EDITORIAL: Rent Crisis in Awka And Environs — Time to End Champerty in Anambra Real Estate

By Tony Okafor

The cost of house rent in Awka and its surrounding areas has gone beyond the reach of many ordinary people.

Today, tenants live in fear of the next rent renewal as prices continue to rise in geometric proportion, without any corresponding improvement in the houses or the economy.

What used to cost ₦250,000 a year has suddenly jumped to over ₦600,000 in some parts of the city. This is not just painful — it is unfair and unsustainable.

Behind this ugly situation is a growing practice that resembles an old legal wrong called champerty — a situation where someone takes advantage of another person’s problem just to make profit.

In Awka’s housing sector, many property agents now play that role. They often persuade or pressure landlords to raise rents, not because the landlords need the money or have made improvements, but because higher rent means higher commission for them.

Some of them even collect several unnecessary fees from desperate tenants who have no choice.

This is pure exploitation, and it must stop. The activities of some agents have turned renting a house into a nightmare. Tenants are left frustrated, landlords are misled, and the agents smile to the bank.

This is the modern face of champerty — people benefiting from others’ struggles without adding any real value.

Government cannot fold its arms while this continues. The Anambra State Government should take firm action to regulate the activities of property agents and protect both tenants and genuine landlords.

A good example can be found in Ebonyi State, where the governor recently banned the activities of unlicensed estate agents. That single decision brought relief to many tenants. Anambra can do the same.

One useful step would be to establish a Rent Control and Monitoring Board to check excesses in the housing market, fix reasonable rent limits, and ensure that agents are properly licensed and monitored.

Landlords who follow the law and register their properties should also be encouraged with simple incentives such as tax holidays or reduced levies.

The right to decent shelter is not a privilege. Government should ensure that no one is pushed out of their home because of greed and manipulation.

The housing market should serve both landlords and tenants fairly, not just the middlemen who profit from their hardship.

It is time to end champerty in Anambra real estate.