city’s prosperity, land administration and management by local authority rather than state or federal government and city’s support to the local non-governmental organization to develop capacity in the social housing sector.

He stressed that findings from the visit will feed into the on-going housing delivery tool that will be part of platforms to engaging broad stakeholders in the Nigerian housing market.

According to him,  Nigeria has  a lot  to learn from the Germany example in addressing its 17 million housing deficit.