RENTING A HOUSE IN LASU: A STUDENT’S WORST NIGHTMARE

Housing agents, in recent times, have increasingly become a menace to society. Once considered a blessing, these individuals have now been labelled by many as their worst nightmares especially when it comes to house hunting. From exorbitant agency fees to fraudulent misrepresentation, agents have made life a living hell for house hunters and have negatively affected the real estate sector at large.

Interestingly, LASUites are not exempted from this problem. In fact, they constitute a large portion of the house-hunting population in the Ojo-Iba axis, as a great number of the student populace reside off-campus. Agents exploit the annual influx of students into the community and milk them as much as possible. Many students, desperate to secure accommodations close to campus, fall prey to these agents who take advantage of their urgency and limited options.

While it is true that agents have made house hunting easier and almost effortless, at what cost does this convenience come? Should it be to the detriment of students’ finances and peace of mind? One major problem is the inconsistency of “total package” prices across various WhatsApp groups created by agents.

An agent may post a house at a certain price in one group, only for the same house to appear at a higher or lower price in another group. Students are often left wondering if they’re looking at the same property or a cloned version of it—that is, if properties can be cloned.

Another pressing concern is the high agency fees which is most times half of the actual rent fee. Most prospective tenants do not realize this until after payment has been made, because the agents are forever hiding under the umbrella of “total package.”

Also, agents are known to always demand what is known as consultancy fee or even commitment fee before opening the door of the house. The rule is simple: “Pay me a certain amount and I’ll take you to the vacancy location.” “A certain amount” in this case might range from two thousand naira up to ten thousand naira depending on how dire the agent is in need of money.

Some even go as far as demanding transportation fees whereas the vacant property is just a stone’s throw from where they reside. To validate their excesses, some agents would take the students through a longer route to get to the property in order to make it seem like the journey was worth the money paid. Tricks no dey finish for their side!

Rita, a student of Lagos State University, shared her own experience with an agent who charged her at every single house they visited. From a ₦5,000 inspection fee to money for bike, motorcycle, and even water. The agent insisted on collecting payment before opening the gate of each house. By the end of the day, he had taken ₦15,000 from her, excluding the extra and unnecessary charges he claimed were for his transportation and “water expenses.” To make matters worse, none of the houses they checked were even suitable for her.

Another wicked antics of these agents is the over-exaggeration of the proximity of the houses, which has become very rampant. Agents often exaggerate the proximity of a property to campus and will term it as “just five minutes walk to campus.” In reality, “a five minutes walk,” might actually mean having to cross seven mountains and seven seas, before such a student can barely make it down to school.

Furthermore, most agents cannot distinguish between the different house layouts and often use them interchangeably. Imagine asking to be shown a studio apartment and they end up taking you to a one-bedroom apartment which is way above your budget at that point in time. A demand for a refund of the consultancy and transportation fees is usually met by a strong resistance in form of a sob-story of how they also have to earn a living whereas they haven’t offered any worthwhile service.

One terrible tactic some fraudulent agents use is renting out the same apartment to multiple people, then vanishing and leaving the students to deal with the mess.

Rita, the same student mentioned earlier, shared a similar incident where an agent collected inspection fees, agency fees, and agreement fees for a self-contained apartment from four different persons, including her friend. All four of them showed up on the same day, only to realize they had all paid for the exact same place. Everything about the agent was fake, even the office he confidently took them to. No one could trace him, and his whereabouts remain completely unknown.

Another form of misrepresentation by these agents is the labelling of all properties as “standard.” They know deep down within themselves that the condition of the property is nothing to write home about, but they nevertheless take students to the location and on getting there, students are left wondering if the combination of a hurricane, tornado and earthquake attempted to tear the place apart. Yes, that’s how bad the condition of some of these houses are.

Security is another overlooked concern. Another student shared her experience with an agent who, surprisingly, didn’t charge her any inspection fee. She thought she had finally met an “angel in agent clothing” and was relieved, but not for long. When they arrived at the house, the rent turned out to be far above her budget. She politely asked if there could be a reduction, and the agent replied, “Don’t worry, you’ll get the house. Just let me have my way with you, I’ll talk to the landlord for you.” Before she could even wrap her head around what happened, the landlord called later that night and repeated the exact same line.So the “angelic” agent she thought she found turned out to be more like “Lucifer’s PA.”

Also, Kidnappers may pose as housing agents and attempt to lure unsuspecting student(s) to secluded locations where they can hold them to ransom. Matters might go from bad to worse if such a student is the type who doesn’t inform anyone of his/her whereabouts. In such situations, God is the only key to gaining freedom.

The painful thing about these agents is that many of them actually work together as a group. And the moment they realize the person searching for accommodation is a fresher or someone who’s naive, they immediately switch into exploitation mode, doing everything they can to extort them.

Where Are The Landlords and House Owners in All of These?

While housing agents have earned a fair share of the blame for the chaos in the rental market, the landlords and house owners are not entirely innocent either. We have the nonchalant ones, like Chief Owonikoko, who cares little about the dubious activities of their agents as long as rents keep rolling in.

Then there are the partner-in-crime landlords who collude with agents to extort and rob prospective tenants blind. Their favourite motto seems to be “Money makes the world go round.” As the wife to a former President of Nigeria would always say, “There is God oooo!”

What’s the Way Forward?

Hope, however, is on the horizon. The Lagos State Tenancy and Recovery of Premises Bill 2025, has already been introduced and is making its way through the Lagos State House of Assembly. This Bill, if passed into Law, will repeal the current 2011 Law and propose a number of significant updates.

One of the key updates is that all agents will be required to register with the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA). It also aims to cap agency fees at a maximum of 5% of one year’s rent, down from the 10% or more often charged. Once passed into Law, this Bill will allow citizens to heave a sigh of relief and save them from the exploitation they’ve suffered in the hands of their unscrupulous oppressors—the agents.

There might be a few hitches in the implementation and execution of this soon-to-be Law, but we can always bank our trust in the Lagos State Government to protect the interests of its citizens.

Another innovative idea is the use of apps that display available house vacancies. Landlords can leverage technology by uploading vacancies on these platforms so that house hunters can bypass middlemen and negotiate directly with the house owners. This will eliminate the payment of unnecessary fees to the agents.

Agents, no doubt, have contributed positively to the real estate sector at some point. However, their excesses have become too unbearable and it’s high time their powers were put in check. LASUites shouldn’t go around with bleeding purses all because they want decent accommodations for themselves. We are LASU… and we deserve better.