Residents of the Federal Capital Territory have voiced frustration over soaring housing costs, urging authorities to step in with policies to regulate rent and ease the burden on tenants.
Several residents who shared their experiences described the situation as increasingly unaffordable, noting that rental prices have risen far beyond what average earners can sustain.
Current estimates indicate that self-contained apartments now cost as much as ₦2 million, while one-bedroom flats range between ₦2.5 million and ₦3 million depending on location.
A civil servant living in Kubwa, Victoria Olabisi, said her rent jumped from ₦1.8 million to ₦2.5 million during her last renewal, adding that the increase has significantly strained her finances.
She explained that many residents are being forced to relocate to the outskirts of the city in search of more affordable housing options, as salaries are no longer sufficient to cover rising expenses.
Similarly, a legal practitioner based in Area 1, Akinola Akin-Adubi, described the situation as alarming after his rent doubled from ₦400,000 to ₦800,000, even after negotiating down from an initial ₦1 million demand.
He pointed out that additional costs such as agency, legal, and service charges have further inflated the total cost of securing accommodation, sometimes pushing it close to ₦1.8 million for modest apartments.
Another resident, Vera Zephaniah, said she relocated from Karu to Wuse II due to security concerns, but now pays ₦2 million for a self-contained apartment—nearly triple her previous rent. She criticised the extra fees attached to tenancy agreements, describing them as excessive.
Some landlords, however, offered differing perspectives. While one landlord acknowledged that frequent rent hikes are unfair and driven by greed among some property owners, another attributed the increases to rising construction costs, inflation, and pressure from agents seeking higher commissions.
Residents say urgent intervention is needed to stabilise housing costs, warning that without regulation, more people may be pushed out of the city due to unaffordable rents.