FCTA seeks end to yearly rent, mulls legislation to crash accommodation cost

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA)  says there should be an end to advance rent payment in which prospective tenants are asked to pay their rent in two to three years advance, wondering why in developed countries such as United Kingdom and United states tenants pay rents on a monthly basis while here in Nigeria the reverse is the case.

Muhammadu Bello, FCT Minister, who disclosed this in Abuja, also revealed that the administration was deeply concerned with the high cost of accommodation in the territory and was working on measures that would guarantee access to decent accommodation by the masses and the less privileged.

“Why should we pay rent annually in Nigeria; why should we pay two, three years in advance. All the people you see here, including the Minister, get their rent allowance on a monthly basis; only very few organisations in Nigeria pay rent allowance annually in bulk. Why can’t we start asking our tenants to pay their rents monthly even if they are in Asokoro, Maitama or wherever?” Bello queried.

The minister, who stated this during his investiture as the Patron of Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), tasked the professional body on finding a viable solution to address the high cost of accommodation in Abuja, disclosing his administration’s plans to initiate a legislation that would force down cost of accommodation in the federal capital territory.

 He emphasised the need for NIESV to reduce the professional fee charged by its members, noting that although the concept of estate development was a very laudable one, the industry was facing many challenges in the territory.

Bello emphasized that, as a professional body that is primarily concerned with provision of houses, the NIESV has a responsibility to ensure that accommodation does not get out of the reach of the common man.

“As a body, you must take deliberate steps to bring down the cost of accommodation through reduction of your charges and commissions. I know that you charge between 10-15 percent but I think that rate needs to come down or else, at some point in the future, legislation will force you to bring it down”.

He hinted that, as part of efforts to bring down house rents in Abuja, the FCTA has put machinery in motion to ensure that all plots of land not developed within a stipulated period would be revoked and re-allocated to willing developers, adding that the number of uncompleted buildings and empty estate houses in the city was alarming and a committee would soon be set up to look into the issue.

Bello, who thanked the NIESV for his investiture as its Patron, promised to look into all the issues raised by the president and chairman of the FCT chapter on the need to enhance the existing working relationship between the FCT administration and NIESV.

The FCT chapter chairman, Emmanuel Alao, had earlier urged the minister to constitute the Land Use Allocation committee in line with the provisions of the Land Use Act in order to check abuses in the land allocation process, appealing to the minister to ensure that, at least, two estate surveyors were included in the committee as the NIESV remained a willing partner in moving FCT forward.

KEHINDE AKINTOLA