Stephanie Coker, a well-known media personality and entrepreneur, has reignited the conversation surrounding Lagos State’s housing crisis after sharing her frustrating experience with real estate agents.
In a recent social media post, Coker took aim at what she described as exploitative and unregulated practices within the rental market, particularly highlighting the now common “viewing fee” that tenants are required to pay just to inspect a property.
Her comments quickly resonated with many Lagosians who have long been frustrated with the opaque and often unfair housing system in the state.
“Lagos State needs to regulate housing agents. What exactly is this 20k viewing charge about? One even said the agency fee is 20%. They just wake up and make their own rules, knowing there’s no regulation, so they can do as they please. It’s very unfair to prospective tenants,” Coker lamented in her post.
These remarks drew widespread attention, shedding light on the unspoken struggles of countless individuals seeking housing in Lagos, a city known for its severe housing shortage.
The conversation became a flashpoint for residents to voice their grievances over the lack of oversight and the general sense of powerlessness in the housing market.
The ₦20,000 “viewing charge” Coker referred to is not an isolated issue. What was once a modest ₦1,000–₦2,000 fee just a few years ago has now evolved into an alarming practice where prospective tenants are forced to pay exorbitant fees upfront just to view a property.
Many of these tenants find themselves at the mercy of agents who offer no guarantees that the properties shown will even be available or meet the advertised standards.
In some cases, tenants pay these fees only to discover that the properties have already been rented out or do not match the descriptions provided by the agents.
If you think paying this viewing charge ensures that you will find a suitable property, think again. In many cases, these fees don’t come with any promises of a successful match, nor are there any guarantees of a refund if the viewing doesn’t result in a rental agreement.
It’s a “pay-to-look” situation, where tenants often have no recourse when the properties do not meet their expectations.
The lack of accountability, coupled with agents’ unregulated actions, makes this an environment where desperate renters are vulnerable to exploitation.
For many Lagosians, these practices feel more like a scam than a legitimate business operation. Renters are charged fees to view homes that may not even exist, are already occupied, or are in poor condition compared to what was initially promised.
This sense of being misled is compounded by the fact that tenants often pay these fees to be shown multiple properties, only to realize that none of them are suitable.
Worse still, it’s not uncommon for unscrupulous agents to collect viewing fees from several potential renters for the same property, hoping one of them will eventually agree to rent it, while others are left in the dark, their money gone.
Coker also raised concerns about another trend in the rental market: the increasingly inflated agency fees. Traditionally, agents would charge around 10% of the annual rent as their fee, with an additional 10% legal fee.
However, some agents have now begun to merge both charges under one umbrella and inflate them to as much as 20%, without any legitimate reason for the hike.
This arbitrary increase in fees highlights the lack of regulation in the industry, where agents have the freedom to set their own prices, knowing full well that renters are left with little choice but to pay these inflated amounts.
The reason for such rampant inflation of fees and exploitation of tenants is the absence of standardized guidelines or government oversight for real estate agents in Lagos.
Almost anyone can print a business card, label themselves an agent, and begin charging fees without any formal training or regulatory body to answer to.
The result is a market where practices can vary wildly from one agent to another, and where desperate tenants have little protection against unfair or deceitful behavior.
This lack of regulation has created a chaotic and often predatory rental market, where tenants are not only subjected to excessive fees but are also at risk of being misled or swindled.
With few resources to turn to for recourse, many renters find themselves trapped in a cycle of exploitation, forced to pay high fees for subpar services with little hope of finding justice.
For Coker, this is not just a personal grievance, but a larger issue that reflects the systemic problems within Lagos’ housing sector.
Coker’s comments come at a time when the housing market in Lagos is becoming increasingly difficult for many residents. The growing population, combined with limited housing supply, has created a situation where finding a suitable and affordable property is a near-impossible task for many people.
In this environment, many renters feel that they have no choice but to pay the inflated fees demanded by agents, even if it means taking on additional financial burdens.
“Why should we pay to look at a property? We are already paying for rent, and then you want to charge me just to see what I’m getting? This is ridiculous,” one frustrated Lagosian commented in response to Coker’s post.
Such sentiments are common among renters, who feel that the system is stacked against them, with little to no protections in place to ensure fair treatment.
The fact that agents can demand arbitrary fees without any oversight only deepens the sense of injustice felt by many in the city.
Lagosians have long been critical of the lack of regulation in the real estate industry, and Coker’s comments have only brought more attention to this ongoing issue.
Her call for better regulation is one that echoes the frustrations of countless residents who feel powerless in the face of a housing system that is often unfair and exploitative.
While the issue of high rent and unaffordable housing is often discussed, the added burden of excessive and unregulated fees makes it even harder for ordinary Lagosians to secure a decent home.
Ultimately, the situation highlights a critical need for reform within Lagos’ housing sector. Without government intervention to regulate real estate practices, tenants will continue to be subjected to these exploitative practices.
Coker’s comments serve as a wake-up call, reminding both the public and the government that something must be done to address the inequities in the housing market and ensure that renters are treated fairly and transparently.
As more people share their own experiences with unfair rental practices, it becomes clear that this issue is not just a minor inconvenience but a widespread problem that affects the lives of many Lagosians.
Coker’s outspoken remarks have sparked a broader conversation about the future of housing in Lagos, and hopefully, they will encourage the government to take action and implement policies that protect renters from exploitation.
In the meantime, tenants continue to struggle with a system that seems designed to take advantage of them.
As long as the housing market remains largely unregulated, agents will have free rein to charge arbitrary fees and engage in unfair practices, leaving many people in difficult and often precarious living situations.
