The Hike in house rents being experienced by tenants in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital in recent times has continued to sniff out economic life in tens of thousands of households.

Residents lament what they term an arbitrary increase in house rents, unregulated charges and activities of agents and lawyers, which add to their woes.

Worse hit are mostly civil servants, low-income earners and artisans living within the cosmopolitan and sub-urban areas of the State.

ait.live spoke to a cross-section of people in Abakaliki who called for an urgent legislative intervention of the State government to protect citizens from economic strangulation.

It’s a trade of blames between tenants on one hand, and property owners and their agents on the other, over the astronomical increase in rents payable on residential and commercial buildings.

While the tenants accuse landlords and property owners of Shylock activities, the landlords in turn blame the current inflation which has skyrocketed the cost of living and worsened the economy.

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In Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, residents say, the property rent increase being suffered by tenants is due to the unchecked and unregulated activities of landlords, house agents and lawyers.

For instance, a one-bedroom apartment at a moderate area which used to go for 140 thousand Naira in 2024, has jumped up to 250 thousand Naira for existing tenants, while new tenants are charged as high as 300 thousand Naira.

2-bedroom and 3-bedroom flat, go for 800 thousand Naira and over a million Naira, depending on the area of Abakaliki town. This is about 100% increase, not to add the legal and agents fees which are pegged at the mercy of such individuals.

Raymond Anya and ThankGod Uche, told ait.live that despite the lack of maintenance and the poor environment of the properties they reside, their landlords have continued to arbitrarily increase the house rent without checks from any quarters.

Chinedu Ngwuta, is a tenant of over 12 years in an apartment who has just received eviction notice, he tells ait.live how frustrating it is to get a new place, as he faces multiple charges.

A lawyer, Samson Ekigbo and another property manager, Steve Ugama, describe the situation in Ebonyi as “a modern day slavery”, a practice said to be against the tenancy laws.

Residents want government to urgently enact laws that will checkmate the excesses of lawyers, Agents and House owners, as well as construct more low cost housing units for the average citizens, especially Civil servants, as solutions to reducing housing deficit and force down property rents in the open market.

(Editor: Paul Akhagbemhe)