House rents skyrocket in Umuahia as landlords blame dollar rise, subsidy removal

Tenants living in urban and sub-urban parts of Umuahia, Abia State capital have expressed worry over the exponential rise in house rent in the city.
The sharp increase, as confirmed by TVN, showed that it now costs between N600,000 and N800,000 to rent a two-bedroom apartment in most parts of the town per annum, as compared to the previous rates of N350,000 and N500,000 in 2023.
Also, it now requires between N800,000 and N1.3 million to get a 3-bedroom for a year when compared to the 2023 rates of N500,000 and N700,000.
One-bedroom apartments, which are usually scarce, are now being rented at between N250,000 and N450,000 depending on the site and facilities in them.
Also, single rooms in public houses popularly known as” Face-Me-I-Face You” are no longer available as obtained in the past, because landlords are “upgrading” to new structural and pricing patterns.
This is in addition to the agents’ fees to be paid to the house agents, as well as landlords’ agreement fees to be paid by the tenant.
Apart from this, most landlords demand upfront payment of Caution Fees, to cover any property damage by the tenant in his period of tenancy.
A visit to parts of the city like Umuobia, Agbama, Amakama Lodu Ndume estates, Amuzukwu suburban and some other parts of Umuahia, showed that new houses are sprouting up with high rents attached to them.
The trend is not restricted to residential buildings alone, as owners of shops and undeveloped lands have also increased their fees astronomically.
Surprisingly, the hike has not affected demands, as most of the flats in the new houses are usually snapped up and occupied, immediately after completion, especially by the youth population.
Some Umuahia residents who spoke to TVN said the present economic condition in the country may not allow them to rent flats of their choice or even renew the rent of houses they are currently occupying.
The situation has seen some tenants relocating to the outskirts of the town and villages.
One of such tenants, Mr Jamison Uwakwe who spoke to TVN, said he relocated his wife and four children to a village in Ubakala, Umuahia South LGA after his landlord increased his house rent beyond his financial weight.
While some of the affected tenants have claimed that “internet boys” are always ready to pay whatever landlords demand, others are attributing the sharp rise to the greediness of landlords and house agents.
But defending themselves, some landlords in Umuahia who spoke to our correspondent, said the high cost of building materials in the market, occasioned by fuel subsidy removal and forex crises is responsible for the high cost of flats and shops.
A landlord, Damian Sunday and another one who spoke under anonymity denied being greedy as being alleged by tenants.
“There will only be stability in the property sub-sector when stability is achieved in the economy, especially in the petroleum industry and Naira -Dollar crises.
Another landlord, Ogbo Agwu, said many traders and tenants whose properties were demolished in Lagos and Abuja have relocated to Umuahia, thereby upping demands for houses.
House rents skyrocket in Umuahia as landlords blame dollar rise, subsidy removal