Factors Affecting Housing Affordability and Housing Cooperatives Performance Within Lagos State: A Systematic Literature Review

Housing affordability remains a critical challenge in Lagos State, Nigeria, with a deficit of 3.4 million units and rent-to-income ratios exceeding 50-70%. Housing cooperatives, despite their potential for affordable housing delivery, face systemic barriers limiting their effectiveness. This systematic literature review aims to identify, analyse, and synthesise factors affecting housing affordability and housing cooperatives’ performance in Lagos State. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, a comprehensive search across five databases (Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, JSTOR, and AJOL) yielded 40 peer-reviewed studies published between 2009 and 2026. A thematic synthesis approach was employed to extract and categorise key factors. The review identified ten thematic factors: macroeconomic determinants (70%), income and demographic factors (87.5%), cooperative governance and management (55%), policy and regulatory framework (75%), land acquisition and tenure (65%), construction costs and materials (60%), housing finance and mortgage accessibility (80%), infrastructure and service delivery (67.5%), institutional capacity (45%), and social and community participation (50%). Three critical insights emerged: a land titling catch-22 where cooperatives cannot access finance without land titles yet cannot acquire titles without capital; an infrastructure cost transfer where government failure adds 20-30% to housing costs; and a cooperative governance paradox where democratic governance models are mismatched to housing development complexity. The findings provide an evidence base for policy reform, highlighting the need for integrated interventions addressing land titling, infrastructure provision, cooperative governance professionalisation, and housing finance deepening. The review maps research gaps, calling for longitudinal studies and rigorous quantitative methods.