…Seek urgent intervention from government.
Tenants across Ekiti state have been facing major increase in asking prices on house rents with many citizens struggling to afford decent apartments in Ado Ekiti, the state capital and other major towns across the state.
While estate agents and officials blame this on rising cost of building materials, the trend has deepened concerns about housing affordability for students, civil servants and low-income workers across the state
Speaking to Housing Tv Africa reporter, Abiodun Osubu; one of the state civil servants, Mr Babalola Samuel voiced his complaints about how his landlord increased his rent by over 80% in the space of one year while his income from the state government remained the same
“Last year I was paying N100,000 for a two-bedroom; the landlord now wants N180,000 after just one year while my salary from the state government is still N70,000 minimum wage. I have 3 children and they will be paying school fees very soon. How do i cope with rent and sending my kids to school? “
A 300 level undergraduate in Ekiti state university (EKSU), Abegunde Kolade from the department of Psychology also claimed that the cost for accommodation outside the campus is unbearably high which has led to students dropping out from the university
“We are three sharing the rent but even at that, it is very difficult for a student who is funding himself to school to afford such humongous amount. Some of my classmates have moved back home.” He lamented.
Landlords and property managers interviewed at the course of this report cited the cost of building materials such as cements, iron and roofing sheets adding that the substantial maintenance of the property overtime have led to the increase in rental fees from single rooms to self-contained flats and larger family homes
“Everything cost more — cement, paints, transportation. Investors who build houses must recoup their money, so they raise rents,” an estate agent in Ado-Ekiti told our reporter.
Residents have therefore called on the state government and relevant authorities to come to the aid of the average citizen and low-income workers so they can live comfortably, stating that a substantial increment in the minimum wage for civil servants will go a long way in helping them settle debts and pay rents.
Efforts to get government officials react to this complaints proved abortive as of the time of filing this report.
