By: Eugene Upah
Let me commend the Cross River State House of Assembly for its courageous move to regulate the exorbitant housing referral challenges faced by residents, a widespread problem compounded by house agents.
The mover of the motion, Hon. Davies Stainless deserves special recognition for this daring step. As important as the motion is, it will require continuous sustained effort and may outlive the term of the current Assembly.
To pull this through serious implementation strategies and corresponding penalties against erring agents MUST BE enacted to deal decisively with this scourge.
The increasing cost of rent has been a mounting issue. As far as 2022, I had expressed concern about the rising house rents in Calabar and Ikom to a senior friend who was a member of the 9th Assembly. Property owners are daily increasing rents by up to 400% without any corresponding renovations or facelifts in most cases.
The exploitation is no longer confined to highbrow areas; lowkey areas and even ghettos are now equally affected.
The current crisis is a consequence of distinct pressures on the two towns. Calabar the state capital is grappling with a severe housing deficit fueled by major population growth over the last 15 years. This is primarily occasioned by intentional rural-urban migration, mass recruitments into tertiary institutions (UNICAL, UCTH, UNICROSS, Arthur Jarvis University) etc, and political engagements that draw people from the LGAs.
Ikom on the other hand has drastically transformed into a dynamic economic hub driven by the booming sales of the new black gold (cocoa). This upturn combined with the influx of the g-boys has dramatically impacted the house renting market.
The desperation for regulatory change is now closer even among property owners. I recently returned to town and noticed “House For Rent” inscriptions pasted directly on a compound whose owner traditionally relied heavily on agents for leases.
When I inquired further, one landlord jokingly referenced me to the state government’s move to “phase out” the practice of house agents, acknowledging that even errant landlords could become victims of the long arm of the law.
Indeed, many house owners have become tired of their linker’’s exploitative activities.
He complained that after paying the rents and outrageous agency fees, their tenants struggle to pay the monthly utility bills because the savings have been used to pay the initial rents.
This has created a situation where students, the average and low-income families can barely afford decent homes of their taste. A fairly comfortable one -bedroom apartment that went for around 400 ~ 500k in satellite areas in 2020 now easily costs about 1 million Naira and above.
I commend the Elvert Ayambem-led Assembly for tackling this important issue and sincerely hope this move is taken to an effective conclusion for the benefit of residents. Next stop Ikom please.
