Examining the Role of Informal Land Markets in Housing Access for Low-Income Urban Residents in Kano State

This study examines the role of informal land markets in providing housing access to low-income urban residents in Kano State, North West Nigeria, investigating how informal transactions enable land acquisition outside the formal right-of-occupancy system and what implications this has for housing security, investment, and urban development management. Informal land markets account for the majority of residential land transactions in peri-urban Kano, yet their operation, governance characteristics, and implications for the urban estate management system are poorly understood in the academic literature. A mixed-methods design combines a quantitative survey of 400 households in four peri-urban communities in Kano Municipal, Ungogo, and Gwale Local Government Areas with qualitative interviews with 40 informal land transaction participants, 20 traditional land allocation authorities, and 15 community leaders. The survey captures tenure type, land acquisition cost, transaction documentation, security perceptions, and investment in housing improvement. Regression analysis examines the determinants of investment in housing improvement as a proxy for tenure security confidence. Findings show that informal transactions are governed by community witness practices and traditional allocation authority approval, providing moderate tenure security for most transactions. Transaction costs in informal markets are substantially lower than formal right-of-occupancy processes. Investment in housing improvement is positively associated with traditional authority approval and community witness documentation. Occupants whose informal tenure has been undisturbed for more than five years show investment behaviour comparable to formally titled occupants. Recommendations include a progressive tenure regularisation programme that formalises securely occupied informal plots. Keywords: informal land market, tenure security, Kano State, housing access, low-income.