Housing Deficit: Lagos targets 14,000 home units by Q1 2027

…State Delivers 10,623 Housing Units in Seven Years

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

The Lagos State Government has announced plans to deliver over 14,000 housing units by the first quarter of 2027 as part of efforts to reduce the housing deficit in the state.

The government also disclosed that it had delivered 10,623 home units in the last seven years under the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

State Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, made the disclosure on Tuesday during a ministerial press briefing commemorating the third year of Governor Sanwo-Olu and Deputy Governor Dr Obafemi Hamzat’s second term in office, held at Alausa, Ikeja.

Akinderu-Fatai said the administration had adopted multiple strategies to address the challenge of affordable housing, including direct budgetary allocations for low-income housing projects and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) with private developers.

“Under Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State has rolled out several commendable initiatives designed to solve the affordable housing problem,” he said.

According to him, the government commissioned the Akinsanya Sunny Ajose Estate Phase One in October 2025, comprising 420 units of one, two and three-bedroom apartments.

He added that another 233 housing units within the Abraham Adesanya Housing Estate, developed in partnership with Urban Shelter, were commissioned in November 2025.

“These two developments bring the total number of housing estates completed under the Sanwo-Olu administration across Lagos’ five divisions to 23 since 2019,” he stated.

The commissioner explained that 4,414 housing units were delivered through direct government funding, while PPP arrangements contributed an additional 6,209 homes.

“Therefore, this administration has increased the state housing stock with a total of 10,623 home units in the last seven years,” he said.

Akinderu-Fatai disclosed that five major housing projects are currently ongoing under budgetary allocation, including the Egan-Igando Mixed Housing Scheme, LagosHOMS Sangotedo Phase Two in Eti-Osa East LCDA, and the Epe Housing Scheme at Itamarun.

He said the projects are expected to be completed before the end of the first quarter of 2027.

“At completion, the administration of Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu would have delivered a total of 14,022 home units to Lagosians,” he added.

The commissioner noted that the global housing crisis had worsened significantly, citing a UN-Habitat report which estimated that about 3.4 billion people worldwide lack access to safe and adequate housing.

He said the situation was also reflected in Nigeria, where the National Housing Data Technical Committee recently put the country’s housing deficit at 14.925 million units.

“Even more alarming is the finding that an additional 15.2 million existing homes are classified as structurally inadequate or substandard,” he said.

Akinderu-Fatai said the Federal Government had responded with several initiatives, including the Ministry of Finance Incorporated Real Estate Investment Fund (MREIF), launched in 2025 to support affordable mortgage financing.

According to him, the fund provides single-digit mortgage loans at 9.75 per cent interest rate with repayment periods of up to 20 years.

On housing affordability, the commissioner said the Lagos State Mortgage Board had supported more than 20,000 residents through mortgage and rent-to-own schemes over the last 12 years.

He disclosed that 100 beneficiaries completed mortgage repayments and became homeowners in 2024, while another 110 beneficiaries exited the scheme successfully in 2025.

“The Lagos State Mortgage Board presently has 2,207 pending applications for home unit allocation within various schemes,” he said.

Akinderu-Fatai also revealed that the state government plans to introduce monthly and quarterly rent payment systems to reduce the burden of annual rent on residents.

“The success of the rent-to-own initiative encouraged the need to promote monthly and quarterly rent to provide succour to rent seekers. This will replace the burden of yearly rent payment, especially for low-income earners,” he stated.

The commissioner further disclosed that the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority received 505 petitions relating to real estate transactions, resolved 39 cases, recovered three properties and retrieved more than N270 million from fraudulent agents.

He said the agency also sealed the office of an unregistered real estate operator in Ikorodu during a joint enforcement operation with the Lagos State Task Force.

Akinderu-Fatai noted that a new tenancy bill before the Lagos State House of Assembly seeks to address excessive rent increases, arbitrary charges and fraudulent practices in the sector.

“The new tenancy bill will address abnormal rental increments, illegal charges and dues. Registration of all agents in Lagos State by LASRERA will also become mandatory,” he said.

The commissioner added that 944 civil servants benefited from a 40 per cent housing rebate approved by Governor Sanwo-Olu to improve home ownership.

He also stated that the housing sector generated 4,793 direct and indirect jobs in the last one year across skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled labour categories.

Akinderu-Fatai, however, identified challenges affecting housing delivery in the state to include encroachment on government land, litigations, inflationary trends, limited housing allocation and issues involving defaulting allottees.

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