Access to Residential Land in Minna, Nigeria: Methods and Constraints

Abstract

Access to land is central to housing delivery and, therefore, an essential element in urban development. The methods and procedures for access can have implications for housing and welfare. The study investigated access to residential land for private development by households in Minna, the Niger State capital. The objective was to ascertain the prevalent methods of access to land and the constraints to access. The research design was cross-sectional survey. Data was collected with structured questionnaire from 450 households and 20 consulting firms in land agency. Data analysis employed mean, frequency distribution and two-tailed independent sample t-test. The results revealed that the most common method of access to land is purchase from private landowners. In addition, the constraints to access to land manifest in affordability, security of tenure and ease of transaction. Affordability measured by general high cost of land and high cost of land relative to household income is the most significant constraint to access to land. The t-test result showed t statistic of 0.3350 and p value 0.741, an indication that there is no significant difference between households and consultants on their perceptions on the constraints to access to land. The findings suggest that the Land Use Act, 1978 is not fulfilling its goal of making land available to Nigerians. An implication of the research is its potential as framework for land market reforms.