How To Make Rental Housing Work in Nigeria

The Real Housing Gap Is in Our Mindset and Systems

Every time the housing conversation comes up in Nigeria, it seems the first instinct is to build. Build faster. Build cheaper. Build more.

But what if building isn’t really the problem?

Here’s an uncomfortable truth: most Nigerians are renters. Yet, our policies and private sector ambitions still revolve almost entirely around ownership. We talk about affordable housing as if everyone’s goal is to buy, when in reality, most people simply want a decent, stable place to live without having to pay two years’ rent upfront or fear an eviction notice every twelve months.

So maybe the real question isn’t “how do we make everyone a homeowner?” but…

“How do we make renting dignified, sustainable, and financially fair?”

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1. The Rental Reality: Nigeria Is a Nation of Renters

It’s time we acknowledge a basic fact: Rentals make up the majority of housing needs in Nigeria. From Lagos to Kano, more people rent than own homes.

Yet, this reality never factors into housing strategies. Affordable housing is still largely defined around formal middle-class income brackets: civil servants, white-collar workers, or those with access to bank loans.

But that’s not the full picture. A large share of Nigerians live in the informal economy, earning far below what international benchmarks define as “livable wages.” 

So, if we define affordability through formal lenses, then even so-called “affordable units” are priced out of reach for the very people they’re meant for. We need to start designing housing, especially rentals, with the informal majority in mind.

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2. Maintenance: The Hidden Crisis in Rental Housing

Rental housing doesn’t really have a supply problem. What discourages its widespread adoption is inherent in a deep maintenance and management problem.

The reality is, most large-scale rental developments struggle to stay functional because there’s no reliable system for property management or maintenance. So, what good is a well-built apartment if it becomes uninhabitable within five years of use? 

But here’s where a problem turns into an opportunity. 

If we treat maintenance as an industry in itself, it can create tens of thousands of jobs. From electricians, plumbers, and cleaners to trained facility managers and estate technicians. Sustainable rental housing is not just about affordability. It’s about livability, and that requires skilled people who can keep housing functional, safe, and dignified.

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3. The Incentive Trap: When Good Policy Backfires

Government incentives are a common tool for tackling affordability.

A typical example: for every ten luxury units a developer builds, they must provide five affordable units in exchange for a tax break. Sounds good, right? 

The problem is what happens in practice. If incentives aren’t carefully balanced, developers may inflate the price of luxury units to “recover” costs from the affordable ones. The result? A distorted market where affordability is not a commitment. Policy design has to go beyond numbers.

The value of incentives must equal the opportunity cost. Otherwise, we simply end up rewarding inefficiency while driving up prices elsewhere.

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4. A True PPP Model: Government as Landlord, Private Sector as Manager, and People (Renters) as Investors.

Typically, a private property manager handles operations, tenants, and profitability.

Now imagine a different model: one where the government remains the landlord, owning the land and core infrastructure. And the general public, including renters, partners with the government under the structure of a publicly traded company to financially and publicly contribute in kind to the business of managing and operating these properties.

This public-private partnership (PPP) model changes everything. It protects public interest, allows the government to maintain oversight, and brings in the efficiency and accountability of private management. More importantly, it opens doors to long-term, low-cost capital. Pension funds, investment pools, and soft loans can flow into rental housing projects because the structure becomes clear, regulated, and creditworthy.

In this model, everyone wins:

• The government safeguards citizens’ access to housing.
• The private sector earns sustainable returns.
• Residents enjoy stable, well-managed homes.

Need more information about how this works? Reach out; we'll be glad to provide more clarifications to help you understand better

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5. Shifting Culture: From Renting to Rent-to-Own

There’s also a cultural hurdle to clear. In Nigeria, renting is still seen as “temporary.” A 'stage' before you finally “make it.”

But what if renting could be a path to ownership and not the opposite of it?

Rent-to-own models bridge that gap beautifully. And thankfully, it already works in Nigeria. . Since they’ve been involved in managing and operating the homes, tenants gradually build equity in their homes over time, turning rent payments into partial ownership contributions. It’s a structure that encourages financial discipline, reduces instability, and changes the emotional meaning of renting.

When people start seeing rent as a step toward owning, the stigma around it fades, and housing becomes not just a roof, but a roadmap.

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Where Do We Go from Here?

The truth is, Nigeria’s rental housing only suffers from a lack of systems, not from a lack of ideas. We need housing strategies that reflect how people actually live, not how we wish they did. We need financing models that blend social purpose with profitability. And we need to view maintenance, management, and tenant welfare as part of housing…

Not afterthoughts.
And it’s not enough to build homes. We have to build the ecosystem that keeps them alive. When we design for renters, the real majority, we stop chasing the illusion of affordability and start creating housing that works.

Because at the end of the day, the goal isn’t just ownership. It’s dignity.