CribCheckCribCheck Guides
Before you pay for a home, know what you're walking into.
Practical, Nigeria-specific guides to help you uncover hidden costs, flood risk, poor water, unsafe wiring and other problems before they become yours.
No special tools needed. Check the property as you walk through it.
Start here
Inspecting a home today? Start with this checklist
The complete house-viewing checklist for renters in Nigeria
Check water supply and pressure, power reliability and the meter, drainage and flood marks, damp on walls and ceilings, sockets and the distribution board, doors, windows and locks, bathroom and kitchen drainage, mobile and internet signal in each room, noise after dark, the agent's authority to let the property, and the full move-in cost in writing before you pay anything.
Read the checklist →Work out the real cost before you commit
Rent is never the full figure. Add agency, agreement and caution fees, service charge, painting, moving and internet, and see what you actually need.
Open the move-in cost calculatorAll guides
Checking a home
What to look at, room by room, while you are still standing in the property.
Start with this one
The complete house-viewing checklist for renters in Nigeria
Check water supply and pressure, power reliability and the meter, drainage and flood marks, damp on walls and ceilings, sockets and the distribution board, doors, windows and locks, bathroom and kitchen drainage, mobile and internet signal in each room, noise after dark, the agent's authority to let the property, and the full move-in cost in writing before you pay anything.
Read the guide →Renting · 7 min read
How to find and inspect a house for rent in Lagos without getting scammed
A working method for house hunting in Lagos, from shortlist to signature.
Read the guide →Utilities · 4 min read
How to check water supply before renting a house
Source, pressure, storage, quality and who pays — in ten minutes on site.
Read the guide →Utilities · 5 min read
How to check electricity and backup power before renting
Supply hours, metering, wiring safety and the real cost of backup power.
Read the guide →Home health · 5 min read
Damp and mould: how to spot them during a viewing
Where damp hides, what it means and which repairs are expensive.
Read the guide →Renting · 4 min read
Security checks before you rent a house
Doors, locks, lighting, escape routes and the questions neighbours answer honestly.
Read the guide →Renting · 4 min read
Noise: the check people skip and regret
Generators, worship, bars, markets and traffic — how to test before you sign.
Read the guide →Utilities · 4 min read
Testing internet and mobile network before you move in
How to check connectivity properly in twenty minutes on site.
Read the guide →Home health · 5 min read
How healthy is this home?
What damp, poor ventilation, drainage smells and old wiring actually do to you.
Read the guide →Inspection · 4 min read
What a CribCheck professional inspection covers
The difference between a free walkthrough and a booked inspection.
Read the guide →What it really costs
Rent, fees, service charge and the total you need before you can move in.
Start with this one
How much does it really cost to rent a house in Lagos in 2026?
Annual rent in Lagos ranges from roughly ₦350,000 for a self-contain on the mainland to several million for a serviced flat on the Island. Your real move-in cost is usually 1.4 to 1.8 times the rent once agency fee, agreement fee, caution deposit, service charge, painting, moving and internet installation are added.
Read the guide →Costs · 6 min read
Agency fee, agreement fee and caution fee in Nigeria: what should you pay?
What each fee is for, typical amounts, what is negotiable and what is refundable.
Read the guide →Costs · 4 min read
Is caution fee refundable in Nigeria?
When you get it back, why tenants lose it, and how to protect it.
Read the guide →Costs · 6 min read
The hidden costs of renting a house in Lagos
Thirteen costs that appear after the rent is agreed.
Read the guide →Costs · 5 min read
Service charge in Lagos: what it should cover and what to ask
How service charge is set, what it should pay for, and how to check it is real.
Read the guide →Trusting the people
Verifying landlords and agents, and spotting a rental scam before you pay.
Start with this one
Rental scams in Nigeria: 15 red flags before you pay
Never pay before you have seen the property and verified who owns it. Treat these as red flags: pressure to pay today, payment into an unrelated personal account, no written authority from the owner, refusal to give the exact address, a price far below the street, recycled listing photos, cash-only demands, and promised repairs that nobody will put in writing.
Read the guide →Trust & scams · 6 min read
How to verify a landlord or estate agent before paying rent
A verification sequence you can complete in a day, before any money moves.
Read the guide →Trust & scams · 4 min read
Documents to request from a landlord before you pay
The short list that separates a real letting from a story.
Read the guide →Trust & scams · 5 min read
How to verify ownership of a rental property
Practical checks a tenant can make without a lawyer's budget.
Read the guide →Trust & scams · 4 min read
Should you pay rent into an agent's account?
When it is normal, when it is a warning, and how to pay safely.
Read the guide →Trust & scams · 4 min read
How to check if an estate agent is registered
What registration proves, what it does not, and how to check.
Read the guide →Trust & scams · 4 min read
Questions to ask the existing tenant or the neighbours
Twelve questions that reveal what no listing will tell you.
Read the guide →Areas and flood risk
Flooding, commute, power and water compared across Lagos neighbourhoods.
Start with this one
Flood-prone areas in Lagos: what house hunters should check before renting
Flooding recurs in low-lying and reclaimed parts of Lagos, including much of Lekki and Ajah, Sangotedo, Ikorodu, Ajegunle, Agege, Ketu and Ikorodu Road corridors, Yaba's lower streets, Mile 12, Iwaya and parts of Victoria Island. Risk is street-level, not area-level: check road versus compound level, drainage condition, flood marks and what neighbours say about the last heavy rain.
Read the guide →Locations · 4 min read
Is this neighbourhood prone to flooding?
How to read any street for flood risk in one visit, without waiting for the rains.
Read the guide →Locations · 5 min read
Is Lekki prone to flooding?
Why Lekki floods, which parts are worst, and what to check street by street.
Read the guide →Locations · 5 min read
Is Ajah prone to flooding?
Ajah's flood pattern, the streets to watch and the checks that matter.
Read the guide →Locations · 4 min read
Is Sangotedo prone to flooding?
Fast growth, shallow fill and what that means for renters.
Read the guide →Locations · 4 min read
Is Ikorodu prone to flooding?
Where water collects along the Ikorodu corridor, and what to ask.
Read the guide →Locations · 4 min read
Is Yaba prone to flooding?
Old drainage, dense building and the streets that hold water.
Read the guide →Locations · 4 min read
How to identify flood marks during a viewing
What water leaves behind, and how to read the height it reached.
Read the guide →Inspection · 4 min read
Why you should inspect after heavy rain
The one visit that reveals leaks, drainage and flooding at once.
Read the guide →Locations · 7 min read
Best places to live in Lagos, judged on the things that actually matter
Areas compared on rent, flooding, water, power, commute, noise, security and internet.
Read the guide →Locations · 5 min read
Best places to live in Lagos for working professionals
Where to live when commute, power and internet decide your working day.
Read the guide →Locations · 5 min read
Best affordable areas to live in Lagos
Where rent is genuinely lower, and what you trade for it.
Read the guide →Locations · 5 min read
Best places to live on the Lagos mainland
Mainland areas compared on value, commute, power and housing stock.
Read the guide →Locations · 5 min read
Best areas to live if you work on the Island
Living close in, or commuting smart from the mainland.
Read the guide →Locations · 5 min read
Lekki versus Ajah: which is better for renters?
Rent, flooding, power, commute and condition compared honestly.
Read the guide →Locations · 5 min read
Yaba versus Surulere: rent, commute, power and lifestyle
Two mainland classics compared on the things that affect daily life.
Read the guide →Locations · 5 min read
Ikeja versus Gbagada: which is better to live in?
Power, commute, quiet and value compared for mainland renters.
Read the guide →Your rights and the agreement
Rent increases, notice, repairs, deposits and what to check before you sign.
Start with this one
Tenant rights in Nigeria: rent increases, eviction, repairs and deposits
As a tenant you are generally entitled to quiet enjoyment of the property, proper written notice before your tenancy is ended, a court process rather than self-help eviction, a landlord who maintains the structure and installations, and the return of your deposit less genuine damage. Rent increases must follow your agreement and can be challenged in court as unreasonable.
Read the guide →Legal · 4 min read
Can my landlord increase my rent?
When an increase is allowed, and what to do when it is unreasonable.
Read the guide →Legal · 4 min read
How much notice must a landlord give a tenant?
Notice by tenancy type, and why the wrong notice restarts the process.
Read the guide →Legal · 4 min read
Can a landlord lock out a tenant or cut power?
Self-help eviction, why it is unlawful, and what to do if it happens to you.
Read the guide →Legal · 5 min read
Who pays for repairs in a rented house?
The usual split, how agreements change it, and how to get repairs done.
Read the guide →Legal · 7 min read
Lagos tenancy law explained: what renters and landlords need to know
The framework in force, where reform proposals sit, and how to tell them apart.
Read the guide →Legal · 4 min read
Can a landlord demand two years' rent in advance?
What the Lagos position is, what happens for new tenants, and how to respond.
Read the guide →Legal · 6 min read
Tenancy agreement in Nigeria: what to check before you sign
The clauses that cost money, plus the red flags worth walking away from.
Read the guide →Sharing a home
Flatmates, shared bills and keeping yourself protected in a co-rented flat.
Start with this one
Shared apartments and flatmates in Lagos: how to do it safely
Verify the property and the person separately: confirm who holds the tenancy and whether the landlord permits sharing, inspect the home as carefully as a sole tenant would, meet the flatmate more than once, agree in writing how rent, service charge, diesel and electricity are split, and decide whose name goes on the tenancy before any money moves.
Read the guide →Sharing · 4 min read
Questions to ask a potential flatmate
Fifteen questions that prevent most shared-living conflicts.
Read the guide →Sharing · 4 min read
How to avoid co-renting scams
The shared-living version of rental fraud, and how to stop it.
Read the guide →Sharing · 4 min read
Should your name be on the tenancy agreement?
Joint tenant, named occupant or informal sharer — what each means for you.
Read the guide →Sharing · 4 min read
How to split service charge, diesel and electricity fairly
Methods that survive a full year without arguments.
Read the guide →Sharing · 4 min read
Self-contain versus shared apartment: which costs less?
The true comparison once fees, bills and privacy are priced in.
Read the guide →Buying a home or land
Condition checks and the documents to verify before any money moves.
Start with this one
Buying a home: the condition checks that change the price
Before buying, check the roof and ceilings for leak history, walls and floors for structural cracks and damp, the full electrical and plumbing systems, drainage, septic and soakaway, water source and quality, and the boundary and access. Each of these is a five- to seven-figure repair, so they belong in the price negotiation.
Read the guide →Buying · 7 min read
Documents to check before buying property in Nigeria
The title documents that matter, and the searches that confirm them.
Read the guide →Buying · 5 min read
How to verify a Certificate of Occupancy
What a C of O is, what it proves, and how to confirm it is genuine.
Read the guide →Buying · 4 min read
How to verify a survey plan
Coordinates, seals and the check that shows what you are really buying.
Read the guide →Buying · 5 min read
Deed of assignment explained
What it does, what it must contain, and why registration matters.
Read the guide →Buying · 4 min read
Governor's Consent explained
Why a transfer needs consent, and what happens without it.
Read the guide →Buying · 5 min read
How to conduct a land registry search
The single most valuable check before any property payment.
Read the guide →Buying · 5 min read
How to check for government acquisition
Acquisition, committed land, excision and setbacks — and how to test for each.
Read the guide →Buying · 5 min read
How to verify a property seller
Individuals, families, companies and estates — who can actually sell.
Read the guide →Buying · 8 min read
Buying land in Nigeria: the complete due-diligence checklist
Title, survey, acquisition, community, physical and cost checks in one sequence.
Read the guide →Found a home you're considering?
Check it room by room before you pay. CribCheck helps you record problems, estimate likely repairs and compare your options.
Before you pay, CribCheck it.
Neighbourhood guides
Flood history, power, water and commute notes by area.
How these guides are written
Written by CribCheck and reviewed by the CribCheck inspection team against the same eight-area standard used on professional inspections. Guides describe what you can observe yourself; anything needing instruments is flagged for a booked inspection. Last reviewed 18 September 2026.