Property Abandonment and the Nigerian Real Property Rental Market: The Emerging Issues and Challenges in the Osogbo Real Estate Market

Abstract

Property abandonment has emerged as a critical challenge within the Nigerian real property rental market, reflecting deep-rooted socioeconomic, legal, structural and aesthetic value issues. This phenomenon, characterized by the non-utilization or better still, the total neglect of the performance and contribution of rentable residential and commercial properties, contributes significantly to the current state of urban decay; declining rental revenue for property owners; and a distortion of housing supply chain exacerbating urban housing shortages. The drivers of property abandonment as highlighted in previous literature include the lack of feasibility appraisal, haphazard real property management strategies, protracted land disputes and legal actions, insecurity, high maintenance costs, and policy inconsistencies among others. In many Nigerian urban centers, particularly in states like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, abandoned properties exacerbate housing deficits and reduce investor confidence in the real estate sector. The paper explores the mixed research methodology to unearth the causes, implications, and the systemic challenges associated with property abandonment in Osogbo, an emerging city center and its impact on the city’s property rental market. The study further evaluates the perceptions of the respondents and proposes the need for an integrated reform on financial, legal and operative policies of the state government on housing as part of sustainable strategies to revitalize underutilized assets and enhance urban housing delivery.

Keywords: Property abandonment, property rental market, housing deficit, real estate, policy reform.