STUDENT HOUSING PREFERENCES IN THE UNIVERSITY OF BENIN PROXIMATE AREAS

ABSTRACT

The main aim of this project is to access the impact of population of students on the housing preferences in the University of Benin proximate areas while looking at the housing preferences of students residing in the University of Benin proximate areas. The proximate areas in this context are Ekosodin, Osasogie and BDPA. A survey was carried out on students living in the University of Benin proximate areas which involves the administering of questionnaires and also using the internet, and going through journals and articles regarding the study to get more information. Findings shows that student‘ preferences in housing type are single rooms (self-contain), flat (shared); while the rent ranges from N80,000 to above N160,000. Also, factors that determine their preferences include location, rent, housing type, security, and amenities provided by the landlord. A conclusion on the study was that the increase of student population in the University of Benin proximate areas is due to the lack of adequate accommodation provided by the school has resulted to both negative and positive impacts in the study areas; positive impacts in the sense that the areas go into development by private housing developers, and the negative impacts include high cost of living, unreasonable rental increment and insecurity. The researcher recommended that the state government should provide adequate security to combat the crimes in these areas, provide better social amenities, and also regulate rent in the study area. The landlords should also ensure that the housing units provided are of adequate standard.