Chapter one
Introduction
1.1Background of the study
The provision of adequate housing that is safe, secured, accessible, affordable, and sanitary is a fundamental human right, as enshrined in the United Nations habitat Agenda, the global on human settlement housing has been universally accepted as the most second most important human need. It is a basic need for human survival and an essential component to the advancement of the quality of life of the citizenry. This universally accepted fact has been acknowledged by successive Nigerian government, as evident from the pockets of in coordinated initiatives and programmes in mass housing development over the years. Despite these efforts, differences in housing rent remain a major challenge.
Effective housing rent involves many actors and therefore requires effective partnership collaboration and information the significant shortfall in housing provision and rent has been attributed to the inadequacy of the existing national housing policy (1991) to meet current challenges and economic trends and to guide development in the sector.
Housing, in all its ramification is more than mere shelter, since its embraces all the social services and utilities that goes to make a community or neighbourhood a livable environment the problem of housing in Nigeria are enormous and complex, exhibiting marked regional differences furthermore, the challenges faced by the rapid rate of uncontrolled and unplanned urban growth are immense. Million of people lives in sub-standard and sub-human environment characterized by slumps, squalor and grossly inadequate social amenities. The problem of housing in our urban centres is not only restricted to the quantity of housing unit, infrastructure, the disparity in housing rent and the environment, the result is manifested in growing overcrowding in homes, neigbourhoods, communities and increasing pressure on infrastructural facilities such as roads, drainages, power supply and rapidly deteriorating environment.
The scenario is slightly different in the rural areas where the problems are primarily, not just that of inadequate quantity of housing unit, but also that of inadequate and poor infrastructural facilities such as roads, drainages, water, power supply, differences in housing rent and basis social amenities (Schools, health care facilities etc.)
The housing sector is the bedrock of the economy of developed nations. In the more advanced economies like the United States of America, Great Britain and Canada. This sector contributes between 30% and 70% of their Gross Domestic Product (G.D.P) investment for housing account for 15% to 35% of aggregate investment worldwide, the housing sector in Nigeria contributes a significant 0.38% to its G.D.P. these countries rose to become the greatest advanced economies on the tide of housing development, the housing sector has the potential to general employment, increased productivity, raised standard of living and alleviate poverty. It also has the capacity to reduce crime rate, militancy, terrorism and substantially address wealth distribution as well as security concerns. It is able to achieve this because investment in housing affects all facets of our life.