Bungalow (single-storey house)

The defining feature of a bungalow is that everything is on the ground floor: sitting room, bedrooms, kitchen and bathrooms. There are no stairs inside.

Types. Property Centre lists three, matching the duplex types:

• Detached bungalow: stands alone on its plot.
• Semi-detached bungalow: shares one side wall with a neighbour.
• Terraced bungalow: one of a row of joined single-storey houses.

Why people choose them. A bungalow is cheaper to build than a duplex of the same floor area because it needs no upper slab or stairs, and it suits older people and families with young children. On cheaper land outside the big cities, many owners build a bungalow first and add a floor later; check whether the foundation was designed for that.

Bungalows as rentals. In Ibadan, Abeokuta, Benin, Enugu and many other cities, a large bungalow is often split into several flats, room and parlour units or self contains, each let separately. Listings may then say "flat in a bungalow".

Layout. A typical family bungalow has a sitting room and dining area at the front, a kitchen and store at the back, and bedrooms along a corridor, with one or more en suite. Older bungalows often have a separate BQ and a large compound; newer ones in estates are more compact.

Renting a bungalow. A whole bungalow is usually let to one family. Where it has been divided into flats, each unit is let separately and shares the compound, so ask how water, power and refuse are shared before you agree.

• Lagos: detached bungalows are common in Ikorodu, Ibeju-Lekki, Epe, Badagry and mainland suburbs; less so in central Lagos, where land is expensive.
• Ogun and Oyo: the most common family house type.
• Abuja: found in satellite towns and older districts; duplexes dominate newer estates.
• India and some other countries: "bungalow" can mean any detached house; in Nigeria and the UK it means single-storey.