As part of measures to strengthen the regulatory framework and expand access to mortgage finance in the housing sector, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Professor Muttaqha Rabe Darma, has directed the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) to increase mortgage disbursements and raise the loan ceiling to ₦85 million.
The minister gave the directive while delivering a keynote address at the BusinessDay Real Estate Conference 2026 in Abuja at the weekend.
According to a statement, the move is expected to facilitate the approval of at least 2,000 mortgages annually and allow National Housing Fund (NHF) contributors to access up to 25 per cent of their Retirement Savings Accounts as equity contributions for home ownership.
On the nation’s worsening rent crisis, Darma said the ministry is proposing measures that include a National Rent Registry, the registration of large-scale landlords, stronger enforcement against the unlawful conversion of residential buildings and model tenancy legislation to promote fairness for both landlords and tenants.
He also highlighted the ministry’s Land4Growth initiative, the ongoing digitisation of land administration through the e-Certificate of Occupancy programme and the work of the National Housing Data Technical Committee, which estimated Nigeria’s housing deficit at about 15 million inadequate housing units as of 2025.
Reaffirming the Federal Government’s commitment to affordable housing delivery, the minister said implementation of the Renewed Hope Social Housing Programme remains on course, with plans to deliver hundreds of housing units in each of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.
Darma also announced that the ministry will begin a formal stakeholder engagement process this week on the proposed regulatory reforms, inviting developers, investors, financial institutions, professional bodies, tenant associations and other critical stakeholders to contribute to the process.
“The projects that will define Nigeria’s housing future are not yet built. The capital that will fund them is not yet fully mobilised. But the policy framework that will make them bankable, safe, and worth investing in is being written now. Come and help write it,” he said.
Speaking on the proposed regulatory framework aimed at protecting homebuyers, restoring investor confidence and promoting a more transparent and accountable real estate market, Darma decried the fact that many Nigerians continue to lose their life savings to unlicensed developers, while buyers remain largely unprotected due to the absence of escrow arrangements and other regulatory safeguards.
He also noted that despite the real estate sector contributing about 13.36 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), making it one of the country’s largest economic sectors, the absence of a comprehensive regulatory framework continues to undermine investment and public confidence.
According to Darma, the ministry is developing a National Housing and Built Environment Regulation Policy (NHBERP), which will introduce developer licensing, escrow protection for buyers’ funds, construction quality assurance, professional registration and a National Housing Industry Data Observatory (NHIDO) to improve transparency and accountability across the sector.
He explained that under the proposed reforms, developers will no longer be permitted to sell housing units off-plan without obtaining the necessary licence and securing buyers’ payments in regulated escrow accounts, describing the initiative as a critical step towards protecting Nigerians from fraudulent practices and bringing the country’s housing market in line with international standards.
(The Sun)
