Housing Crisis: Developers Blame Slow Approvals, Infrastructure For Deficit

Nigeria’s housing shortage will remain difficult to tackle unless governments drastically reduce delays in land approvals, expand infrastructure, and make mortgages more affordable, the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) has warned.

Speaking in an interview in Abuja recently, REDAN President Oba Akintoye Adeoye identified bureaucratic bottlenecks in land administration as one of the biggest obstacles to housing delivery, noting that obtaining Certificates of Occupancy and development approvals can take as long as five years.

According to him, such delays discourage investment and stall housing projects that could otherwise deliver thousands of homes. He urged governments to ensure land titles and development approvals are processed within one to four weeks to accelerate construction.

Adeoye also argued that inadequate roads, electricity, and water infrastructure continue to leave vast parcels of land undeveloped, while the absence of affordable, long-term mortgage financing has kept home ownership beyond the reach of many Nigerians. He maintained that addressing these challenges through stronger government commitment and public-private collaboration would significantly reduce the country’s housing deficit over the next decade.

The REDAN President, who is the paramount ruler of Okeigbo town in Ondo State, also said that affordable, long-term financing was essential to expanding home ownership and boosting housing supply. “We need affordable funding at single-digit interest rates and long repayment periods. Long-term projects cannot be financed with short-term funds,” he said.

The REDAN President said most Nigerians required accessible mortgage facilities to purchase homes over extended repayment periods. “Without affordable mortgages, many Nigerians cannot buy houses, regardless of the number built. Mortgage financing is critical to closing the housing deficit,” he said.

He identified stronger public-private collaboration as a major factor in bridging the housing gap.