By Nwachukwu, Maxwell Umunna, and Ukpabi, Nwanne Inyang
Thc high incidence of housing conversion is one of the major
problems confronting Nigerian cities. While property owners clamour Sor
such conversions which they see as avenues for maximizing rents, experts
view housing conversion, as an aberration. Some experts havc attributed
housing shortages in Nigerian cities to residential housing conversion, others
have blamed it on high rent, inadequate housing supply etc. These views
were investigated in this study using Enugu metropolis as a case study. The research findings show that: first, the rate of housing conversion
is higher than the rate of residential housing development in llnugu
metropolis. Second, the housing conversion is a major factor responsible for
rcsidential housing shortage and its multiplier effects in terms of high
rcsidential rent in Enugu metropo[is.