Housing delivery problems in developing countries: a case study of Nigeria

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine problems of housing delivery in Nigeria and propose some guiding principles that will lead to successful housing delivery in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted through in-depth analysis of some documents related to housing sector in Nigeria. These include National Housing Policy of Nigeria, Report of the Vision 2020 National Technical Working Group on Housing, as well as publications from UN-Habitat. Moreover, literature on the subject matter have been also reviewed. Findings Major constraints to housing delivery in Nigeria includes lack of effective housing finance system, unstable macroeconomic environment, difficulty in accessing land with secure tenure, high cost of building materials, shortages of skilled labour and poor infrastructural facilities. Research limitations/implications The major limitation of this study is that no interview or field survey to collect data from stakeholders has been performed. Practical implications The study can assist housing policy makers to understands important elements that must be incorporated in the national housing policies. It can also assist construction industries to understand how to improve efficiency and productivity in their projects. Originality/value The findings of this paper was based on previous studies of housing delivery and analysis of data from some formal and informal documents The findings from this study have been used to suggest some guiding principles that can assist in solving the housing delivery problems in Nigeria.