On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a resolution urging the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to devise policies aimed at regulating house rents and landlord activities in Abuja.
This decision stemmed from the adoption of a motion presented by Rep. Emmanuel Udo (PDP-Akwa-Ibom) during the House session in Abuja.
The resolution emphasized the need for the implementation of monthly rent structures to foster an inclusive rental system and mitigate the arbitrary escalation of house rents in the FCT.
Rep. Udo highlighted that Nigeria is ready for an inclusive rental system, which would alleviate the housing strain on working-class families and provide affordable monthly rental options for low and middle-income earners.
He underscored that a significant portion of FCT residents, including civil servants and artisans, reside in satellite towns due to their limited incomes, making the current rent hikes burdensome for many.
“One-bedroom self-contain goes for between N1 and N1.5 million, while two bedrooms go for between N2 and N3 million while three bedrooms go for between N3 and N5 million,” he said.
This, according to him, is due to the current economic hardship for civil servants, who are already grappling with fuel subsidy removal, rising foreign exchange rates, electricity tariff increases, and tax or levies.
He said he was convinced that the monthly rent would provide tenants with flexibility, better cash flow management, reasonable move-out options, and a stable income stream.
He further urged the federal government to build affordable houses for civil servants in Abuja to reduce the burden of paying exorbitant rents.
Adopting the motion, the House mandated the committee on FCT to look into the matter of arbitrary house rent increases in FCT.
The House said that the committee should recommend effective policies to regulate the activities of landlords and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.