Human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju has called on President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in Nigeria’s housing sector, warning that soaring rents, excessive charges and weak regulation are pushing millions of citizens deeper into hardship.
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In an open letter dated July 27, 2026, titled, “Declaration of a State of Emergency on the Housing and Rental Crisis in Nigeria: A Demand for Immediate Constitutional Intervention, Inclusive Urban Renewal,” Adeyanju said the rising cost of accommodation, particularly in Abuja, Lagos and other urban centres, had become unbearable for middle-income earners, civil servants, young professionals and vulnerable families.
He argued that the state of housing governance in Nigeria contradicted Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, which provides that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.
Adeyanju also cited Sections 16(1)(b) and 16(2)(d) of the Constitution, which require the state to direct its policies towards providing suitable and adequate shelter for citizens and preventing the concentration of wealth and economic resources in the hands of a few individuals or groups.
According to him, the government abandons its constitutional responsibility when shelter becomes an instrument of exploitation and extortion.
He further relied on Article 11(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to which Nigeria is a party, noting that adequate housing is recognised as part of the right to an adequate standard of living.
Adeyanju said housing should be treated as a social good rather than a speculative financial asset, referring to the position repeatedly expressed by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing.
The lawyer described the rental markets in Abuja and Lagos as an “absolute wild west,” alleging that tenants were being subjected to excessive advance rent demands, arbitrary agency and legal fees, unregulated service charges and caution fees that were rarely refunded.
He said some landlords and agents demanded two or three years’ rent in advance, despite the financial pressure such payments placed on workers and families.
Adeyanju alleged that agency fees frequently ranged from 10 to 20 per cent of annual rent merely for introducing prospective tenants to properties.
He also criticised what he described as the improper collection of legal fees of up to 15 per cent for generic tenancy documents that were allegedly prepared without the involvement of a qualified lawyer.
According to him, some agents downloaded template tenancy agreements and still charged tenants substantial legal fees for professional services that were never performed.
He also raised concerns over service charges that sometimes exceeded the rent itself without transparent accounting or independent auditing.
Adeyanju said caution fees had similarly become arbitrary surcharges, as many landlords allegedly failed to refund the money at the end of tenancies even where no damage had been established.
The lawyer warned that Nigeria could not achieve genuine urban development or renewal without a comprehensive plan that accommodated the ordinary people who sustain the country’s cities.
He listed artisans, civil servants, remote workers, informal-sector operators, unemployed jobseekers and other low- and middle-income residents as groups that must be considered in housing and urban renewal policies.
According to him, these groups build infrastructure, operate government institutions, support the informal economy and sustain urban productivity.
Adeyanju argued that urban renewal becomes “social violence” when it results in gentrification, mass evictions and the displacement of essential workers from areas close to their sources of livelihood.
He maintained that any credible urban policy must guarantee that ordinary citizens can live and work in dignity within reasonable distances of their workplaces.
The lawyer warned that failure to reform the existing system would trap more Nigerians in poverty, encourage corruption among workers struggling to meet housing costs and force families into substandard informal settlements.
Adeyanju referred to Ghana’s Rent Act, Act 220, as an example of a regional framework that places statutory restrictions on advance rent collection and supports enforcement through institutions such as the Rent Control Department.
He urged Tinubu to invoke the constitutional powers of his office and formally declare a state of emergency on housing and urban tenancy to address Nigeria’s housing deficit and what he described as a predatory rental market.
Adeyanju also proposed the establishment of a special presidential task force or executive committee on rental reform, to be headed by the Minister of Housing and Urban Development.
He said the committee should be given a strict 90-day mandate to prepare a comprehensive National Housing and Tenancy Policy and, where necessary, submit an executive bill on tenancy and fair rent standards to the National Assembly.
The lawyer further called for an inclusive urban planning mandate requiring all federal housing schemes and urban renewal projects to reserve compulsory quotas for low- and middle-income accommodation.
He said the policy should protect artisans, civil servants, remote workers and jobseekers from being displaced into what he described as economic homelessness through commercial gentrification.
Adeyanju recommended that the total amount charged as agency and legal fees be legally capped at 7.5 per cent of annual rent.
He said any legal fee should be supported by proof that the service was performed by a legal practitioner enrolled at the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
He also proposed that service charges be itemised, transparent and subject to audit, with a maximum limit of five per cent of the annual rent.
The lawyer asked the government to prohibit landlords and agents from demanding more than one year’s rent in advance, while gradually transitioning the country towards monthly rent payment arrangements.
He further called for the prohibition and criminalisation of unrecoverable caution fees.
Under his proposal, any landlord who refuses to refund a deposit without audited evidence of physical damage to the property should be treated as having committed an offence.
Adeyanju said rental reforms would be ineffective without strong enforcement, severe penalties and accessible reporting mechanisms.
He therefore urged the government to establish a digital tenant-reporting platform, supported by an ombudsman and a rapid-response desk, through which tenants could report non-compliant landlords, estate agents and property owners.
He also called for civil fines, criminal sanctions and professional disqualification for landlords and agents found to have violated tenancy regulations.
Adeyanju urged the Federal Government to expand investment in low-cost public housing through social housing programmes, tax incentives and public-private partnerships.
He said such schemes must focus specifically on low- and middle-income earners and ensure that housing described as affordable genuinely reflects Nigeria’s minimum wage and the financial realities of ordinary citizens.
Concluding the letter, Adeyanju said Tinubu’s administration would ultimately be judged not only by its macroeconomic indicators but also by how it protected human dignity during a period of severe economic hardship.
“Securing shelter for our citizens is not an act of charity; it is a constitutional command and a fundamental human right,” he said.
He added that Nigerians facing severe rental pressure in Abuja, Lagos and other cities were looking to the President for immediate and decisive relief.
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