Lagos Faces Deepening Housing Crisis as Rent Prices Skyrocket

The recent directive by the Lagos State House of Assembly for the state’s Attorney General to enforce the tenancy laws marks a significant—but insufficient—response to the deepening housing crisis driven by skyrocketing rents. While the move addresses symptoms, it fails to confront the systemic issues rooted in supply shortages, ineffective policy implementation, and a growing disconnect between incomes and housing costs.

Solving Lagos’ housing challenge requires a dual approach: significantly increasing housing supply and rigorously enforcing existing laws. The private sector must be empowered to play a central role in housing development, but this should be matched by stronger government commitment—financially and structurally—toward people-centered housing schemes. The mass housing projects implemented under the Lateef Jakande administration (1979–1983) remain a benchmark, and while times have changed, replicating similar efforts with modern adaptations is both necessary and achievable.

Recently, the Assembly urged the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice to enforce provisions of the Tenancy Law of Lagos State (2015), particularly Section 37, which addresses arbitrary rent increases and provides legal avenues for tenants to challenge such practices. Lawmakers noted that excessive rent hikes are worsening homelessness across the state.

Lagos is currently grappling with a severe housing shortage, with rents surging by more than 100% over the past four years while household incomes have stagnated. Young professionals and low-income earners now spend disproportionate portions of their earnings on rent, further deepening financial strain.

Several factors fuel this crisis:

• Rapid urbanization and population growth have drastically increased demand for limited housing stock.

• Inflation and rising construction costs compel landlords to raise rents, often without improving living conditions.

• Weak enforcement of tenancy laws allows exploitative practices to flourish unchecked.

Experts argue that the current legal framework—while well-intentioned—discourages investment in housing due to burdensome taxes, bureaucracy in securing titles and approvals, and ineffective rent controls that historically have failed to balance supply and demand.

The state’s affordable housing deficit, now estimated at over three million units, has seen little improvement due to underwhelming performance in delivering low- and middle-income housing. Government estates are often poorly located or lack infrastructure, pushing residents to seek better-located private rentals and driving prices even higher in central areas.

Further complicating the crisis:

• Land and building approvals are plagued by red tape or elite manipulation.

• Public housing policies disproportionately favor homeownership, overlooking over 60% of Lagosians who are renters.

• The uneven distribution of basic infrastructure forces people to concentrate in a few well-serviced neighborhoods, escalating demand—and rent—in those areas.

In response, the state has proposed a monthly rent policy to ease payment burdens and floated reforms to limit rent hikes. However, these proposals require robust enforcement mechanisms and widespread public education to be effective.

What’s needed is a coordinated, multi-sector strategy that includes:

• Scaled-up investment in affordable housing,

• Reform of land acquisition and building approval systems,

• Stronger tenant protections,

• And active collaboration among government, private developers, and civil society.

Without bold, sustained interventions, the housing crisis will continue to erode the quality of life for millions of Lagosians, disproportionately impacting the most vulnerable. With political will and proper planning, Lagos can pave the way for a more equitable, inclusive, and livable city.