{"id":2585,"date":"2026-07-29T18:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T17:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=2585"},"modified":"2026-07-29T18:04:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T17:04:18","slug":"rent-keeps-rising-but-nothing-changes-annual-increase-of-rent-burdens-delsu-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=2585","title":{"rendered":"“Rent Keeps Rising, But Nothing Changes”: Annual Increase Of Rent Burdens DELSU Students"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Christabel Adere<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a new academic session approaches, many students of Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, are once again searching for accommodation. However, for many, the challenge is no longer just finding a place to live, but finding one they can afford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across major student communities in Abraka, landlords have increased rent prices, leaving students and their families struggling to cope with the rising cost of accommodation. While property owners attribute the increases to the rising cost of building maintenance and the country’s economic situation, many students argue that the higher rents are not reflected in the condition of the apartments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many students, the annual increase in rent has become a recurring concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I start looking for accommodation weeks before resumption because I know the rent will increase,” said Angela, a 300 Level Mass Communication student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Last year, I paid \u20a6250,000 for my apartment, but to renew my rent, my landlord is asking for \u20a6320,000. Yet nothing has changed in the apartment. I still experience water shortages, poor electricity supply, and blocked drainage whenever it rains, which causes flooding. Most of my belongings were destroyed by the flood,” she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similar experiences are becoming increasingly common among DELSU students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students living around Campus III, NUT, FSP, and other popular residential areas said rents have continued to rise over the past few years, with increases ranging from \u20a630,000 to \u20a6100,000, depending on the location and type of apartment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For students from low and middle-income families, the rising cost of accommodation has placed additional financial pressure on them. Some parents reportedly borrow money to pay rent, while others encourage their children to settle for less comfortable apartments that are more affordable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I had to move farther away from school because I couldn’t afford my former apartment,” said Michael, a 200 Level Anatomy and Cell Biology student. “Now I spend more money on transportation every day, and sometimes I arrive late for lectures because of the distance.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the rising rents, students also expressed dissatisfaction with the condition of many off-campus apartments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common complaints include irregular electricity supply, poor waste disposal, leaking roofs during the rainy season, faulty plumbing, overcrowded compounds, and inadequate security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I don’t mind paying more if I can see improvements,” said Blessing, another student. “But we’re paying higher rent for the same old problems.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Landlords, however, insist that the increases are necessary to offset the rising cost of maintaining their properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Elizabeth Oghenemaro, a landlord in Abraka, said property owners are also affected by the country’s economic challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Everything is more expensive now. Repairing buildings, replacing water pumps, buying electrical materials, and paying workers cost much more than they used to. We are not increasing rent to punish students; we are only trying to cope with the economy,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these explanations, many students maintain that landlords should improve housing conditions before introducing higher rents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to rent, students also complain about the burden of agency fees, agreement fees, legal fees, and caution fees, which further increase the total cost of securing accommodation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To address the problem, many students are calling on the university management to construct more hostels to reduce dependence on off-campus housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others believe landlords, community leaders, and student representatives should work together to make accommodation more affordable while improving the quality of available housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students also urged landlords to provide adequate notice before implementing rent increases and to ensure that basic amenities such as water, electricity, sanitation, and security are properly maintained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the new academic session draws nearer, many DELSU students remain uncertain about where they will live. While some continue to search for affordable accommodation, others hope to negotiate with landlords or share apartments with friends to reduce costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many students in Abraka, accommodation is no longer simply a matter of finding a place to stay. It has become a major financial challenge that affects their education, well-being, and overall university experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until more affordable and better-quality housing becomes available, many believe the annual rise in rent will continue to place university education beyond the reach of families already struggling with the country’s rising cost of living.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Christabel Adere As a new academic session approaches, many students of Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, are once again searching for accommodation. However, for many, the challenge is no longer just finding a place to live, but finding one they can afford. Across major student communities in Abraka, landlords have increased rent prices, leaving […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2586,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"iawp_total_views":3,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[31,25,37,510],"class_list":["post-2585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abrakametro","category-trendingnews","tag-abraka","tag-delsu","tag-housing","tag-housing-and-accommodation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2585"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2587,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2585\/revisions\/2587"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}