Nigerians may start paying property rent on a monthly basis going by the latest resolution between the federal and state governments on the matter. The clamour for the monthly payment of rent by clients in the housing sector received attention at the recently concluded sixth meeting of the National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development.
The council is the highest gathering of senior officials from the federal and state governments, as well as stakeholders and experts in the built industry.
At the meeting of permanent secretaries during the council, senior government officials from the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory, as well as those from the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing (Works/Housing sector) agreed to enact a law that would allow monthly rental payments across the country.
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, also charged property developers to reduce their rents and the value of properties in consideration of the economic hardship across the country.
He advised them to work out ways of tackling the problem of high house rents and advance payments, particularly in major cities across the country.
They also upheld that the rent-to-own scheme of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, if included in the housing finance policy, would address the problem of poor access to housing finance.
They further recommended that all tiers of government should improve on intervention strategies to provide affordable housing, as well as provide an enabling environment for active participation of the private sector in housing delivery.