Adeyanju Urges Tinubu to Declare Emergency Over Nigeria Housing Crisis

(Deji Adeyanju. Photo by Vanguard News)

Human rights attorney Deji Adeyanju sent an open letter on Monday urging President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in the housing industry due to exorbitant and intolerable rentals that are crushing Nigerians.

Adeyanju, who signed the letter titled “Declaration of a State of Emergency on the Housing and Rental Crisis in Nigeria: A Demand for Immediate Constitutional Intervention, Inclusive Urban Renewal” on July 27, 2026, bemoaned the detrimental effects that high landlord rents are having on Nigerians’ quality of life.

Human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju has said Nigeria’s current housing governance framework runs contrary to the country’s constitution, citing Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, which stipulates that the welfare and security of the people should be the primary purpose of government.

He also referenced provisions under Section 16(1)(b) and Section 16(2)(d) of the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, which he said obligate the Nigerian state to ensure adequate shelter for all citizens and prevent the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few.

According to him, when shelter becomes a tool for extortion, government fails in that core responsibility.

He further cited Article 11(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which recognises housing as part of the right to an adequate standard of living, noting that the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing has consistently argued that housing should be treated as a social good rather than a speculative investment.

Speaking on the realities in Abuja and Lagos, Adeyanju described the rental market in both cities as having descended into near-lawlessness, with middle-income earners, civil servants, young professionals and vulnerable families frequently exploited by landlords, speculators and unregulated agents.

He said tenants are often compelled to pay two to three years’ rent upfront, in addition to arbitrary charges such as agency fees exceeding 10 to 20 per cent for basic introductions to properties, and so-called legal fees of up to 15 per cent for generic template documents that no licensed lawyer had actually prepared.

He also criticised unregulated service charges that often surpass the rent itself without proper accounting, as well as arbitrary caution fees that are rarely refunded at the end of tenancies, describing them as effectively an illegal surcharge.

Adeyanju stressed that genuine urban renewal cannot happen without a master plan that accounts for ordinary citizens artisans, civil servants, remote workers and even the unemployed who sustain the urban economy.

He warned that when renewal projects translate into gentrification, mass evictions and the pricing-out of the essential workforce, they cease to represent development and instead amount to social harm.

He argued that any credible housing policy must guarantee that citizens can live and work with dignity close to their places of livelihood, warning that failure to do so traps people in poverty, fuels corruption and pushes families into informal, substandard settlements.

Citing global examples of rent regulation, he referenced Ghana’s Rent Act (Act 220), which imposes strict statutory limits on advance rent payments, backed by an active enforcement body the Rent Control Department.

He then called on the President, by virtue of constitutional powers, to take a series of decisive actions, including formally declaring a state of emergency in the housing and tenancy sector, and setting up a Presidential Taskforce led by the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, with a 90-day mandate to draft a national housing and tenancy policy and, if necessary, present an executive bill on tenancy and fair rent standards to the National Assembly.

He also called for a mandate requiring all urban renewal and federal housing projects to reserve zoning quotas for low- and middle-income housing, alongside statutory caps on rental charges including capping combined agency and legal fees at a maximum of 7.5 per cent of annual rent.

Capping service charges at 5 per cent, restricting advance rent to a maximum of one year while gradually shifting toward monthly payment models, and banning caution fees outright unless backed by audited proof of damage.

He further called for strict enforcement mechanisms, including a digital tenant reporting platform supported by an ombudsman, along with civil fines, criminal sanctions and professional disqualification for violators.

He also urged an expansion of low-cost public housing through social investment, tax credits and public-private partnerships targeted specifically at low- and middle-income earners, insisting that “affordable housing” must genuinely reflect the real minimum wage and economic conditions of ordinary Nigerians.

In conclusion, Adeyanju said history would judge the administration not just by macroeconomic indicators but by how it safeguarded human dignity during a period of economic transition.

Describing secure shelter as a constitutional obligation and fundamental human right, and appealed for urgent relief for citizens grappling with severe rental pressure in Abuja, Lagos and other urban centres across the country.