Theorising the Relationship Between Housing Tenure Systems and Urban Social Stratification in Nigeria

Housing tenure systems are not neutral administrative arrangements but active mechanisms through which social stratification is reproduced and reinforced in urban settings. This doctoral study theorises the relationship between housing tenure systems and urban social stratification in Nigeria, drawing on sociological theory, housing studies, and political economy to develop an original theoretical framework for the Nigerian context. Using a multi-city comparative design, the study examines housing tenure systems and their social stratification effects in Lagos, Kano, and Enugu over a five-year research period. Primary data collection involves 1,400 household surveys capturing tenure type, security, housing costs, neighbourhood quality, and socioeconomic outcomes, alongside 60 in-depth interviews with housing market actors and 30 focus groups with residents of different tenure categories. Historical institutional analysis traces how colonial land administration, the 1978 Land Use Act, and post-independence housing policies shaped the current tenure system configuration. Structural equation modelling tests theorized causal pathways between tenure type, housing quality, wealth accumulation, and social mobility. Original theoretical contributions include a Nigerian Housing Tenure Stratification Theory that integrates colonial institutional legacies, current governance arrangements, and household-level outcomes within a coherent causal model. The study documents how freehold-equivalent and statutory tenure arrangements in upper-income urban areas generate compounding wealth advantages, while informal tenure in lower-income settlements perpetuates economic marginalization. Policy recommendations challenge existing tenure reform frameworks and propose equity-oriented tenure policy reform grounded in the developed theory. Keywords: Housing tenure, Social stratification, Nigeria, Institutional analysis, Urban housing.