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In Nigeria, having enough money to pay for the type of apartment you wish to rent for a period of time isn’t enough to secure you a decent rented apartment. So many other factors are considered such as age, gender, occupation, ethnicity, status, and so on.
Today on #shelterMatters, we’d be dwelling on ethnicity. Speaking writing from a personal experience, I have had to lie about my tribe in order to secure an apartment. I am sorry I lied in the sense of being dishonest but I am not sorry I had to do what I had to do to secure one of the most important basic needs of life.
According to the agent in charge of the apartment, he said the landlady would not want to rent the house to me if she finds out I am from the eastern part of the county. The agent then encouraged me to change my state of origin. He even had to choose a state for me. LOL
Before experiencing this level of discrimination myself, I had heard people say landlords don’t like people from tribe A or B in their compound due to an unpleasant encounter with someone from that tribe, directly or indirectly. Which in my humble opinion, I would say such discrimination should not be accepted.
However, there is no smoke without fire. There must be a reason for such decision or action which is why Nigeria real estate hub on #shelterMatters wants to have your views on this and know what you think the way forward should be.
Read individual reaction from some residents of Lagos state:
Dayo: “Most landlords prefer having the people they are comfortable with. Some don’t look at the ethnicity or background but if they interview the tenant and they are comfortable with the person, I think that will be fine. But someone like my mum will actually prefer to ask for your background, your ethnic group and occupation. She actually prefers living with ibo people because Yoruba people have shown her a lot. We are Yoruba but the ibos have been very cool and calm and can be controlled to an extent. So we are yorubas but will never accept a Yoruba tenant.”
Ebere: “I am indifferent. Some of them do so due to a nasty experience from just from person from the past. One person’s or family’s action shouldn’t be enough to judge everyone from that tribe. They should calm down”
Michael: “haha, I overheard my landlord saying to a prospective tenant that he can’t accept him because he is from the eastern part. He must have his reasons but I think it is very wrong and degrading.”
Join us on the online forum – #shelterMatters with the hashtag #ShelterMatters to air your opinion and experience.
Why do landlords have ethnicity issues?
There are some ethnic group u can’t just avoid indicating them…like the picture above. the man needs to work miles to get his preference in meeting basic needs if ethnicity is an issue!
The Law actually provides freedom of association, so a landlord is free to decide who stays in his house or not, Same way a tenant can decide the type of house or LL he wants. But i think its all borne out of individual differences no tribe is better than the other rather the scale of measurement should be their values and integrity in keeping to the terms of the Tenancy Agreement. After all we have heard of fetish LL who just looks at a prospective tenant and refuse them for no tangible reasons. The Ultimate prayer of every tenant is to be a LL or a home owner in the least.