Nigerian housing policy should focus on rent-to-own scheme – Fashola

Former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has called on the Bola Tinubu administration and stakeholders in the housing sector to concentrate on a rent-to-own scheme to lower the number of homeless people in the country.

Fashola said this on Thursday while giving his keynote address at the ongoing 50th-anniversary celebration of the Federal Housing Authority in Abuja.

The theme of the event was “The future of housing in Nigeria and 50 years of FHA: A call to action for political leaders and policymakers from decent and affordable housing.”

The former minister said that most Nigerians cannot afford to own houses due to financial difficulties, adding that it is crucial for the federal and state governments to broaden their rent-to-own policies.

“Homelessness is the most humiliating experience for a human being and must be tackled with the necessary determination by political leaders and policymakers,” Fashola said.

“The sad but bitter truth is that not everybody will be able to afford to buy a house, but I firmly believe that rental housing for all is possible, not only based on how we build but also how people pay rent.

“Therefore, our housing policy must focus on rental as it focuses on ownership. Consequently, rent-to-own initiatives that started in the last administration must not be allowed to die.”

According to the former Lagos governor, lawmakers at both the federal and state levels should enact laws that allow citizens to acquire government-built homes with convenient payment plans from their wages and salaries.