Factors influencing residential satisfaction within student housing facilities in the near-campus neighbourhood of Samaru Zaria, northwest Nigeria

Purpose The purpose of this study is to assess the adequacy of housing provided by private developers and landlords in the near-campus studentified neighbourhood of Samaru and adjoining neighbourhoods in Zaria, northwest Nigeria using residential satisfaction approaches. Design/methodology/approach Mixed methods involving a reconnaissance and questionnaire survey of 102 students living near-campus were analysed using descriptive statistics, t-tests and principal component analyses in SPSS from Likert-scale ratings of 34 housing attributes. Findings Overall, students were dissatisfied with their housing (mean 2.34 / 4). Eight factors influence residential satisfaction, namely, housing design; facility management and quality of building materials; safety, rules/regulations and cost; social environment; proximity to basic neighbourhood facilities; proximity to urban amenities; basic support services as well as noise control and privacy. Proximity to worship centres (mean 2.79) and privacy (mean 2.74) were the most satisfactory aspects of the housing environment. Proximity to fire service (mean 1.77), police station (mean 1.95) and facility management and maintenance (mean 2.00) were most dissatisfactory. Practical implications Private developers need to maintain proximity to neighbourhood facilities, levels of privacy and noise while improving quality of buildings, safety, rules/regulations, cost and maintenance and facility management, especially within houses of multiple occupation (HMOs). Originality/value The authors expand the description of HMO and purpose-built student accommodation within the mainstream studentification literature to include compounds of rentable rooms or housing units with or without landlords in residence for HMO and medium-sized purpose-built student accommodation accommodating up to a dozen or more suites for students.