The increasing cost of renting an apartment in Nigeria’s federal capital city Abuja appears to be a prevailing problem which successive governments have been unable to solve.
While some residents are asking the government to build low cost houses for low income earners, others want the government to regulate tenancy rates.
Abuja is arguably one of the fastest growing cities in Africa with an estimated six million people.
It costs between one and 1.8 million Naira to rent a one bedroom apartment in the city centre and the difference is not much in the suburbs where it costs between 500,000 and 1.5 million Naira to get a decent two-bedroom apartment in some of the satellite towns.
This means that a Level-8 officer in the federal civil service who earns between 50,000 and 60,000 Naira would have to save his entire salary for two years to pay for a two-bedroom apartment in Abuja.
This is why many residents have called on the government to help reduce the tenancy rate.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the the FCT, Dino Melaye, told Channels TV that the lawmakers are considering a bill to moderate tenancy rates in Abuja.
“We are putting together a rent edict for Abuja and we are doing this by law. There is a bill already that has been submitted to the Committee on Rules and Business for debate and upward passage.
“This bill is going to take care of rent edict in Abuja. Its going to put into consideration all sizes and levels of buildings and give a recommendation by law.”
