The real cost of moving into a new home in Lagos (and why the kitchen is always empty)

Rent: what the law says, and what people pay

In practice, the cap is often ignored. Lagos's Housing Commissioner was quoted by Leadership saying tenants "cannot be expected to pay one or two years' rent upfront in today's economy." The same report described a one-bedroom on Lagos Island rising from about ₦2,500,000 a year in 2024 to as much as ₦8,000,000 in 2025.²

Then come the fees. BusinessDay reported in November 2025 that agency and agreement fees often bear little relation to any legal limit, with one Surulere three-bedroom let at ₦3,500,000 rent plus ₦1,200,000 in fees. Ask for a written breakdown and a receipt before you pay anything.³

Few people can borrow to bridge the gap. BusinessDay reported in 2019 that mortgage lending was about 0.6% of Nigeria's GDP and that over 90% of new homes were funded from personal savings. Those are the latest figures we found, and they are dated.⁴

Then the house itself: power and the kitchen

At those list prices, the small fridge and the cooker alone come to ₦448,900. The same retailer notes that appliance prices climb fast when the naira weakens and come down slowly, if at all, when it recovers. Pots, plates, a blender and the gas cylinder itself aren't covered by these sources, so they aren't priced here.⁷

The National Bureau of Statistics put the average price of refilling a 12.5kg gas cylinder at ₦16,195 in August 2025. Prices differ by state and month.⁸

Why friends help: the housewarming is a tradition

Marking a new home with the people you love is old. Yoruba tradition has a named house-warming ceremony, isile, according to University of Georgia teaching material on Yoruba ceremonies.⁹

A home means more than shelter. Researcher Ololajulo (2021) found that in Ibadan, building a house bit by bit is a route to personhood and to independence from landlords.¹⁰

Giving together helps in a specific way. A 2023 study by Proulx, Aknin and Barasch found that collaborative giving made people enjoy giving more, and enjoyment went with bigger gifts. But pooling didn't make people more generous directly. So don't expect a group fund to raise more on its own; expect it to make a fridge reachable for friends who could never buy one alone.¹¹

And a list beats guessing. In US experiments, people appreciated gifts they had asked for more than surprises, and appreciated money more than any item they had requested.¹²

Fill the kitchen with a housewarming page

1. 1

   Choose Housewarming

   Start a page, add the date and your link. Housewarming pages open on the wishlist. Setting up is free.

2. 2

   Add your items

   Name them so people can picture them: Fridge, Gas cooker, Inverter. Type them in, paste a product link, or import screenshots of your saved items.

3. 3

   Order by need

   Put the kitchen and power at the top. Guests start there.

4. 4

   Choose what guests see

   Hide prices or progress for one item, like rent, or for the whole page.

5. 5

   Turn on payments

   Confirm who you are and add your bank account. Your page gets its own account number, and money goes to your verified bank account.

6. 6

   Share the link

   Spray writes a WhatsApp message with your link. Send it with the address. Fully funded items move to a Bought section, so friends give to what's left.

Questions

Can a Lagos landlord collect two years' rent upfront?

Not from a new yearly tenant. Section 4 of the Lagos Tenancy Law 2011 caps advance rent at one year, with a ₦100,000 fine or three months' imprisonment for breach. This is general information, not legal advice.

How much does it cost to move into a flat in Lagos?

There's no reliable average. Add up rent (up to a year in advance under the law), agency and agreement fees, and essentials: one retailer listed a 121-litre fridge at ₦254,100 and a four-burner cooker at ₦194,800 in August 2026.

How much is a generator in Nigeria?

Nairametrics reported 11kVA generators at ₦700,000–₦750,000 in July 2024, up from about ₦450,000 six months earlier. Check current prices before you budget.

Is cash OK as a housewarming gift?

Yes. In US experiments, recipients appreciated money more than any item they had asked for. A housewarming page lets friends give towards a named item.

What should I buy first when I move in?

Somewhere to sleep, a power source, a fridge and a way to cook. Then comfort, then finishing touches.

Sources

1. LawGlobal Hub, 2011. Section 4, Tenancy Law of Lagos State 2011
2. Leadership, 2026. Tenants face up to 200% rent increase amid stagnant income
3. BusinessDay, 2025. How agents' collusion with landlords makes life hellish for renters
4. BusinessDay, 2019. Why Nigeria has one of world's lowest mortgage to GDP rate
5. Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, 2026. FG's Technical Committee Releases New Housing Data, Pegs Deficit at 15 Million Units
6. Nairametrics, 2024. Nigeria generator dealers struggle with low patronage as 11kv gen hits N750,000
7. SLOT, 2026. Home Appliance Prices in Nigeria (2026)
8. Nairametrics (NBS Cooking Gas Price Watch), 2025. Average price of 5kg cooking gas drops to N6,404 in August 2025
9. University of Georgia African Studies. Different Ceremonies (Yoruba culture unit)
10. Ololajulo, Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 2021. The incremental houses of urban fringes: Yoruba personhood and popular culture in Ibadan
11. Proulx et al., Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 2023. Let's Give Together: Can Collaborative Giving Boost Generosity?
12. Gino and Flynn, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2011. Give them what they want: The benefits of explicitness in gift exchange

Related guides

• Just moved? How to get help furnishing your new home
• Housewarming gift list: what to ask for when you move, and how to share it
• How to send money to a wedding or party in Nigeria from the UK, US or Canada