In the heart of Ondo State Capital, Akure, a quiet crisis is brewing, one of which affects students, workers, low income earners, and families alike.
It’s not about power outages or bad roads anymore, which normally affects the people in their daily livelihoods, but the quest for an average citizen or resident of the town, who wants to secure an affordable home for comfort, to be at peace.
It’s about something even more personal, a quest for an affordable and sustainable shelter, which has been shattered overtime.
Everyday, hundreds of rent seekers and existing occupiers of houses across the city are being exploited by unregistered, untaxed, and unregulated house agents who have now turned house hunting into a frustrating and expensive ordeal.
What should be the basic right, of a prospective tenant?
In such a quagmire, that has now become a luxury for many, for those who can’t afford the supposed realities they bring on board at every point?
The Rise of ‘Consultation’ and ‘Inspection’ Charges, speaks volumes for the prospective seekers and would be tenants, on a daily basis.
In Akure today, you cannot even begin to search for a house without first passing through these house agents.
These agents now charge between ₦3,000 and ₦10,000 just to show you houses, often per inspection.
That means, if you see three different apartments from three different agents, you could be spending up to ₦30,000 just in “consultation” fees with no guarantee of securing a house of your choice.
Worse still, in many cases, these agents parade substandard apartments as their prime listed abodes for the unsuspecting people and hoping that the frustration or desperation of the seeker will force them to settle for whatever they offer.
When the property is rejected, the agent walks away with the undeserved fees, with no obligation to offer alternatives or refunds.
This practice has now become widespread, and almost normalized, making it nearly impossible for struggling residents to find housing without going broke in the process.
The majority of these agents operate without licenses, without professional training, and without paying a dime in taxes. They are not registered with any real estate body or government agency, yet they serve as intermediaries for landlords and tenants, handling millions of naira in rent transactions each month.
Their activities are not only exploitative but also illegal, and they are contributing significantly to the artificial inflation of rent across the city.
In many areas of Akure like Oba-Ile, Ijapo , Alagbaka, Okutaelerinla and Fanibi, agents are now setting the tone for rent prices, often pushing rates higher just so they can get fatter commissions. These are all caused by a system that prioritizes profit over people.
It is time for the Ondo State Government, Akure South and North LGAs, and relevant stakeholders in the housing sector to take action, they should Create a Real Estate Regulatory Body in the state and do mandatory registration and licensing of all house agents, they should also apply strict penalties for extortion and fraudulent practices., a centralized digital housing portal for verified listings should be available as well.
In a city as promising as Akure, the quest for shelter should not feel like a battlefield. It is time to stop the unchecked exploitation of the vulnerable.
House agents should play a supportive role, not act as gatekeepers to misery.
