The provision of adequate housing that is safe, secure, accessible, affordable and sanitary is a fundamental human right, as enshrined in the United Nations Habitat Agenda ? the global call on human settlements. Housing has been universally accepted as the second most important human need. It is a basic need for human survival and an essential component to the advancement of the quality of life of the citizenry. This universally accepted fact has been acknowledged by successive Nigerian Governments, as evident from the pockets of uncoordinated initiatives and programmes in mass housing development over the years. Despite these efforts, housing delivery remains a major challenge.

Effective housing delivery involves many actors and therefore requires effective partnership collaboration and information sharing. The significant shortfall in housing provision has been attributed to the inadequacy of the existing national Housing Policy (1991) to meet current challenges and economic trends and to guide development in the sector. Government has realised that effective housing delivery can only be achieved within the framework of a well articulated National Housing Policy that sets out the broad guidelines, goals, objectives and strategies for Housing in Nigeria, which is home?grown and driven by the people. This underpins the development of a revised National Housing Policy document.