Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Gabriel Osa
Kaduna State is facing a deepening housing crisis as surging rent prices push thousands of low-income families to the brink, creating a growing humanitarian and economic concern across urban and peri-urban communities. What began as gradual increases over the past few years has escalated into a full-blown affordability emergency, with tenants describing 2024–2025 as the most difficult period in recent memory.
In major residential hubs such as Kaduna North, Barnawa, Narayi, Rigasa, Sabon Tasha, Kawo, and Television, tenants say landlords have introduced unprecedented rent hikes — in many cases doubling or tripling annual payments — citing inflation, rising construction costs, and the rapidly increasing demand for limited housing units. For many households whose incomes have remained stagnant amid economic hardship, the consequences have been severe.
Residents interviewed across the state lament that the current situation has forced families to make agonising choices: move into smaller, overcrowded rooms, relocate to distant outskirts with little infrastructure, take on multiple jobs merely to afford rent, or, in extreme cases, pull children out of school as resources become stretched beyond limits.
A mother of four in Narayi, who recently moved from a two-bedroom to a single room, described the ordeal as “a daily battle for dignity,” explaining that she now shares a cramped space with her children after being unable to meet her landlord’s new rent demand. Similar stories are emerging across the state, painting a grim picture of a deepening urban poverty cycle.
Housing analysts attribute the crisis to a combination of structural issues: a massive housing deficit, high construction costs driven by inflation, scarcity of affordable units, and the absence of rent regulation policies that could shield vulnerable tenants from arbitrary increases. Estate professionals warn that unless the issue is addressed through targeted government intervention, Kaduna’s housing market may become entirely inaccessible to lower-income earners.
Compounding the problem is the cost of living crisis nationwide, with food prices, transportation costs, and electricity tariffs rising simultaneously. This convergence means that families already stretched thin now face the possibility of homelessness or disruptive relocations that affect livelihoods, school attendance, and community stability.
Civil society groups and housing rights advocates are calling on the Kaduna State Government to intervene urgently by expanding affordable housing programmes, regulating unfair tenancy practices, and incentivising developers to build low-cost units. They argue that without immediate action, the crisis will continue to widen social inequality and deepen the vulnerability of already marginalised populations.
For now, many Kaduna residents continue to brace themselves against an unforgiving rental market — one that has steadily eroded their financial security and pushed survival to the forefront of daily life. The rent crisis, they say, is no longer just an economic problem but a human one, cutting to the heart of dignity, stability, and the right to adequate shelter.
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