REALITY OF ANY SINGLE FRAUGHT WITH APARTMENT RENTAL/LEASE CHALLENGES IN LAGOS STATE NIGERIA

Lagos's property market is notoriously crowded, but it's also patriarchal; in general landlords do not like renting to single people.

I knew about a man who pretends to be in a long-term relationship with a prospective tenant, deals with the landlord and makes the initial payments, then fades gradually away when everything is going smoothly.  

Most people like to make sure to keep up appearances for like a month, two months, three months, six months. Then when they are sure that they have sold the idea that they are always there, they can now make themselves scarce, and while some will claim they have broken up. 

It sounds like a lot of effort, but it's a necessary pretence for single women who want to find their own place in a city already fraught with rental challenges. Yet despite the common perception that landlords and agents hold all the power, there are some signs of change. New tech start-ups have begun offering accommodation solutions that bypass more traditional rental structures - including the preference to do business with men. Some landlords are also becoming more pragmatic. This shift is taking time, however, meaning that for many women, a 'covering' is a vital ingredient in the search for property.

Many women find themselves struggling to rent. The problem; is that house owners feel that women will bring too much trouble, and some worry that single women living alone might be promiscuous and bring different men home. This points to a culture that needs to go away soon, or more women will continue living in frustration. But realtors speaking with one voice can help end the discrimination. 

Of course, single men also face challenges renting property, because landlords view them as unreliable too. 

According to weeks ago viral tweet threads by Ayo Bankole Akintujoye: "We can condemn unfair treatment from Landlords without denying hard truths. Landlords don't just turn down singles for nothing. Lagos is full of flats that started with one single girl and then fiam! 40girls in one bedroom doing olosho (prostitution). Same way loud yahoo boys (fraudsters) bombard flats."

He stated further;

"If you also own a property, you will want to take precautions, except Of course you're also a reckless landlord and don't care. I've had single neigbours turn a decent apartment to a Bronx neighborhood with everyday weed and girls and fighting. In a 2.5m rental house with families and kids."

"Go to Lekki 1, Chevron, Osapa, Surulere, Ajah, etc. I have many friends complain about their houses going ghetto because some new single girl or boy came in and made a nuisance of an otherwise decent compound. It's a general perception that families are more stable and decent."

"When I was single and wanted to move home, my landlord insisted he couldn't rent his house to a single guy, until after he read my CV, called the office and I told him I was engaged that he gave it out. He still said it till I left that he wasn't convinced till I moved in and behaved."

"Yes landlords should be more rigorous with due diligence and not just blanket turn down of singles, especially women. But when you advocate for prostitution as acceptable means of hustle, or glorify yahoo and reckless toxic single behavior in men, be ready to accept the social consequences."

He further ended with: 

"It is not just a gender issue. Let's stop being hypocritical and deflect from the hard truth that stares us in the face. Many of you screaming unfair treatment also have parents who have refused to give their homes to singles, or Yorubas, or Igbos. Let's start from there."

Nigerian society remains sceptical about renting to single women - and the shift may not be fast enough.