House rent is that figure that quietly eats half your paycheck, wages, or salary. The monthly or yearly ritual of negotiation, panic, and fervent prayer. From Lagos and Accra to Monrovia, rent is not just high—it is now offensive. But before we clutch our pearls and blame landlords alone, it’s time to ask: who’s responsible for this economic sabotage disguised as housing?
The Real Estate Pyramid Scheme
First, eliminate the myth of “greedy landlords” as the only villains. Yes, some landlords charge obscene amounts for glorified shanties and pigeonholes. But they’re the last link in a greedy, long, broken chain. The African housing market is a pyramid scheme supported by policy failures, crony capitalism, corrupt bureaucracy, a building materials crisis left to fester, house agents operating extortionist schemes, and the manipulation of property values that inflate your rent.
To build a house in Nigeria today, cement costs between ₦8,000 and ₦13,000 per bag (approx. $8). In Ghana, building materials have jumped over 30 per cent in a year. In Liberia, nails, roofing sheets, and timber are tethered to global currency swings. Add land speculation, multiple taxation, lack of mortgage access, and poor infrastructure, and you’ve got a perfect storm. The result? Fewer houses built, higher cost to build, and an even higher cost to rent. This isn’t just economics; it’s the impact of the building materials crisis no one wants to solve, a failure to leverage local resources and stabilize supply chains.
The Government’s Affordable Housing Lie
Every few years, we hear about the phrase “affordable housing” tossed around by government officials, developers, and donor agencies like some magic fix for Africa’s urban chaos. It shows up in glossy brochures and international summits as if simply saying it makes it real. A shiny ribbon-cutting ceremony. A prototype flat. Maybe even a smart city announcement. But the rent on these so-called “affordable” homes is often out of reach.
Consider this: over 80 per cent of the urban population in Nigeria lives in informal settlements. In Ghana, housing deficits hover around two million. Liberia faces similar shortages. Meanwhile, minimum wage in these countries ranges between $60–$90 per month. In Lagos, a so-called affordable flat might cost ₦8 million ($5,000) or more, when over 70 per cent of the population earns less than ₦120,000 ($75) monthly. In Accra, rental advances of two years are demanded upfront, effectively excluding most citizens. So, who exactly are these homes affordable for?
The truth is, African housing policy is a mirage—full of headlines and devoid of real access. The term “affordable housing” has become a smokescreen that allows governments to avoid structural reform while offering photo-op solutions.
Investors’ Manipulation of Property Values That Inflate Your Rent
Hidden hands manipulate the market beyond the visible failures of policy and economy. Consider the investor, perhaps someone seeking to ‘clean’ questionable funds, who colluded with a developer to inflate the purchase price on the official receipt. The $30,000 property is now listed as $60,000 on paper. Why does this hidden transaction matter to you, the renter struggling to pay $5,000 yearly? Because that false $60,000 figure becomes the ‘justification’ for exorbitant rent demands.
The Unseen Hand of the Middlemen: Agents’ Extortionist Schemes
Adding insult to injury is the layer of exploitation introduced by unregulated house agents. Consider this: Since the beginning of discussions around “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations” at the United Nations, many from the African diaspora have sought to reconnect by visiting or even living in Africa. On one such visit, an African American, [Names Withheld], decided to experience life in Lagos. Connecting with agents through a friend, he quickly encountered a harsh reality that thousands of local renters face daily. He was hit with demands for an exorbitant array of fees: ‘application fees,’ ‘inspection fees,’ ‘registration fees,’ ‘non-disclosure fees,’ ‘agency fees,’ ‘legal fees,’ and ‘caution fees.’ These charges alone amounted to a staggering figure—in his case, potentially enough to cover nearly a year’s actual house rent for a different tenant elsewhere in Lekki, Lagos, just for the supposed service of facilitating a transaction.Some agents take money, innocuously labeled ‘inspection’ & ‘application’ fees, from multiple potential renters for the same property, fully aware only one can possibly secure it. The others are left hanging, their scarce funds swallowed by often unwritten, “non-refundable” policies. These agents are not just middlemen; they have become gatekeepers of misery. They add unnecessary cost to the process and profit shamelessly from those simply seeking shelter. There is no price control, no certification requirement, and no regulatory body holding them accountable, leaving tenants vulnerable to their schemes and adding another unjust layer to the already exorbitant cost of rent.Who’s Really to Blame?
We must redirect our anger. Not just at the landlords alone. But at:
• Governments that are perpetuating policy failures.
• Opaque land administration systems that fuel property speculation
• Developers who build only for the rich and partner with cronies for land grabs.
• Unregulated and extortionist schemes of house agents, preying on tenants
• Banks and financial systems that refuse to create low-interest housing finance tools.
• Those with platforms and resources often remain silent on systemic housing issues, focusing instead on navigating the broken system for personal gain.
• And yes, to renters too, who, out of desperation or a lack of awareness, pay illegal fees without protest, accept verbal agreements and hesitate to report violations to absent or ineffective authorities.
Provocative Solutions? Yes!
• Declare housing a national emergency with measurable targets, not slogans.
• Control material costs by supporting local manufacturing of building materials.
• Fix land administration to make access transparent, quick, and digital.
• Support cooperatives and community land trusts to democratize housing finance.
• Redesign cities to integrate rural migrants through mixed-income zoning and social infrastructure.
Radical idea:
Cap rental prices in over-supplied urban districts and incentivize landlords who lower rent. This is not a call for pity. It is a demand for structural change. Because our house rent isn’t too high. It is a symptom of a failed economic and policy architecture. And if we don’t change the foundation, we’ll keep rebuilding “expensive slums” with nicer names.
The rent is due. But so is justice.
Jennifer Odii, an entrepreneur and founder of Real Estate Stakeholders Support Initiative, writes in from Port Harcourt.
