The choice of renting a house vs renting an apartment is a very personal one. Regardless of how personal this choice is, it is not a decision you should rush into as there are some crucial things you need to factor into consideration before you make a lasting decision.
We will proceed to take a look at both rental options from an angle of what they are as well as the advantages and disadvantages of both options. Let us begin with a house.
What is a House?
A house is a physical building where you live either alone or with someone. A house refers to the entirety of the building, which includes all the rooms and facilities that come with it. There are different types of houses in Nigeria based on their architectural design and size. It is important you know this when faced with a choice between renting a house vs renting an apartment.
What is an Apartment?
An apartment is a room or a set of rooms that constitutes a living space. Some of the popular apartment types in Nigeria include, the one-room apartment, self-contained apartment, mini flat, 2-bedroom apartment, 3-bedroom apartment, 4-bedroom apartment and the list goes on and on depending on the number of bedrooms in the apartment.
Now that you know the difference between a house and an apartment, we shall proceed to look at the advantages of renting a house vs renting an apartment.
Advantages of Renting a House
You don’t have to buy a house to be able to live in it. You can actually rent one and this is a very common practice in Nigeria. Renting a house has the following advantages:
- Space: Regardless of the size of the house, it is bound to offer you more space than what you would get from an apartment. Space here refers to both indoor and outdoor space. If you have pets, children or an extended family living with you, this plays to your advantage.
- Parking: Quite a lot of rented apartments come with parking space but this is not a guarantee. In some cases, you rent an apartment with insufficient parking space as there are more tenants with cars than the house can accommodate. Renting a house comes with the advantage of having all the parking space the house has to offer to yourself. You don’t have to worry about getting home before your neighbour so that you can take up the available parking space before he/she returns.
- Privacy: You have probably heard stories about nosy neighbours who can tell you what you cooked for breakfast, lunch and dinner and this is because a rented apartment always offers a limited level of privacy. By default, you can’t avoid bumping into your neighbours (in a rented apartment from time to time). You might be fortunate to have decent neighbours who exercise decorum in their dealings with you. You might, however, suffer the misfortune of having neighbours who go as far as borrowing things like matches, knife or even onions from you. Renting a house saves you the grief of dealing with such people as you get a good deal of solid privacy.
Disadvantages of Renting a House
Renting an entire house is really cool but it isn’t a bed of roses. As impressive as its advantages are, you should be on the lookout for the disadvantages below:
- Maintenance: The cost of maintaining a house is much more than what you would have to spend to maintain an apartment. A rented house means you would, by default, have more rooms, more floor space to clean, more furniture to buy and more electricity bills to pay especially if you live with a large family.
- Tenant’s Rights: A large number of houses in Nigeria belong to individual owners and while you may know your rights as a tenant, they may not and this sweeps up friction with the passage of time.
Advantages of Renting an Apartment
Don’t rush your decisions when trying to decide between renting a house vs renting an apartment because at the end of the day, you would be glad you didn’t. Apartments merely constitute a part of a house and as you might have guessed, it comes with its peculiar advantages as you will see below:
- Great Locations: If you are interested in landing a really nice place to live right in the heart of an urban city with a commercial nerve centre, what you should have at the back of your mind while searching is an apartment and not a house. This is because family houses and buildings that are available for rent are more pronounced in neighbourhoods that are
- Low Maintenance: The way the maintenance work of your apartment is run rests largely on the type of agreement that you have with the property owner. Most of the time, the landlord or caretaker is responsible for the maintenance of the property especially in cases of major repair works like a leaking roof and fumigation. If you live in a rented apartment, you also enjoy the luxury of splitting service charge with other tenants especially under an arrangement where the tenants are expected to take up this responsibility.
- Management: When you rent an apartment, you are less likely to deal with the property owner directly as you would usually have to interface with a caretaker. Many property owners prefer working with a caretaker as it helps them delegate the responsibility to free up time for other responsibilities.
- Cheaper to Rent: It is generally cheaper to rent an apartment in Nigeria than it is to rent a house. The typical size of an apartment makes it a more affordable renting option for you especially if you are renting on a budget. For example, renting a 3-bedroom apartment in Ikeja is cheaper than renting a detached house in the same neighbourhood.
- Convenient: Apartments are by default, built for convenience. The space in your apartment is usually one that you can maintain by yourself. With a functional kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedrooms, they are convenient to maintain unlike if you were to rent an entire house.
- Community and Connections: Living in an apartment where you have other apartments around you gives you an opportunity to connect with others around you. It makes you more open to social engagements with others living around you and increasing the possibility of making new friends and making lifelong connections.
Disadvantages of Renting an Apartment
Despite the glaring advantages we have shared with you, when you are torn between renting a house Vs renting an apartment, you should also spare some thought to the downsides of renting an apartment. This helps you have a better understanding of what you are about getting into. Below are some cons of renting an apartment:
- Storage Space: A rented apartment does not offer you as much storage space as a rented house. In a rented apartment, you’ll have to work around what you have available.
- Pests: No matter how clean you are or how much attention you pay to hygiene, your ability get rid of pests still rests largely on your neighbours. What this means is that if you live in an apartment where some of your neighbours have their apartments infested by termites, cockroaches, ants or rodents, then you risk having these same pests finding their way into your apartment and creating problems for you.
- Neighbours: When you live in a rented apartment, you are not really ever alone. The different personality traits of your neighbours might see you have one or two neighbours who prefer listening to loud music at odd times of the day. This will pose some level of discomfort for you especially if you are the kind of person who prefers a quiet house.
- Generators: The epileptic supply of electricity in Nigeria has created a situation where virtually every apartment has a generator to supply electricity. Most generators, by default, are noisy when they are switched on. If you live in a house that has 6 apartments and everyone decides to power on their generators in the evening when they return home from work, the noise and environmental pollution that this constitutes could prove dangerous. Generator fumes are fatal as made manifest in the number of lives that have been lost to this silent killer.
- Pets: Picture a situation where your neighbour has 3 aggressive Rottweilers as pets, would you feel comfortable sharing a house with such a neighbour. Pets can easily create problems for you especially when they do not belong to you. Dogs, in particular, can make it difficult for you to have friends and family pay you a surprise visit. It’s perfectly alright if the pets around you are poodles, rabbits, cats and other friendly types but if they are wild and aggressive, this might dampen your days as a tenant in your rented apartment. In August 2016, a female crossbreed bull terrier that belongs to a 30-year-old man attacked and killed his neighbour. The owner of the dog was found guilty and jailed for 10 years.
Final Thoughts on Renting a House Vs Renting an Apartment
Before you sign a lease agreement or choose between renting a house vs renting an apartment, ensure that you have a complete understanding of what your landlord expects for you as a tenant. You should also go all the way in communicating what your expectations are as a tenant.
Remember to ask as many questions as you deem necessary before you rent a house or an apartment. Renting a house vs renting an apartment can be tricky but whether you are renting your first apartment, looking for a neighbourhood where you can rent an apartment below N1 million or wondering what to look out for when hunting for a house, questions remain very crucial.
