Like Lagos, South-East residents lament soaring house rent – ‘I have sleepless nights’

House rent in major cities in the South-East region: Enugu, Awka, Abakaliki, Aba, Owerri, Onitsha, Umuahia and other places, has been on a steady astronomical rise, as reported by Vanguard Newspaper.

Residents, particularly civil and public workers and small business owners, are crying out over the matter, saying many of them can no longer cope with the choking rent, especially in the face of the excruciating economic hardship faced by Nigerians.

Even landlords of houses built several years ago are involved in the rent hike craze, ironically also on the grounds of the high cost of building materials for a house built over 15, 20 years ago!

Rising rent is pushing people out of urban cities in Anambra

Rise in rent is indeed pushing people, particularly the low-income earners, out of urban centres in Anambra State. In very recent years, house rent has become so astronomical that many civil servants were forced to relocate their families out of Awka, some to their villages.

For instance, a 3-bedroom flat that used to attract a rent of N250,000 per annum now attracts over N700,000. Residents attribute this to the government’s disinterest in housing development to meet growing demand, also rising construction costs and inflation. Sadly, while rent is skyrocketing, people’s incomes have remained stagnant.

A civil servant, Augustine Okeke, with a family of five, had to pack out of his 3-bedroom flat in the heart of Awka city to Nibo, outskirts of the capital city.

Okeke said: “When I moved into the last place I lived, the annual rent was N150, 000. Two years later, the landlord increased it to N250,000; I had to adjust to cope by withdrawing my children from the mission school they were to public school. That increase also affected our standard of living as every luxury, even though they were necessities of life, had to go.

“As I was trying to adjust our way of life generally, the landlord, at the beginning of this year, again gave us letters that the rent has increased to N700,000, citing high cost of maintenance. With the increase, it became clear to me that my days in the city were numbered.

“The house we moved into at Nibo is also a 3-bedroom flat, with annual rent of N300, 000, but it is in a rural setting. The light there is not as regular as it is in Awka and it costs me about N2,500 to go to work everyday.” Okeke said he initially thought of moving to his village, but confessed that he and his family cannot cope with village life.

A landlord, Osita Maduka said there is no amount of rent that would match the cost of building materials and routine maintenance. He said that when he completed his house at Amansea, Awka, he fixed the rent at N900,000, but for months, nobody was willing to pay even when he reduced the asking rent to N700,000, yet some of the flats are still unoccupied.

Maduka called on government to intervene in the housing sector by building low cost houses for people and evolve a means of reducing the cost of building materials.

In Owerri, Imo State, a former Dean at the Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education, Owerri, Dr. Tony Ekwe noted that “the rising cost of rent has seriously compounded the inflationary trends in Igbo land”.

His words: “Although the five state governments in Igbo land have agencies or establishments they call Housing Corporation, it is no longer clear what their staff do to justify their monthly pay. Construction of housing estates are now left in the hands of private developers and the shylocks amongst them, are maximally exploiting the opportunity to the fullest, albeit, to the detriment of the poor masses.

Agents are part of the problem, they influence landlords to hike rent – Civil Servant
A civil servant in Owerri, Theophilus Nwaoga said greedy agents should share part of the blame. Nwaoga said some agents influence landlords to increase rent to enhance their percentage. He narrated his frustrating experience while searching for a new apartment last year, forcing him to relocate to a suburb of Owerri.

“My rent gives me sleepless nights every year. Some of the agents are part of the problem. They induce landlords to increase the rents to increase their percentage.

“It was very frustrating last year when I was searching for a 2-bedroom apartment. My landlord increased the rent of where I was living by about 50%, so I decided to leave. It was difficult to get a place. The least I got for a moderate 2-bedroom was N550,000; then by the time you add agency, agreement and caution fees, it added up to over N700,000. How much is my salary? That was too much for me. So, I decided to get a place at a suburb. It has become very difficult to live in Nigeria,” he lamented.

Yahoo Boys are behind outrageous house rent in Umuahia – Residents
The influx of internet fraudsters known as Yahoo Boys, has been blamed for the outrageous house rent in Umuahia, Abia State capital. Checks showed that a 2-bedroom flat in Umuahia goes for between N400,000-N600,000 per annum depending on the location; while 3-bedroom flat ranges between N700,000 and N1 million.

Confirming this, a house agent who identified herself as Blessing, said a 2-bedroom flat in a new building in a good location costs up to N700,000; a 3-bedroom flat in a new building at a good site goes for between N700,000 and N1 million. Some 3-bedroom flats with modern facilities at a good location costs up to N1.2 million per annum, she added.

Blaming Yahoo Boys for the development, she said: “These Yahoo Boys fleeing from Anambra and Enugu states are the cause. Landlords in Umuahia prefer giving out their houses to them because they pay sharp sharp. Yahoo Boys don’t negotiate rent. As the landlord is mentioning the amount, they are paying immediately. This is why houses are scarce now in Umuahia.

A resident of Umuahia, Chinonso Eze, a fashion designer, also decried the high cost of rent in the state capital, saying it is not justifiable as Umuahia is not a commercial city. He said he pays N500,000 for his “small size” 2-bedroom apartment, adding that the initial place he got, a refurbished old building was pegged at N620,000 per annum.

Another resident, Mr Charles Enakezeh, also decried the outrageous cost of house rent in Abia.

Enugu enacts law to checkmate outrageous house rent
Enugu residents are experiencing outrageous rent rise. A 3-bedroom flat in medium class areas such as Trans-Ekulu, Emene or Awkunanaw in Enugu metropolis goes for from N700, 000 and above. In areas like Ogui Layout near higher institutions of learning, the landlords are exploiting the students more. This outrageous rent is exclusive of agents, lawyers and other sundry fees such as caution fees. Sometimes the agents charge as high as N200,000 to N300, 000, while the lawyers sometimes charge higher amounts as legal fees.

Following this, the Enugu State House of Assembly in February 2025 initiated a bill to regulate the arbitrary rent and other charges.

Titled: Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Bill, 2025,” it was sponsored by Hon. Okey Mbah, representing Nkanu East State Constituency, aimed “to curb excessive fees by middlemen, eliminate unjustified charges, and establish more precise tenancy regulations in the state.” Key Provisions of the Bill include, Mandatory Certification for Agents, a maximum charge of 10 per cent of the rent as agency fees, abolish collection of Caution Fees from tenants.

The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Uche Ugwu, told SEV that the bill has passed reading stages and public hearing conducted and committed to a committee for finishing touches; then will be sent to the Governor for assent.

He said: “The bill is now at the committee level. Public hearing has been conducted and the committee is working on the submissions of different stakeholders and interest groups. The major aims of the bill are to stabilize rents and most importantly, the agency fees because some agents charge higher fees than the landlords. It will also determine when to increase house rents and at what rate depending on the location of the house because there are factors for the determination.

Ebonyi residents groan under indiscriminate hike in rent, Assembly intervenes

Ebonyi State also witnesses indiscriminate increase in house rent especially in Abakaliki, the capital city. An old house of 3-bedroom apartment goes for between N750,000 and N850,000 while a newly built 3-bedroom apartment goes for between N1 million and N1.3 million annually.

However, Ebonyi State House of Assembly has expressed concern over the matter. An executive bill aimed at regulating the activities of landlords and housing agents is now before Assembly. It is presently at committee level.

Old landlords, children who inherited properties fond of rent hike – Onitsha residents
Chief Albert Nwaozuzu, an Onitsha businessman and landlord agreed that rent increase has always been one of the major concerns of the South-East. He blamed it on agents and some lawyers who see it as the only way of survival because they cannot find their level in litigation.

“They use idle lawyers to achieve their selfish aim, I use that word selfish because they do not fulfill the reason they give for the increment which is renovation.”