Assessment of Informal Housing Financing Mechanisms Among Urban Poor in Calabar, Cross River State

Access to formal housing finance is extremely limited for low-income urban households in Nigeria, forcing them to rely on diverse informal mechanisms to fund housing construction and improvement. This study assesses the range of informal housing financing mechanisms used by urban poor households in Calabar, Cross River State, and evaluates their adequacy in enabling incremental housing improvement. A descriptive survey design was used, with data collected from 210 low-income households in Calabar South and Creek Town neighborhoods through structured interviews. The questionnaire explored financing sources including personal savings, rotating credit and savings associations known as esusu, trader credit, remittances from relatives, and moneylender loans. Measures of housing quality improvement achieved through each financing pathway were also collected. Interviews with microfinance institutions and cooperative societies operating in Calabar supplemented the household data. Findings are expected to reveal heavy reliance on savings-based incremental construction, with households taking several years to complete a single dwelling due to irregular income and absence of mortgage access. The study examines the gap between informal financing capabilities and formal minimum mortgage requirements, and identifies barriers preventing the urban poor from accessing state housing schemes. Recommendations include development of housing-specific microfinance products adapted to informal income patterns, government guarantee schemes for low-income housing loans, integration of esusu groups into formal banking systems, and simplification of title documentation requirements for mortgage eligibility. Keywords: Informal housing finance, Urban poor, Calabar, Incremental housing, Microfinance.