By Elizabeth Adegbesan

Many landlords in Nigeria, particularly in Lagos state, are making life a living hell for tennants. These days they have abandoned the usual practice of renting out a whole apartment like flats to a single individual. The new method they devised is that of renting out a 3-bedroom apartment, for instance, to three different individuals who will share the rooms and live together as direct tenants to the landlord. This is now making it difficult for some people who do not have jobs or capability of renting their own apartments to squat with friends and families.  It is also denying families the opportunity of renting apartments to stay together because landlords are said to make more money renting to different tenants than to a family bloc. 

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Economy & Lifestyle discovered that this dramatic shift  is upending Nigeria’s  housing market.

Driven by skyrocketing inflation, soaring building material costs, and a punishing cost-of-living crisis, this dual-occupancy rental model is transforming how young professionals and students  survive in cities  and off campus  apartments.

The practice, locally referred to as “per-person leasing” or structured “co-tenancy,” means two people sharing a standard two-bedroom flat or a room no longer pool funds to pay one unified lease. 

Instead, each occupant must sign an independent agreement with the landlord to pay a fixed, individual rate for their specific room and occupancy. 

Landlords factor inflation into every bedroom

Further investigation revealed that under this fragmented leasing structure, property owners are aggressively multiplying their revenue streams from a single structural asset to match macroeconomic pressures.

Chief Olanrewaju Gbadamosi, a property developer who manages multiple residents, said: “We are not being malicious; we are responding to a brutal economy.

 “The price of cement, finishing materials, and basic estate maintenance has surged by over 150 percent in recent years.

” If I rent a two-bedroom flat to a single family for N1.5 million, I lose out. If I lease it out to two corporate working professionals at N1.4 million each, the property finally yields a sustainable return that covers diesel generator costs and property taxes.”

“Gbadamosi argues that the strategy shields landlords from absolute tenant delinquency.

“If one tenant defaults or abruptly relocates, the remaining roommate continues paying their separate legal share, saving the landlord from a total loss of monthly or annual cash flow.”

Tenants face exploding accommodation bills

For young, middle-class Nigerians struggling with static salaries and an eroding naira and students managing the tremendous expenses burden in school , the reality of per-person pricing is financially suffocating.

Praise Solomon, a student said:”It is pure extortion disguised as innovation. 

“My sister and I found a decent one-bedroom apartment that was advertised for N500,000 per annum. 

“But when we approached the caretaker, he told us the landlord’s new policy requires N400,000 from each of us individually. 

“That is N800,000 total for the exact same space. 

“Our combined feeding expenses can barely support it.

“We had to tell the man we were siblings and added N50,000 to the N500,000.”

Joan Aleakhue, an Intern nurse, pointed out that the arrangement strips away the traditional sanctity of a Nigerian home. “Because our leases are legally separate, my flatmate and I are treated as isolated commercial entities.

“The caretaker explicitly warned us that if my friend packs out, the landlord retains the absolute right to lease that bedroom to a total stranger without my input or permission.

“What we are seeing in various states especially in student environments and cities  is the absolute commodification of floor space”, warns Ambrose Azeez, a housing rights advocate.

He added:”By transforming a standard apartment into multiple standalone income points, landlords are artificially driving up real estate inflation. 

“It forces families into cramped spaces and creates a hostile environment for young citizens trying to build their careers.”

As urban density surges across Nigeria’s major cities, the ongoing tug-of-war between desperate tenants and inflation-weary landlords continues to reshape the legal and social definition of modern Nigerian tenancy.

families into cramped spaces and creates a hostile environment for young citizens trying to build their careers.”“As urban density surges across Nigeria’s major cities, the ongoing tug-of-war between desperate tenants and inflation-weary landlords continues to reshape the legal and social definition of modern Nigerian tenancy.