BY KASE GREATNESS/ RITA OYIBOKA
THE Delta State Government has announced plans to regulate arbitrary rent increments and clamp down on exploitative practices by landlords and housing agents, as part of broader reforms to ensure affordable and accessible housing for its residents.
The Commissioner for Housing, Godknows Angele, disclosed this in an interview with The Pointer, noting that the state was already taking steps to address the controversial “total package” rent system.
Total package is an arrangement where tenants are forced to pay sums far exceeding the actual rent, often masked as agency or agreement fees.
“This issue of landlords and agents inflating housing costs under the guise of ‘total package’ will be dealt with decisively. I have met with the executives of the agents’ association to curb these excesses. The next step is to work with the Delta State House of Assembly to draft a bill that will regulate such practices,” he said.
Beyond regulatory efforts, the commissioner also highlighted ongoing and upcoming housing development projects designed to tackle the housing deficit, particularly for civil servants and security agencies.
Currently, the ministry is spearheading a 250-unit housing estate in the Okwe community, Oshimili South Local Government Area, specifically for civil servants. Similarly, in Ibusa, construction will soon commence on a 350-unit housing project aimed at alleviating poverty and improving the living standards of government workers.
“We have made significant progress. We’ve completed four-bedroom duplexes for commissioners, which will be commissioned shortly. For the Customary Court, we’re building four units of four-bedroom duplexes, now 90 per cent complete,” Angele said. Other housing projects nearing completion include 30 one-bedroom flats for the Nigerian Army’s 181 Battalion in Agbor, and four-bedroom residences for DSS directors, both of which are 90 per cent complete and scheduled for commissioning soon. In addition, the state is proposing the construction of Judges’ Quarters and a Social Housing Scheme that will see 50 housing units built in each local government area.
