PH Residents Lament High Cost of Accommodation

Some residents of Port
Harcourt have lamented over the high and continuous increase in house rents, saying that the high cost of accommodation in the ‘Garden City’ had deepened poverty in the state.
They have said that if the ugly situation was not urgently addressed, some of them might be forced to relocate from the city.
The residents, who spoke at various interactions with The Tide were of the opinion that the high cost of rent is greatly reducing the standard of living of many families, and that urgent attention needs to be given by the government.
A civil servant in Port Harcourt Mrs Precious Eke, said that rent in Port Harcourt and environs was fast getting out of reach of civil servants,  stressing that it was now difficult for an average civil servant to live in a good apartment.
She called on government to evolve policies that would control house rents and other issues associated with housing.
“Government should also have a mutual understanding with landlords to enable them collect one year rent for new tenants instead of the two-year rent that is attainable here, she said.
For Joseph Iwedi, a trader in Port Harcourt, the high cost of rent is linked to the failure of government , particularly in the state to regulate the activities of estate agents who deliberately jack up the prices of rented accommodation.
“You will be surprised to know that most landlords or property owners prefer to deal with tenants through agents or touts instead of dealing with them directly .
“Some agents when they rent you a house, they have to collect administrative charges from the tenants in addition to receiving a certain percentage of the total rent.
“All these if put together will lead to high cost of accommodation, and will impoverish low income earners at the end of it,” Joseph said.
The Tides Investigation has shown that rent for one-room self contain apartment costs between N150,000 and 200,000 per annum, while a one bed-room flat costs between N200,000 and N350,000 per annum, depending on the location in the oil city.
Similarly, a two-bedroom flat goes between N300,000 and N650,000 per annum, while a three-bedroom flat and four bedroom bungalow cost between N800,000 and N1.3 million per annum, respectively.

Corlins Walter