Tenants in Osogbo, Osun, have decried what they described as exploitative hikes by landlords and called for urgent government intervention.
A cross-section of the tenants, who spoke with journalists on Monday in Osogbo, said landlords were making life unbearable for them due to hikes in rent.
They called on the state government to urgently implement a law guiding house rent.
A tenant, Emmanuel Ayanda, who resided in Osogbo, said his landlord recently increased his house rent from N180,000 to N400,00 for a three-bedroom flat, not minding his source of income.
“The building is very old, without tiles and with old wooden doors, but since I cannot afford the said amount, I have to pack out,” he said.
Mr Ayanda, however, appealed to the state government to rescue tenants by setting up a taskforce to control rent in the state.
Another resident, Feyisayo Akomolafe, who lives in Ogoluwa, Osogbo, said her rent was increased from N450,000 to N600,000 per year for a two-bedroom apartment.
According to Ms Akomolafe, the way landlords increase rent without any form of control may result in homelessness if nothing is done urgently.
“I wonder where the landlords expect civil servants, who are still struggling for survival, to get money to pay for this exorbitant house rent”, she said.
Also, Jeremiah Obeh, who resides in Ofatedo, Osogbo, said he rented a three-bedroom apartment for N900,000 per annum, and his landlord recently added N200,000 to the rent to make N1.1 million per annum.
He appealed to the state government to make a law regulating the activities of the landlords and their agents.
Also residing in Ofatedo, Glory Adeola said a one-room self-contained apartment she rented was recently increased from N250,000 to N320,000.
Ms Adeola lamented the “arbitrary increase by landlords without any tangible reasons”.
However, some landlords who spoke with journalists gave reasons
for the exorbitant hike.
Peter Osinubi, a landlord, said the increase in house rents resulted from the current economic situation.
“I feel the government is in the best position to do something about it,” he said.
Another landlord, Oladele Bode, said the tenants could direct their complaints to the government, which is responsible for the rising costs of items.
Abiodun Olowoporoku, the chairman of the Association of Real Estate Managers in Osun, however, attributed the hike in rent rates to the insatiable appetite of some greedy landlords.
Mr Olowoporokun said several efforts had been made to prevail on landlords to stop the unnecessary, exorbitant hike, but to no avail.
“Once an estate agent tries to convince a landlord not to put too much on the rent, they will abandon such an agent and go for another one that can do their bidding,” he said.
Mr Olowoporokun said landlords’ reasons for the exorbitant hike was current inflation, adding that the state government is working on a bill to regularise house rent.
“Once the bill is out, it will help to checkmate the activities of the greedy landlords,” he said.
Similarly, Kofoworola Adewunmi, majority leader, state House of Assembly, said the “Osun State Estate Agency Regulatory Authority Bill 2024” had already been passed.
“The bill is seeking to control the abnormal charges by the agents and the landlords. Once the bill is signed into law, it will regulate the charges and percentage taken by the house agents,” he said.
