Satisfaction with public housing: the case of Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

Public housing programs have been the major tool for providing shelter in Abuja City, Nigeria. The purpose of the study was to determine the relationships between housing satisfaction and structure types, building features, housing conditions, neighborhood facilities, management, and demographic/socioeconomic characteristics. The main objective was to develop a model for determining factors which affect housing satisfaction in public housing in Nigeria.

The sample of 1,089 households was randomly selected from the residents living in 19,863 public housing units in Abuja City. The public housing units were built and are managed by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA). All data for the study were collected through self-administered questionnaires, which had been developed, pretested, and revised. The instrument measured the residents’ level of housing satisfaction on a five-point Likert scale. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, multiple regression, and correlation analysis.

The majority of the sample was households of more than four persons, headed by males from 31 to 40 years of age. The respondents were well educated, renters, and employees of the federal ministries. The residents expressed dissatisfaction with their overall housing situation; however, a significant positive relationship was found between housing satisfaction and satisfaction with structure types, building features, housing conditions, neighborhood facilities, and housing management. The mean satisfaction score for the room units differed significantly (p ≤ .05) from the means for the other structure types. Residents of the room units were less satisfied than any other residents.

Privacy within the house had the strongest effect on satisfaction with building features. Interior construction quality had the greatest influence on satisfaction with housing conditions, while cleanliness of the neighborhood had a strong effect on neighborhood satisfaction. FCDA housing officials’ attitudes affected residents’ satisfaction with management.

The model variable that contributed most to the explanation of variation in overall housing satisfaction was management. However, all five of the single-item measures contributed significantly to the prediction of housing satisfaction. Government housing policy should encourage a decent living environment, effective housing management, and construction of high quality structure types which incorporate users’ needs and preferences.