Federal Government Moves to Cap Workers’ Rent at 40 Percent of Income

The Federal Government has announced plans to ensure Nigerian workers do not spend between 40 and 60 percent of their income on rent, describing the burden as a major driver of financial pressure and a potential incentive for corruption.

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Muttaqha Darma, made this known on Wednesday in Abuja while commending the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority for supporting affordable housing access for its workers.

Darma said excessive spending on rent forces workers with families to seek additional sources of income to meet other obligations such as education and welfare, creating conditions that could encourage corrupt practices.

“We are going to ensure that in this country, workers do not spend 40 to 60 percent of their income on rent. We are going to ensure that that is done,” Darma said. “At least if we do that, we are reducing one dimension that leads to corruption.”

The minister said the government’s ultimate objective is to ensure that every unhoused Nigerian has access to decent and affordable housing.

According to him, about 110 million Nigerians are currently unhoused, requiring an estimated 16 million housing units to bridge the deficit.

As part of efforts to address the shortfall, Darma disclosed that the government has identified close to 250,000 abandoned housing units nationwide, including projects dating back to the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

He said the ministry is compiling statistics and visiting states where the properties are located, and is engaging state governors to take over or buy the abandoned projects so they can be renovated and allocated to civil servants.

“We are taking stock of them. We are taking statistics. We are moving to each and every state where we have these abandoned properties,” Darma said. “We go and beg the governors to take over, to buy them off, so that they could have them being placed as serviceable homes and give them to their own civil servants.”

The minister expressed optimism that if state governments take over the 250,000 units within the next few months and allocate them to workers, it would represent significant progress in addressing the country’s housing shortage.