Group protests high rent in cities, seeks relief for residents

A civil society group under the aegis of Take-It-Back Movement (TIB) has decried the impacts of the high rents on households’ income across the country and called for government’s intervention.

Although high inflation has led to significant increases in the cost of major building materials, especially for new houses, landlords and property owners are taking undue advantage of development to inflict pains on intending renters.

Rent in Lagos increased by over 200 per cent in the last one year. A three-bedroom flat that was previously between N500, 000 to N800, 000 has increased to N1.5 million. This is aside from other charges such as caution fee, agent, legal and form fees. A two-bedroom is as high as N1million and N1.2million, while a self-contained unit could be as high as N600, 000 or N1million in some highbrow locations.

At a peaceful protest against the high cost of housing in the state, the group lamented the rising cost of housing, particularly in Lagos Island and other areas, describing it as unaffordable for the masses.

A statement by the Lagos Island chapter of TIB, said the protest is strongly against the unaffordable cost of housing. It said: “No doubt, this is a national call to enforce housing rights. Housing is a fundamental human right, and the government has a duty to ensure it is available to all citizens.”

The association further said with Nigeria’s housing deficit within the range of 28 million and an estimated N21 trillion needed to close the gap, states across the country must learn to emulate the Sokoto state government which recently embarked on construction of a 500-unit housing estate in the state.

It described the step by the governor as commendable and worthy of emulation by other state governments.