Letting Agents’ High-Handedness: Is Ibadan Gradually Becoming Inhabitable?
Shelter is a basic human need crucial for survival as humans go about their daily activities.
Even though shelter is a necessity, it is however far becoming a very difficult thing to come by or afford in many places including one of Nigeria’s ancient cities, Ibadan.
As we speak, the high-handedness of letting agents in the city is not only pushing up the cost of accommodation but also pushing residents against the wall.
While residents of Ibadan continue to hope and deal with the issues at hand, the main questions begging for answers are who are these letting agents? Is their activity regulated by government? Is Ibadan known for high cost of accommodation? What are the plights residents face while trying to get accommodation?
Ibadan, the Oyo state capital is the one of the largest cities in Africa, the city hosts many corporates organizations, institutions and international agencies.
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The economic activities within the city have led to an influx of Nigerians, especially youths and job seekers from other states, into the pace setter state, due to an assumption that the city holds many economic opportunities.
However, these migrants are quickly confronted with the biggest challenge of living in Ibadan: housing.
Many of them find it difficult to get accommodation due to the high cost of rent in the city and those who get, had to pay heavily.
Observations by Hifox News editor shows that a room accommodation in some areas in Ibadan now go for as high as 130,000 total package, a breakdown of 86,000 as rent and the rest for some unspecified fee believed to be agency fee while a room self con goes for as high as 400 thousand naira total package and a three bed room flat for as high as 700,000 total package.
Some new residents who spoke with including a serving corp member who identifies as Kemi and one Engineer who just relocated to Ibadan, Boluwaji lamented how their migration to Ibadan had become a nightmare due to the high cost of accommodation.
Also, some longtime residents including Hon. Ajayi Tosmond who has lived in Ibadan for over 40 years attributed the high cost of accommodation to letting agents whom he said now charge more than the actual rent as agency fee.
Meanwhile, when reached out to corroborate Tosmond’s position, some letting agents declined comments.
Some public affairs analyst who provided insights on the issue attributed the problem to the growing population in Ibadan which has caused minimal supply for a huge demand for accommodation.
They however called for professional and governmental regulations as well as check on the activities of letting agents before the issue gets out of hand
While the regulations or checks would take time, it is important for government to step in and arrest the rent fee glut before Ibadan, a city known for opportunities and economy activities becomes a place torn between housing deficits.
