Abstract

In a capitalist housing market, provision and allocation of housing resources and units are in the hands of the gatekeepers, whose activities limit access to housing resources and units. This study examined residents’ perception on how the activities of gatekeepers constrain access to housing resources and units in the peri-urban interface of metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted for administering household questionnaire to 1200 respondents in 20 peri-urban settlements. Findings revealed that determinants of access to housing resources and units as perceived by the residents centered on income, occupation, social class, gender and government policies. Result of paired t-test (5.137), at 0.05 level of significance, showed significant difference between male and female access to legal security of tenure. Correlations between access to conventional mortgage finance and social class, gender and location of property were as high as 0.927, 0.854 and 0.800 respectively with overall level explanation of 64.5 per cent (r² of 0.803). Gender differentials in access to housing resources and units were attributed to marital laws and practices, socio-economic conditions of women, patriarchal system, socio-cultural and religious beliefs and cumbersome housing allocation procedure.

Key Words: Gatekeepers, Peri-urban interface, Gender differentials, Social class, Mortgage finance, Metropolitan Lagos

DOI: https://ejesm.org/doi/v10i7.1