Rent Cost Calculator
The rent is never the price. Enter the headline rent and the fees you've been quoted — get your true move-in cost, what percentage of the rent you're really paying, and what it looks like split with flatmates.
Your true move-in cost
₦1,950,000
= 130% of the headline rent · ≈ ₦162,500/month over a year
Defaults reflect common Lagos practice (10% agency, 10% agreement, 10% caution) — all three are negotiable and vary by landlord and area. This is an estimate, not a quote.
Why is the total so much higher than the rent?
First-year renting in Lagos typically costs 130–150% of the headline rent once agency, agreement, caution and service charges stack up. Our fee-by-fee breakdown explains each line, which fees are negotiable, and the scripts to negotiate them. The caution fee is refundable in principle — here's how to actually get it back.
The proposed Lagos Tenancy Bill (2026) would cap agency fees at 5% — what the bill actually says — but until it passes, the 2011 law governs and 10% remains the norm. Renting without an agent removes that line entirely: how to rent agent-free in Lagos, or browse verified listings in Lagos where hosts list directly. Splitting with a matched flatmate cuts every line in this calculator — see how rent-splitting works.
For what rent itself should cost in your area, check the Mushrooms Nigeria Rent Index — quarterly, citable, with raw data. And if you're working out what rent your income can carry in the first place, start with the rent affordability calculator.