Different Classes of Apartments in Lagos, Nigeria

In this article I am making use of the naira represented by N which is 150 to a US dollar. If you are looking for apartments to rent in Lagos Nigeria and live outside the country please take note.

In Lagos, Nigeria, apartments come in various sizes, shapes and rates. Depending on the location and quality of building materials these apartments go for various rates ranging from under N 100,000 a year to well over N 5,000,000 a year.

List of apartments in houses of Lagos, Nigeria;

1. Face-me-I-face-you

These are apartments for the common man. The low income earners and the bottom wrung of the social strata. It refers to apartments located in single or multi-storey houses with each room parallel to another room on both sides of an isle hence the name. The rooms are rented separately to each occupant and there is usually a common toilet, kitchen and bathroom for the occupants per floor. The key benefit of this kind of apartments is the affordability whereas there is often times a lack of privacy as co-tenants get to violate one’s privacy from time to time. Rents are collected monthly for old tenants while new tenants get to pay one time rents for two or three years upfront. Occasionally one gets to occupy more than one of these rooms at a time if the price is right. These kinds of apartments are very common in the suburbs and in shanty towns in Lagos Nigeria.

2. Self-contained (one room flat)

A self contained apartment is suitable for people just starting a career or family or who do not have the resources to rent a proper flat. Most occupants of this kind of apartments are young singles typically in their late 20s or early 30s and who are simply looking to raise enough money to move in to bigger apartments when the time is ripe. Self contained apartments are also mainly found in the suburbs but many of them are also located in commercial parts of the city. Rents are paid annually for all tenants but new tenants are required to pay 2 or 3 years upfront.

3. Flats (2 to 5 room apartments on a single floor)

Flats are common with middle class families or higher income earning but single men and women who cherish their privacy and also want recognition associated with being independent and above the poverty line. That however is not to say that all tenants of flats are financially independent but it is a sort of status symbol to live in an exquisite flat especially in a high bow area such as Ikoyi, Lekki, Illupeju, Apapa, parts of Ikeja, Magodo and a host of other isolated estates in Lagos. Rents in most of these apartments are beyond the reach of the common man however flats are located in all parts of Lagos including the shanty towns and ghettos and of course their rates depend on their location and proximity to the Island. Flats in places like Ikeja, Yaba, Surulere and Ebutemetta are far more expensive than those in the interior or the suburbs. Rents are also collected annually with new tenants paying 2 or 3 years upfront.

4. Bungalows

These are single floor houses with 3 or more rooms and a separate toilet(s) and bathroom with a kitchen. Bungalows are usually bought by small size middle class families that no longer wish to pay rents or face altercations with bullying landlords and value their privacy above other inconveniences that come with home ownership.

5. Duplexes

These are single storey buildings consisting of 4 or more rooms with two or more toilets and bathrooms and a kitchen. Duplexes are of two kinds; semi detached or twin duplexes and single wing duplexes. Semi detached duplexes are usually 2 or more duplexes built together but on separate wings as part of a single housing unit. Duplexes could be rented or occupied by the owners and rents are collected annually. They are apartments exclusively meant for the upper class or upper middle class. Duplexes usually have buoys quatres which are mini-bungalows.

6. Luxury Apartments

All the apartments listed above except for the first group can come in tastefully furnished. These are luxury apartments and are always situated in the highbrow parts of the city. Rents range from as little as N4,500,000 to N 15,000,000 (about $30,000 to over $100,000 a year).