Like Nigeria which is a populous country in Africa, Netherlands is also a populous country in Europe. Nigeria is a very expensive housing market in Africa. Like Nigeria, Netherlands is also an expensive housing market. But unlike Nigeria, the European country has got it right in terms of quality and integrated affordable housing which Nigeria is still struggling with.
This eighth most populous European country, therefore, holds lessons for Nigeria on affordable housing which is part of the reasons for the country’s high home ownership level estimated at 69 percent as against Nigeria’s little above 10 percent.
Unarguably, Nigeria needs to borrow a leaf from Netherlands on how to bridge its huge housing gap estimated at 17 million units, and adopt strategies that can be employed to deliver cheap accommodation to low-income population who forms the bulk of its citizens.
Successive administrations in Nigeria have been battling to provide lasting solutions to the housing challenge ever since the country gained independence almost six decades ago. Sadly, the issue has worsened given the country’s rapidly-growing population which continues to dent government’s efforts to deliver affordable homes.
Netherlands has one of the highest home-ownership rates in the world, of about 69 percent. Its housing system has acquired global reputation, because of its special nature and the way in which it has evolved.
“Sustainable law and policies are the brain behind Netherlands’ housing sector transformation,” said Faruq Abass, managing partner at Abdu-salaam Abbas & Co, who spoke at an African real estate conference.
“Laws and policies implemented in most African countries are not sustainable which is why home-ownership is low in those countries,” he said.
Netherlands is ahead of Nigeria well as other African nations in terms of quality and integrated affordable housing. The Dutch have been at this for a very long time.
Initial efforts made to provide affordable housing were actually started by private businessmen and industrialists in the 1800s who wanted better housing for their staff. In the early 1900s, the Dutch government got involved and supported the development of housing associations.
After the Second World War, these housing associations were instrumental to rebuilding the country’s housing stock, with emphasis on making affordable housing accessible to lowincome population across the country. Afterwards, a new deal was signed with the housing association to pull out all government subsidies in exchange for significant freedom in their continued development of housing with, at least, a portion of this being affordable.
According to Olumide Osundolire, government’s policy insincerity is behind housing insufficiency in Nigeria.
“Most of the people implementing the policies are incompetent. The maturity at which those policies get to the market is worrisome,” he said at the event, adding that the rigorous procedures to process mortgages in Nigeria is taking toll on housing delivery in the country.
Of particular significance has been the Dutch’s emphasis on integration. Housing associations have long created sustainable mixed-income development with 20 percent for low-income earners, 60 percent for middle-income earners and 20 percent for high-income groups.
