RETHINKING THE BAN ON PROPERTY AGENTS IN EBONYI STATE
Anthony EKPO BASSEY
News travels fast, and lately, it is been making the rounds that the Ebonyi State government plans to ban house and land agents come 2026. The word on the street is that the move stems from rising concerns about inflated house rents and exaggerated property prices, with agents often blamed for fuelling the fire. No doubt, housing affordability is a growing pain for many residents, but before we burn down the barn to kill the rats, perhaps we ought to pause and reflect.
True, some unscrupulous agents have given the profession a bad name, milking both landlords and tenants dry. They have turned what should be a simple handshake deal into a never-ending circus of fees, commissions, and hidden charges. It is the classic case of “give them an inch, and they take a mile.” But let us not forget that every coin has two sides.
Property agents, for all their flaws, are a cog in the wheel of urban development. They bridge the gap between landlords and tenants, buyers and sellers. Many of them are young hustlers, carving out an honest living in a country where jobs do not grow on trees. To ban them outright is to pull the rug out from under their feet. With nowhere else to turn, what becomes of them? As the saying goes, “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”
What the state government should consider, rather than wielding the big stick, is to put a leash on the madness, and not kill the dog. Regulation, not elimination, is the more thoughtful path. Let these agents be licensed. Let their operations be transparent and standardised. Create a regulatory body to monitor their dealings, enforce ethical practices, and penalise defaulters. That way, the wheat can be separated from the chaff.
Moreover, if property agents are pushed out of the market entirely, the vacuum could be filled by even more desperate and unregulated middlemen, operating in the shadows. We could end up jumping from frying pan to fire, worsening the very problem we seek to solve. As they say, “cutting off your nose to spite your face” rarely ends well.
The cry for affordable housing is legitimate, and so is the frustration of renters and buyers. But we must remember: the solution to a leaking roof is not to burn down the house. The housing sector is a delicate ecosystem, and every stakeholder, including agents, have a role to play. Instead of making them scapegoats, let’s give them structure. Instead of casting them aside, let’s bring them into the fold.
In the final analysis, if Ebonyi truly wants to tackle the problem of inflated rents and land prices, it must address the root causes, which are; urban planning, housing supply, and economic inequality, not merely the symptoms. Besides, no matter how many agents you ban, if there is still more demand than supply, the prices will keep soaring.
The state may mean well, but good intentions do not always make good policy. As the old folks say, “when the roots are deep, there is no reason to fear the wind.” Let us not attack the branches when the root is the problem. With smart regulation, honest enforcement, and a bit of political will, Ebonyi can fix the rot without throwing honest workers under the bus.
