I've walked through more than 200 rental properties since we started NoBroker Nigeria in 2024 — some as a founder doing listing verification, many more as a tenant looking for my own places over the years. Most inspections I see tenants do take 12 minutes and consist of "the kitchen is nice" followed by a handshake. That's how people end up with a ₦1.8 million lease on a flat with a leaking roof, a generator that hasn't worked in six months, and a water pump that the last tenant actually paid to replace themselves.
A proper inspection takes 45 minutes to an hour. You need a phone with a flashlight, a ₦500 note (for testing the PHCN meter card reader if there is one), a bottle of water, and this list. Go at two different times of day if you can — once during the day to see the place in light, once in the evening to hear what the neighbourhood sounds like and whether the generator actually runs.
Here are the 34 things I check, in the order I walk through them.
A serious compound has a manned gate with a logbook. You give your name, your host's flat number, and your purpose. Five seconds of friction. A gate with no guard or a guard who waves everyone through is a security liability and a predictor of how responsive management is to every other problem.
Look at the cars. Are they maintained? Are there commercial vehicles parked overnight? Is there obvious over-capacity (cars on the grass, double-parked)? This tells you about your future neighbours and the parking situation.
Walk the length of the wall from inside. A broken section of wall is a break-in route. Lekki compounds with missing electric fencing are targeted by opportunists; it's one of the most common patterns in the Lagos burglary data our verification team reviews.
Ask the caretaker to open the gen house. You're looking for: engine rust, fresh oil stains, a diesel tank with visible level (not empty), and a working automatic changeover panel. If the gen house is locked and the caretaker doesn't have a key, that's your answer — it doesn't get used often.
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Victor founded NoBroker Nigeria after paying ₦420,000 in broker and legal fees on a single Lekki rental in 2023. He writes from lived experience of the Nigerian rental market and the verification processes the platform runs every day.
Is the tank plastic or concrete? How old does it look? Ask when it was last cleaned. A tank that hasn't been cleaned in two years will leave sediment in your kettle. Ask to see the pump — it should be inside a small pump house or lockbox, not exposed to rain.
Where does the compound put its waste? Is there a covered bin area or just a heap at the back? A heap means you'll have rats. Lagos State LAWMA pickup is usually twice a week; ask which days.
Walk the drains after rain if you can. Standing water means mosquitos and eventually a flooding risk. In Lekki and parts of Ajah, compound drainage is the difference between a dry flat and a flooded one every July.
Is it solid wood or a thin hollow-core door? Does it have a working deadbolt, not just a handle lock? Does the frame look like it's been forced at any point (splintering around the strike plate)?
Ask whether the lock will be re-keyed or replaced before you move in. This is standard anywhere in the world except Nigeria, where most tenants inherit the previous tenant's keys. Insist on a new cylinder or at minimum a rekey. It costs ₦8,000-₦15,000.
Structural cracks run diagonally and are wider than a hairline; hairline cracks in plaster are cosmetic. Damp patches look like yellow-brown halos, often near the ceiling line or around windows. Fresh paint in one specific patch of an otherwise older paint job is a cover-up — shine your phone flashlight at an angle and you'll see the texture difference.
Tap your foot on tiles as you walk. A hollow sound means the tile has lifted from the screed and will crack. Wooden floors should be level; if a ball would roll across the room, the subfloor is settling.
Every window, not just one. Locks should engage. Mosquito nets should be intact. Louvre windows should have all their glass slats. Sliding windows should slide without force.
Bring a phone charger. Plug it into every visible socket in the room. If the phone doesn't register charging, the socket is dead. A dead socket means either wiring damage or the socket has been disconnected; either way, it's a repair the landlord should make before you move in.
Flick every switch. A bulb that doesn't come on might just be a dead bulb — ask the caretaker to replace it then and there. If they say "oh we'll sort that before you move in," write it down.
Hot (if applicable), cold, shower. Watch the water for discoloration in the first 10 seconds — a bit of rust is normal in a flat that's been vacant; ongoing brown water is a corroded pipe problem. Listen for pipe knocks, which mean air in the line or failing pressure.
First flush to check it works. Second to check the cistern refills. A slow refill means the inlet valve is failing. A toilet that doesn't stop running is a water bill disaster.
Open the cabinet or look beneath. Dry means no leaks. Wet, stained, or mouldy means an active or historic leak that will need fixing. Sniff — a sewer smell from an unused sink means a dry trap; from a used one, means a broken vent.
Let the shower run for a minute and watch the drain. Fast drainage is healthy; water pooling means a partial blockage. The caretaker can usually clear this with a plunger.
Measure the space if you're bringing your own appliances. Nigerian kitchens are notorious for having fridge alcoves that are 2cm narrower than any standard fridge sold in the country.
This is the box with circuit breakers, usually in the corridor or kitchen. Is it modern (MCBs) or the old fuse-wire type? A fuse-wire box is a fire risk and a sign the property hasn't been rewired in 20+ years.
Go outside or to the meter box. Is it prepaid or analog? What's the meter number? Photograph it. If prepaid, test the card reader if there's one — this is where your ₦500 note comes in (some old readers need you to smooth the card, and a folded ₦500 sometimes works to clean the contacts). Ask the caretaker to show you the current credit balance.
Ask to see the changeover happen. When PHCN goes off, does the generator kick in automatically (ATS) or does someone have to walk out and flip a switch? This matters when you're home alone at midnight.
Every ground-floor window and accessible upper-floor window should have burglar bars. If not, factor installation cost in your negotiation — it's ₦40,000-₦80,000 per window.
Walk to a spot where you can see the roof. Missing tiles, visible sagging, or patches of rust on zinc sheets predict the next rainy season's leaks. Inside, check ceilings in the rooms directly under the roof (top-floor flats, or bungalows).
Bedroom doors, bathroom doors, storage doors. Do they close without sticking? Do the locks work? A door that won't close properly in April will swell shut in July when the humidity peaks.
Stand in the living room for 60 seconds with no one talking. What do you hear? Traffic? A nearby church or mosque (Nigerian call-to-prayer starts at 5am; ask)? Generators from neighbouring compounds? An active construction site? A bar that starts up at 10pm?
Look for: a nearby market (convenient but noisy), a pharmacy, a filling station (useful for diesel/petrol), mosques and churches (timing of events), and any structure that looks under construction.
Casually: "Hi, I'm thinking of renting the flat in that compound — anything I should know about the area?" Nine times out of ten you'll get honest information that the listing didn't mention. The one time out of ten the neighbour is also in on the scam, you'll have bigger problems anyway.
Before you leave, write down everything that needs fixing in a single text message and send it to the landlord or caretaker from your own phone. "Hi — from today's viewing: (1) kitchen tap leak, (2) master bedroom socket not working, (3) gate latch broken. Please confirm these will be fixed before move-in." Their reply is your evidence.
And when you're ready to view properties that have already passed their own verification pass — every document checked, every landlord KYC'd — browse verified listings on NoBroker Nigeria. It's the single highest-leverage thing you can do to shorten your search.
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