NewStats: 3,265,243 , 8,186,109 topics. Date: Saturday, 14 June 2025 at 03:35 AM 3h6w

The Lagos State government has charged the leadership of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria, and Association of Estate Agents in Nigeria to the drive to reduce the rent burden on Lagosians and shun the prevalent illegal fees in the real estate business.


In a statement by the deputy director, Public Affairs, Ganiu Lawal, the professional bodies were also urged to stem the rate at which agents across the real estate value chain engaged in competition of fees in real estate transactions.

It stated that, “the introduction of illegal fees such as caution fee, inspection fee, finder’s fee, and others represents a professionally harmful practice which affects tenants and puts the integrity of the practitioners and property owners at stake.


“The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria, and Association of Estate Agents in Nigeria, were invited to a stakeholders meeting tly chaired by the Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, and the Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on Housing, Barakat Odunuga-Bakare.


“The session is a continuation of the strategic engagement to curb arbitrary rent charges, demand for high agent fees, and promotion of sanity in the real estate business in Lagos state.


The meeting was held at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Housing, Alausa – Ikeja.”


The state government, through the commissioner and the special adviser, challenged the association to protect the integrity of the real estate business with for a t effort of all stakeholders for full enforcement and compliance with the real estate transaction laws of Lagos State.


Akinderu-Fatai said, “the aim of engaging all stakeholders is to strengthen the working relationship between the State Government and the professional bodies for the benefit of Lagosians.

“Lagos State Government is concerned about the challenges faced by families in securing and retaining rental accommodation in the state, with unpleasant rent increments and illegal estate transaction charges.”


The commissioner reiterated the plan of the Lagos State government to encourage and promote monthly and quarterly rent payments in the state in line with the tenancy law.

He said, “the state government is aware of the increase in demand as greater than supply, but the government would no longer tolerate and allow the extortion of accommodation seekers with unwholesome practices.

“I want to assure you that the state government under the leadership of Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu is comionate and will leave no stone unturned to ensure sanity in the real estate business in the state.”

The special adviser to the Governor on Housing, Barakat Odunuga-Bakare, stated that there “were existing state laws, such as the 2015 Tenancy Law and the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority Law, which specify a percentage of chargeable fees of not more than 10 per cent on real estate transactions.’’

Odunuga-Bakare also urged the stakeholders to cooperate with the state government to ease the conditions under which Lagosians secure accommodation.

Speaking at the meeting, the representative of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Lagos Branch, Gbenga Ismail; a member of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria, Dr. Kolawole Tony; and a member of the Association of Estate Agent in Nigeria, Dr. Adeniyi Tinubu, tly expressed their readiness to forge a workable alliance with the state government to solve high rent cost and excessive charges.

They added that , “the professional bodies will also the state government in promoting advocacy, public enlightenment as well as sensitisation programmes on the best practices in real estate transactions.”

The meeting further resolved to convene another stakeholders’ forum to be attended by representatives of all practitioners in the real estate business, including the Nigerian Bar Association, for a holistic buy-in of every sector for the benefit of Lagosian.

Source: https://leadership.ng/lagos-advocates-rent-reduction-declares-caution-fee-inspection-fee-illegal

Some people have stopped working.... they are into ful time house-agent job.

Their job is to walk around to find apartments and people seeking to rent houses.

Then they bill you extremely.

Because of this guy's, house rent skyrocket.....

If the government will look into this, it will go a long way.

That will only happen when government start building houses.

Landlords will just give it another name

Government build homes and sell at outrageous prices.

LagosHoms that are not supposed to be resold or rented out to a third party are being resold and rented out at outrageous prices and the government does nothing.

LagosHoms Iponri resell for 40-50M per apartment. Renting starts over 2.5M per annum.

adenigga:

Source: https://leadership.ng/lagos-advocates-rent-reduction-declares-caution-fee-inspection-fee-illegal

Those illiterate agents no send anybody.

This is where this APC istration has Landed us.
Nigerians are not finding it easy.

Wake me up if this ever works, landlords will always dictate the price of house in Lagos except the demand for housing reduces drastically

kolagolf:
Because you build house for the landlord. Wake me up if this ever works

thank you bro.

Caution fee is even very important, not exploratory.

If government wants to reduce house rent. It goes down to the economy. The cost of building materials is very high, why dont they subsidize it from there.

Lagos agent don even introduce new one called, "movement fee". Before they show you any house you must pay that fee.

The thing tie wrapper...

All these ones saying "it's govt that built for them" still haven't learnt that govt do things when they are serious to do them.

You will just see loopholes in and conditions for land ownership and building owners that don't comply will start loosing their land upon which their house is built....lolz..

Govt is not serious though because they ed the race with the public housing projects they are building

Welcome development which has been long overdue

I just pray for we wey nova build our own personal house make baba God provide for us,make we too build our own ooo

Good

Abuja and Ibadan should do the same

fasho01:
Welcome development which has been long overdue

We don hear the talk. Will anything be enforced? What of land grabbing?

Cement ,sand,granite,,welders,bricklayers ,plumbing materials etc are FREE. Lagos should build free house for them

JASONjnr:
Some people have stopped working.... they are into ful time house-agent job.

Their job is to walk around to find apartments and people seeking to rent houses.

Then they bill you extremely.

Because of this guy's, house rent skyrocket.....

If the government will look into this, it will go a long way.

Those are the real problem. Rent two Naira, total package 20 Naira. Even in Ibadan that used to be less expensive to live, they are making life really hard for people. Imagine, you can't get a room self-con (even the shabby ones) for nothing less than 350. All thanks to the useless house agents who collaborated with some heartless landlords to make housing a luxury

Some terrible souls will even be asking 2 years up-front payment. In thiss Economy

k

Okete001:
Good

Abuja and Ibadan should do the same

I don't know of Abuja. You see the Ibadan own, it's getting out of hand. The Agents are getting bolder and bolder.

These Agents are so heartless that they will be the ones telling the landlords how much to charge for rent and then will be collecting damages fee without the landlord knowing, ontop another person's property o!

Very wicked and greedy set of people!

All those fees is very important even though it might not really make sense to people who doesn’t know anything about real Estate,imagine spending all your time taking customers to various houses to check if they will like a property But at the end they say they don’t like it,who will now feed your own family ?
The caution fee is very important infact it has to increase,there is no way a tenant will live in a house without damaging anything and you know Nigerians unlike white,they will do anything just to make sure the landlord suffer after they pack out the house
Anyway listen to this useless government officials and I bet you will never find house to rent.

Validated:
That will only happen when government start building houses.

That is what they fail to understand, 50 billions naira invested annually in real eatable can build 10,000 tasteful room and parlor self contains. In 4 or 8 years of each governor tenure, he would have constructed nothing less than 40,000 or 80,000 units of this modern houses.

Imagine if they invested 100 or 200 billion annually. You can't have a meaningful humans or economic development withiout solving the physiological needs of people.

blackgold2018:
thank you bro.

Caution fee is even very important, not exploratory.

If government wants to reduce house rent. It goes down to the economy. The cost of building materials is very high, why dont they subsidize it from there.

house wey them build with 25 naira since the time of shagari, those Landlord and those bunch of Lazy people that called themselves agent are just too wicked

House wey them build since 1975 , those Landlord and those bunch of those Lazy people that called themselves agent are just too wicked.

I am sure the Lagos State government are just coming to with the fact that, it was the high cost of rent that led people into living under the isale eko bridge.

Is not easy to find a nice and affordable place to stay this days because the agents will just reap u off especially in Abuja and lagos, so is a good move by the government

Hmm

Landlord will ask you to pay 10,000 per month for a single room

Agreement -50,000

Commission -50,000

Damages - 20,000. Very wicked people

This would be a welcomed development if it could go through

Nairalanders take note.