Abstract

While discrimination against house seekers in the rental housing market remains a global phenomenon, with a focus on Lagos rental housing market, we assess the prevalence of occurrences and prominent discriminatory based factors in the housing market. The study purposefully sampled selects predominant residential neighbourhood of Yaba/Akoka and a total of 126 valid responses were gotten. The data were analysed by both descriptive and inferential statistical tools. The study found the prevalent occurrences of discrimination in the rental housing market with about 98% of the renters had experienced the bias treatment base on either gender, age, marital status, ethnicity, disability, religion or/and occupation in the rental housing market. However, 57.28% attested to the decreasing trend in rental housing discrimination, while the prominent and statistically significant discriminatory based factors were gender, ethnicity and people living with disabilities. Conclusively, housing seekers in Lagos rental housing market are still subjected to the threat of discrimination and we suggest that the rental housing providers and the housing policymakers should embrace real estate business activities and policies that encourage and improve social integration in the rental housing market.

Key Words: Discrimination, Rental, Housing, Market, Home Renter