The Hidden Cost of an Empty Apartment in Abuja, and How Shortletting Unlocks It

Drive through Maitama, Wuse 2, Jabi or Katampe in the evening and count the windows with no lights on. Many of those apartments are finished, furnished and worth tens or hundreds of millions of naira. And many of them earned their owners nothing last month.

In property, we talk a lot about what a building is worth. We talk much less about what it is doing. An apartment is capital. Capital that sits still is not safe; it is quietly losing ground.

This post is about that lost ground, and why I believe shortletting is one of the best ways for Abuja owners to win it back.

What an empty apartment really costs

An idle apartment does not feel expensive, because no one sends you an invoice for it. But the costs are real.

The bills keep coming. Service charge, security, electricity minimums, periodic cleaning and repairs all continue whether anyone lives there or not.

The building ages anyway. Pipes that are not used develop problems. Air conditioners that are not run fail sooner. Dust, damp and small faults go unnoticed until they become big repairs. An empty home is not a preserved home.

The income is gone for good. A month the apartment sits empty is a month of income you can never earn back. Unlike the property itself, lost nights do not appreciate.

Inflation eats idle value. Nigeria's headline inflation was 15.39% in August 2026, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. That is lower than it has been, but it still means that every naira your property is not earning buys noticeably less next year. An asset that produces no income is relying entirely on its sale price rising faster than prices around it, and that is a bet, not a plan.

Put simply, an empty apartment is a large sum of money you have chosen not to use.

Why so many Abuja homes sit empty

Most owners with an idle apartment are not careless. They usually have good reasons.

• They are holding out for the right tenant and do not want to lock the property into a long lease at the wrong price.
• They want to use it themselves a few times a year, for visits, holidays or family, and a yearly tenant makes that impossible.
• They worry about wear and tear, or about who will be living in their property.
• They live abroad or in another city and cannot manage tenants or guests day to day.
• They have had a bad experience with an agent or tenant and do not want to repeat it.

Every one of these concerns is fair. The traditional annual let does not answer most of them. Shortletting, done properly, can answer almost all of them.

Annual let versus shortlet: an illustrative example

Here is a simple comparison for a well-furnished two-bedroom apartment in a central Abuja district such as Wuse 2 or Jabi. The figures below are illustrative, not a promise. Every apartment, location and season is different, but the published market ranges give a useful picture.

Option A: annual let

• Market reports put well-located two-bedroom rents in Abuja at roughly ₦2 million to ₦4 million a year.
• Taking the top of that range, the owner earns about ₦4 million a year, and the apartment is unavailable to them for the whole year.

Option B: shortlet through Found Apartments

• Central-Abuja shortlets commonly list between ₦70,000 and ₦170,000 a night. We'll assume ₦120,000.
• Industry estimates put typical shortlet occupancy in Nigeria at about 35–45%. We'll take a cautious 35%, which is about 128 nights a year.
• Gross booking value: 128 × ₦120,000 = ₦15.36 million.
• Found's 25% commission, charged only on completed bookings: ₦3.84 million.
• Running costs such as cleaning, power, diesel, internet and consumables, estimated generously at ₦300,000 a month: ₦3.6 million.
• Estimated net to the owner: about ₦7.9 million a year.

In this example, the shortlet earns roughly twice what the annual let does. The apartment is also still free for about 237 nights of the year, and the owner can block any of those for personal use.

The exact numbers will vary. The pattern is what matters: a well-presented Abuja apartment in a good location can often earn considerably more by the night than by the year, while keeping the owner in control of it.

Why shortletting unlocks capital

When people hear "unlock capital", they often think of selling or mortgaging a property. Shortletting offers a third way.

Cash flow without selling. You keep the asset and its long-term growth, and it starts paying you in the meantime. That income can fund your next project, reduce debt, or simply build a cushion.

Flexibility an annual lease cannot give. You are never locked in for twelve months. If the market shifts, if you want to sell, or if family needs the home, you can close the calendar.

A property that pays for its own upkeep. Regular income covers service charge, maintenance and improvements, so the apartment stays in good condition and holds its value.

A track record. A documented history of bookings and income shows exactly what your property can earn. That can make it easier to value, sell or discuss with a lender later.

Why Abuja suits shortletting

Abuja has steady demand for short stays that many cities do not.

• Government and business travel. Ministries, agencies, embassies, international organisations and corporate head offices bring a constant flow of visitors who need somewhere comfortable for days or weeks, not years.
• Conferences and events fill the city throughout the year.
• Diaspora and family visits peak around Christmas, Easter and the long holidays.
• People in transition, such as those relocating, renovating or waiting on a new home, often prefer a furnished shortlet to a hotel.

Many of these guests prefer an apartment to a hotel room: more space, a kitchen, privacy, and better value for longer stays.

Where Found Apartments comes in

The biggest barriers to shortletting are trust and effort. Found Apartments is designed to reduce both.

• Vetted hosts and listings. Every host is verified before going live, and guests see a "Vetted by Found" badge. That trust brings bookings.
• You approve every booking. Guests request dates and you decide. Requests you do not answer expire after 48 hours.
• Payment goes directly to you. Once you confirm a stay, you collect payment from the guest.
• Your own dashboard and calendar. See requests, confirmed stays and earnings in one place. Block dates for your own use in a tap.
• Transparent pricing for guests. Nightly rate, cleaning fee and VAT are shown upfront, so there are no surprises at check-in.
• No listing fees. Found earns a 25% commission only when you earn.

Is shortletting right for your property?

Shortletting works best for apartments that are furnished (or can be), in a good location, with reliable power, water and security. It is not the right answer for every building. If your apartment is not guest-ready yet, talk to us. We will tell you honestly what it needs, or whether a different option suits you better.

Put your apartment to work

If you own an apartment in Abuja that spends more time locked than lived in, I would like to help you change that.

List your apartment on Found Apartments →

You can also read how hosting works at found.ng/host, or browse the apartments already live at found.ng/apartments.

Warm regards,

Stanley Ebosie
Founder & CEO, Found Projects & Realty Limited

The figures in this article are illustrative estimates based on published market ranges for Abuja in 2026 and are not a guarantee of earnings. Actual income depends on location, pricing, presentation, season and occupancy.