CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1   BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Residential property management is emerging as a managerial science today (Kyle and Baird, 1995). It transcends beyond the role of rent collector (Li, 1997). Managing a residential property involves establishing goals, objectives and policies and implementation of strategies to achieve those goals and objectives. Singh (1994, 1996) posited that residential property management is an activity that seeks to control interests in property owner and particular purpose for which the property is held. Wong (1999) considers residential property management as the work carried out to manage and maintain the development including its facilities at the level that will retain or enhance the value of the residential property, create a safe, functional and conducive living environment for occupants, keep or restore every facility in efficient working order and in good state of repair, and project a good appearance or image for the development. Ismail (1996) regards residential property management responsibility as including all the necessary making to ensure the economic and physical vitality of residential property assets.
Residential property management is also the management of personal property, equipment, tooling and physical capital assets that are acquired and used to build, repair and maintain the residential property. Property management involves the processes, systems and manpower required to manage the life cycle of all public residential property as defined above including acquisition, control, accountability, responsibility, maintenance, utilization and disposition (Njoku, 2006). According to Ebie (2012), duties involved in residential property management generally will include a minimum of these basic primary tasks
-      The full and proper screening or testing of an tenants/applicant's credit, criminal history, rental history and ability to pay.
-      Lease contracting or accepting rent using legal documents approved for the area in which the property is located.
-      Mitigation and remediation regarding any maintenance issues, generally within a budget, with prior or conveyed consent via a Limited Power of Attorney legally agreed to by the property owner.
There are many facets to this residential property management, including managing the accounts and finances of the real estate/residential properties, and participating in or initiating litigation with tenants, contractors and insurance agencies. Litigation is at times considered a separate function, set aside for trained attorneys. Although a person will be responsible for this in his/her job description, there may be an attorney working under a property manager. Special attention is given to landlord/tenant law and most commonly evictions, non-payment, harassment, reduction of pre-arranged services, and public nuisance are legal subjects that gain the most amount of attention from residential property managers. Therefore, it is a necessity that a public residential property manager be current with applicable municipal, county, state and Federal Fair Housing laws and practices. In advanced countries, residential property management, like facility management, is increasingly facilitated by computer-aided facility management (CAFM).
However, managers of residential properties in Nigeria are faced with various kinds of problems ranging from uncooperative attitude from workers, poor maintenance and environmental condition, security and other basic infrastructures. Some managers in Nigeria have been able to cope with some of these challenges but the researcher will provide an overview about the problem and prospects of residential properties management focusing on Kaduna North Local Government Area.