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Despite the launch of the Renewed Hope Cities programme and new mortgage policies, housing delivery under President Bola Tinubu remains mired in inflation, rental issues, and widening affordability gaps in the last two years, JOSEPHINE OGUNDEJI writes
Two years into President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s tenure, the ambitious promises made on May 29, 2023, to close Nigeria’s vast housing gap have yet to be fully kept, as economic pressures continue to weigh heavily on the sector.
With a current population of approximately 223 million and projections by the World Bank estimating a rise to nearly 263 million by 2030 and over 400 million by mid-century, the country is on a trajectory to become the third most populous nation globally. This explosive growth, while brimming with potential, also demands urgent action on housing, infrastructure, and employment.
At the heart of these challenges lies a chronic housing deficit that has long affected both city dwellers and rural communities. Any government serious about inclusive development must treat this issue as a national priority, not a policy afterthought. In response, the Tinubu administration rolled out the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates project in early 2024, marking a significant step toward addressing the crisis. The programme debuted with the construction of 3,112 housing units in Karsana, Abuja, and has since seen similar developments initiated in other parts of the country.
Currently, there are 14 active construction sites spread across the country, collectively accounting for 10,112 housing units at various stages of development. As part of the Renewed Hope Estates programme, 12 estates are under construction, each featuring 250 homes, across 12 states. These states represent all six geopolitical zones, with two states per zone: Yobe and Gombe in the North-East; Nasarawa and Benue in the North-Central; Sokoto and Katsina in the North-West; Abia and Ebonyi in the South-East; and Delta and Akwa Ibom in the South-South. The initial phase of these estates is expected to yield 3,000 housing units.
In parallel, the government is advancing plans for the larger-scale Renewed Hope Cities, urban-style developments designed to accommodate growing populations. The first of these projects are underway in the Federal Capital Territory, with 3,112 units; Kano and Lagos, each slated for 2,000 units. Additional Renewed Hope City projects are also in the pipeline for Enugu, Borno, Rivers, and Nasarawa states. The ultimate vision is to have at least one Renewed Hope City located within each geopolitical zone as well as the FCT.
However, the current annual housing budget of N50bn remains insufficient to meet these ambitious goals.
Recognising this gap, the Ministry of Housing has launched a vigorous advocacy campaign, successfully securing strong support from the National Assembly. With this backing, the ministry aims to increase the housing budget to at least N500bn starting from the 2025 budget cycle. This tenfold increase would allow the Renewed Hope Estates initiative to expand nationwide, scaling up housing targets to 500 units per state, doubling current goals and moving Nigeria closer to addressing its housing deficit on a national scale.
Mortgage
In a bid to boost homeownership, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria has maintained a single-digit interest regime on loans, increased the mortgage ceiling to N50m, and lowered equity requirements to 10 per cent.
The announcement was made during the FMBN Day Celebration at the 46th Kaduna International Trade Fair, where the bank reaffirmed its commitment to bridging the country’s housing deficit and stimulating economic growth.
Speaking at the event, Shehu Osidi, FMBN’s Managing Director/Chief Executive, represented by Muhammad Abdu, Executive Director of Loans and Mortgage Services, highlighted the Bank’s dedication to deepening housing finance and making mortgage access more inclusive.
He noted that the increase in the NHF mortgage ceiling was driven by growing demand from high-income earners, particularly in the private sector, while still catering for low- and middle-income contributors.
“This development has led to renewed interest in the NHF scheme, and every request is being promptly attended to,” Osidi stated.
He added that FMBN remains the only institution in Nigeria offering affordable mortgage loans at single-digit interest rates between six and seven per cent.
Establishment of hubs
In addition, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, noted that the government was actively working to establish building materials manufacturing hubs.
Dangiwa explained that the initiative to establish building materials manufacturing hubs in six geopolitical zones by the Federal Government was aimed at reducing the cost of building materials and significantly enhancing housing affordability in Nigeria.
Inflation
However, inflation remains the sector’s most severe challenge. The National Bureau of Statistics released its Consumer Price Index report for April 2025, revealing a slight easing in Nigeria’s inflation rate compared to previous months and the same period last year.
The headline inflation rate moderated to 23.71 per cent year-on-year, marking a decline from 24.23 per cent recorded in March 2025 and a sharp reduction from 33.69 per cent in April 2024.
On a month-on-month basis, the inflation rate dropped sharply to 1.86 per cent in April 2025, down from 3.90 per cent in March. This indicates a slower rate of price increases across consumer goods and services during the month.
The NBS report read, “The Consumer Price Index rose to 119.52 in April 2025, reflecting a 2.18-point increase from the preceding month. In April 2025, the headline inflation rate eased to 23.71 per cent relative to the March 2025 headline inflation rate of 24.23 per cent. Looking at the movement, the April 2025 headline inflation rate showed a decrease of 0.52 per cent compared to the March 2025 headline inflation rate.
“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 9.99 per cent lower than the rate recorded in April 2024 (33.69 per cent). This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) decreased in April 2025 compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., April 2024), though with a different base year.”
According to the latest Consumer Price Index report by the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s national headline inflation eased slightly to 23.71 per cent year-on-year in April. However, this national average mask persistently high inflation rates in several states, where the cost of living remains daunting.
A key driver behind this inflationary pressure is the depreciation of the naira, coupled with global commodity price shocks, both of which have severely inflated the cost of construction materials. For instance, the price of a 50kg bag of cement surged from around N3,000 in 2023 to between N10,000 and N10,500 in 2024.
Likewise, essential inputs such as steel, paint, and imported fittings have seen unprecedented price hikes.
These cost surges have drastically inflated construction expenses, now accounting for over 60 per cent of housing prices. Developers, grappling with this economic strain, are increasingly scaling down projects or abandoning them altogether.
With rising inflation, spiking interest rates, and the weakening naira, PricewaterhouseCoopers warns that by 2025, an additional 13 million Nigerians may fall below the poverty line.
Meanwhile, stagnant median household incomes have further eroded purchasing power, locking millions out of formal housing markets.
In an exclusive interview, the Chief Executive Officer of Ace Hi-Tech Construction Co. Ltd., Adewunmi Okupe, said the high naira exchange rate continues to drive up the cost of building materials, most of which are imported.
He said, “This surge in prices has significantly undermined affordability, even for housing units intended to serve low- and middle-income earners.
“Despite the administration’s efforts, a general economic downturn and rising poverty levels across the country have reduced the purchasing power of many households. A large portion of the population now struggles to afford basic needs, let alone consider homeownership, which weakens the uptake of new housing projects.
“Although the Renewed Hope housing initiative is targeted at low-income earners, the actual pricing of many of the units, some costing over N30m, places them out of reach for the very demographic the programme seeks to serve. This disconnect between intent and execution threatens the overall success and credibility of the initiative.”
Data deficit
Another structural problem is the dearth of reliable housing data. The government has no comprehensive audit of existing, abandoned, or informal housing stock, complicating effective policy formulation and resource allocation.
Earlier in the year, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, raised concerns over Nigeria’s worsening housing crisis, noting that more than 70 per cent of the country’s estimated 43 million housing stock fall short of basic habitability standards.
Speaking at the Renewed Hope Housing Public-Private Partnership Summit in Abuja, Dangiwa, he emphasised the urgent need for intervention, not just to address the housing deficit but also to improve the quality of existing homes.
He said, “Nigeria faces a dual challenge: a severe housing shortage and substandard housing conditions. Estimates of the housing deficit range from 17 to 28 million units, but a lack of reliable data has hindered effective planning.
“To bridge this gap, the ministry is collaborating with the National Population Commission to ensure the next national census provides accurate housing data.
“Additionally, the government has launched a National Housing Data Infrastructure initiative, bringing together key stakeholders such as the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, the National Bureau of Statistics, and the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
Titling bottlenecks
Amid ongoing land title revocations in the Federal Capital Territory, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, sounded the alarm over Nigeria’s slow land registration process, revealing that in 140 years, less than 10 per cent of the country’s land has been formally registered.
Speaking at the National Land Registration and Documentation Programme workshop in Abuja, Dangiwa also revealed that the government seeks to increase the formalisation of land transactions from less than 10 per cent to over 50 per cent in the next 10 years.
According to him, since the inception of formal land registration in Nigeria in 1883, the process has been conducted under a non-compulsory sporadic system, which is slow, cumbersome, opaque, and expensive for the average landowner.
“It is no surprise, therefore, that less than 10 per cent of the entire land in our country has been registered in 140 years,” he said.
The minister noted that over 90 per cent of land in Nigeria, which could have generated over $300 bn, remains untitled.
Rental hurdles
According to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Mortgage Bank, the housing shortfall surged by over 300 per cent, from seven million units in 1991 to 28 million units by 2023.
This massive supply gap has created a landlord-driven market where scarcity drives up rent prices and limits tenant bargaining power.
From the tenements in low-income settlements in Lagos State, such as Okokomaiko, Mushin and Ajegunle, to the glassy estates of Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki, landlords are raising house rents, issuing fresh invoices that read like ransom notes.
This means that the rental situation in the city is completely indifferent to location, which is why there has been a crisscross movement showing mid-income tenants moving to areas that are traditionally inhabited by low-income earners who are now pushed farther into the suburbs.
“The market has seen increases in rent for new buildings of up to 100 per cent or more, depending on location. One bedroom is now about N2.5m, while a two-bedroom flat is around N3.5m, up from N1.8 m and N2.3m, respectively, in the Lekki axis,” MKO Balogun, CEO of Global PFI, confirmed.
Rents have also gone up by over 100 per cent in other locations, as a two-bedroom apartment that was previously renting for between N450,000 and N700,000 now goes for N1m – N1.2m, while a three-bedroom flat that was previously rented for between N800,000 and N1m is now rented out for N2.5m – N3m and above, depending on the age of the house. New houses attract N3.5m and above per annum.
Because of its expanding population, which is made worse by fast-paced urbanisation, Lagos has been at the forefront of interventions in the rental market. The state, a couple of years ago, joined forces with the National Assembly to come up with legislation to control excessive rent hikes by landlords across the various states of the federation.
The state’s effort at containing rising house rent dates back to August 2012, when the state government, under former Governor Babatunde Fashola, enacted what it called the Lagos Tenancy Law.
The Lagos State Government has revealed that it was working to introduce monthly and quarterly rent payment options as part of efforts to reduce the financial pressure on residents, especially low-income earners.
The state Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, disclosed this during the 2025 Ministerial Press Briefing to mark Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s second year in office.
He noted that many residents find annual rent payments difficult and that the new system was expected to provide relief.
“We believe that monthly or quarterly payment options will give people more breathing space and reduce the stress associated with sourcing lump sums,” he said.
Policies without impact
The treasurer of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Victoria Island Branch, Babatunji Adegoke, noted that despite ongoing government housing policies, tangible relief remains elusive, as rising rents and a persistent housing deficit continue to strain urban residents.
He said, “The various policies introduced by the government to reduce the housing deficit are quite commendable; however, their impact has yet to be felt by the average person, as rent continues to soar in major cities. Despite the government’s efforts to bridge the housing gap through multiple policy initiatives, there has been no significant improvement in the overall housing deficit. This lack of tangible progress is evident in the steady increase in rental costs, particularly in urban areas, as frequently reported in the media.
“A quick win would be the adequate implementation and, most importantly, proper funding of various housing projects to ensure their timely completion. Across the country, numerous unoccupied and abandoned buildings can be found, and these structures should be immediately repurposed for residential use. To discourage property hoarding, higher taxes should be imposed on unoccupied buildings. Furthermore, the speedy delivery of planned housing units is important to addressing the housing deficit and meeting the needs of the growing population.”
In a similar vein, the Chief Executive Officer of Magnificent Choice Services Project and Engineering Ltd, Jeremiah Akinsele, said while efforts are being made, much more needs to be done to effectively tackle Nigeria’s housing deficit.
He asserted, “A major constraint remains the soaring cost of building materials, which has significantly hampered progress in the construction sector. Factors such as exchange rate volatility, import dependency, and supply chain disruptions have driven up prices for essential materials like cement, steel, paint, and fittings.
“This inflation in construction inputs has made it increasingly difficult for developers to build affordably, often forcing them to scale down or abandon projects altogether. For government-led initiatives, these high costs strain already limited budgets, resulting in delays or the delivery of fewer housing units than originally planned. For private developers, it means passing on costs to end-users, further pricing low- and middle-income earners out of the market.
“Until material costs are stabilised, through local production incentives, policy reforms, or subsidies, any housing policy or programme will struggle to deliver meaningful impact at scale.”
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