The house rent hike is very alarming in Port Harcourt and I know if this continues this way, there will be collapse in the Estate business. It is not everyone that has the ability to pay such ridiculously high rents. In few years time, there will be alot of houses that no one will rent and this will be a problem.
It is just a matter of time. Agents and lawyers are culprits and not only landlords.
Solution opinion to the situation
The government could play and help minimize this hiking rents issues simply my issuing mandatory orders on every landlords and give them a specific range of charges they are expected to rent their house and anyone violating the rules must be penalized and every landlords must issues rentage receipts to every of its tenants because the amount stated in the receipt would be used to justify any of the reported landlords if overcharging their house occupants and there should be an active functioning phone number that is to be reached and report any forms of the landlords.
I think the cautioned of governments authorities to the landlords would help this nature of situations.
This solution is not viable. This will only work if the government helped the landlords to build the house. If the government didn't contribute, they therefore has no right to interfere. The best that government can do is to build houses and rent them out in a cheaper rate.