Bigger Home Loans: Nigeria Proposes Raising Mortgage Cap to ₦85M and Targets 5,000 MortgagesBigger Home Loans: Nigeria Proposes Raising Mortgage Cap to ₦85M and Targets 5,000 Mortgages
Key Highlights
- Nigeria's housing minister has proposed raising the maximum mortgage loan to ₦85M, about KSh 8.30M ($63,910), from ₦50M, in a bid to widen access to home ownership.
- The government is targeting 2,000 mortgages in 2026 and 5,000 by 2028, with 30% to 40% set aside for informal-sector workers who struggle to prove regular income.
- The Federal Mortgage Bank has also been told to lend out at least 70% of the previous year's National Housing Fund contributions as mortgages every year.
Nigeria plans to raise its maximum mortgage loan to ₦85M, about KSh 8.30M ($63,910), from ₦50M, about KSh 4.88M ($37,590), as it tries to turn a small housing finance market into a route to home ownership for more workers.
The proposal matters because conventional mortgages remain out of reach for most Nigerians, who face high interest rates and strict proof-of-income rules. Mwenendo has reported on how developer-led financing is filling that gap as banks hold back.
Housing and Urban Development Minister Muttaqha Rabe-Darma announced the plan at the 15th National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development in Sokoto, Nairametrics reported on 16 October.
Modest targets for a large country
The government is aiming for 2,000 mortgages in 2026 and 5,000 by 2028. Between 30% and 40% of bookings would go to informal-sector workers, who often cannot get housing finance because their incomes are irregular.
Those numbers are small for a country of Nigeria's size, which suggests the plan is a starting point rather than a fix for the housing shortage.
Pushing the mortgage bank to lend
The government has directed the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) to disburse at least 70% of the previous year's National Housing Fund contributions as mortgages each year. The fund is built from workers' contributions, and the directive aims to close the gap between what workers pay in and the housing finance they get back.
FMBN collected ₦152.4B, about KSh 14.89B ($114.59M), in contributions in 2025, up 48% from ₦103B in 2024. Housing loan approvals rose to ₦71.5B, about KSh 6.99B ($53.76M), in 2024 from ₦39.7B in 2023. In February the bank targeted ₦750B, about KSh 73.27B ($563.91M), in recapitalisation, with managing director Shehu Osidi naming undercapitalisation as a major constraint.
Rates are the missing piece
The proposal does not set an interest rate. Abiante, chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Urban Development and Regional Planning, called for single-digit mortgage rates, along with a review of house prices and transparent land registration.
Other measures include a planned National Housing Finance Authority, a Diaspora Mortgage Programme and a goal of 100 housing units in each of Nigeria's 774 local government areas. For Kenyan readers, the plan is a useful comparison with Kenya's own affordable housing drive: both governments are trying to turn payroll contributions into homes, and both face the same test of whether ordinary workers can afford the repayments.
In Summary
- Who made the proposal?
- Nigeria's Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Muttaqha Rabe-Darma.
- Where was it announced?
- At the 15th National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development in Sokoto.
- What would change?
- The maximum mortgage would rise to ₦85M, about KSh 8.30M ($63,910), from ₦50M, about KSh 4.88M ($37,590).
- How many mortgages are targeted?
- 2,000 in 2026 and 5,000 by 2028, with 30% to 40% for informal-sector workers.
- Why does it matter?
- Most Nigerians cannot get bank mortgages, and the plan tries to turn more National Housing Fund savings into actual home loans.