This report is targeted at reaching firm conclusions about the affordable housing situation in Nigeria. As is amply demonstrated in this study, the formal housing supply in Nigeria represents a very small fraction of the total (with mortgage finance playing a very small part of this) with the shortfall being met by the informal sector. By its very nature, and because most housing activity takes place below the visible horizon, there is very little data on this. In order to achieve the objectives of the report, we have drawn widely on expert opinion with significant direct experience working in this sector. We have tried to fill out the 'story' of affordable housing with this type of information, for example through case studies and, where available, local urban surveys.

  As will be evident, there is a great geographical and economic diversity across what is a very large country with by far the largest population in Sub Saharan Africa. The danger is that general conclusions are drawn on the basis of limited experience of a narrow range of the housing market in Nigeria, in particular the larger cities such as Lagos and Abuja where rental tenure dominates as opposed to owner occupancy that dominates outside of the main cities and amongst the majority of the population. This study draws on the widest possible range of sources to provide a balanced view of the housing ecosystem across Nigeria and the institutional constraints to providing affordable housing to a decent standard across the country, particularly in its rapidly expanding, but largely unplanned and under-serviced cities.