Pastor Bright Moses could not conceal his pains. He loudly lamented his struggle to get an apartment in Aregbesola, Red Cross area Osogbo.
“I didn’t receive an agreement letter for over six months after full payment of this apartment, I spent close to a million while trying to make change (fixing of damages) and pay for the rent,” he said.
Two years ago, the young pastor began his ministry in Kogi State, Nigeria, before relocating to Osogbo to establish his Ministry “God’s Family Church” behind the popular Old Coca-Cola, Aregbesola, Osogbo.
He said he used all his savings in 2022 for repairs and rent on the apartment (hall) he rented.
His initial experience involved agents continually collecting money from him, capitalizing on his ministry’s urgent need for an apartment
Speaking to The Jurist Newspapers at his church, he said
“The agents are very bad people, my brother, They would insist that I pay them this and that before they would take me out and thereafter still call me for another payment which I don’t even understand, and whenever I asked them what the payment for, they would tell me it is the norms here.”
He also explained how many refused him because of his language. But in the end, he got one that demanded his invariant pay on different occasions.
He said “The man would just call me that, I need to pay for this and that, and because I don’t know anyone here, I had to be paying him, at the point when I requested my agreement letter he told me to hold on”
six months later, the lawyer finally provided the agreement letter. After he had already moved and furnished the hall.
He said the lawyer came, instructed him to sign many papers and left without allowing him to read them.
“The lawyer just came that day and started pointing out where I should sign on different paper, oyaa sign here, sign here” he narrated with total frustration.
Pastor Bright represents just one of the thousands of Nigerians who endure suffering and deception while seeking to rent an apartment. This ongoing battle affects nearly every tenant experiences daily in Nigeria on a daily basis.
Tenancy laws in Nigeria
For many years now, the discrepancy between the landlord and tenant has persisted, and the controversy has increased daily as people continuously fail to know their rights and understand the law.
The real struggle begins at the point of making or signing an agreement. Many Nigerians out of desperation, rented, signed or agreed to what would later get them in trouble.
The Nigerian Tenancy law though relative amidst each state in the country remains the guide and protection of individual rights. It stipulated the rights of both parties, the landlord and tenant, respectively.
To avoid this mistake, and to settle the discrepancy, The Jurist Newspapers has put together a summary of the Nigerian tenancy laws.
This is with the view to enlighten and educate the public on prominent things to know before renting another apartment in Nigeria.
How the law defines tenancy
Section 47 of the Lagos State Tenancy Law 2011[1], defines tenancy as the holding of interest in land or property by a tenant under a tenancy agreement.
A tenant means a sub-tenant or any person occupying any premises whether by payment of rent or however or by operation of law and not persons unlawfully occupying any premises under a bona fide claim to the owner.
Here is the list of rights that some tenants didn’t know they had;
- Right to property
you can find this in Section 43 of the Nigerian 1999 constitution. This section of the law gave all individuals in the country the right to obtain, acquire, and rent a house or an apartment anywhere in the country, without discrimination or segregation.
Sections 43 and 44 of the 1999 constitution provide:
43: Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, every citizen of Nigeria shall have the right to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in Nigeria.
So far you are in Nigeria, and you can acquire property anywhere, at any good time.
While the following section strongly discourages the forced or compulsory acquisition of individual property.
44: (1) No moveable property or any interest in an immovable property shall be taken possession of compulsorily and no right over or interest in any such property shall be acquired compulsorily in any part of Nigeria except in the manner and for the purposes prescribed by a law that, among other things –
(a) requires the prompt payment of compensation therefore and
(b) gives to any person claiming such compensation a right of access for the determination of his interest in the property and the amount of compensation to a court of law or tribunal or body having jurisdiction in that part of Nigeria.
- Right to Agreement
Payment is not the first or last thing when it comes to renting. You are earmarking a serious offence without a defence once you allow your desperation to work on you.
In any property engagement process, the agreement comes before payment. Paper agreement and not verbal agreement! This has landed many tenants in trouble simply because they were too formal while securing an apartment.
ask for a comprehensive paper agreement including bills, rents, charges and guidelines to clarify expectations and protect both parties interest.
This agreement is important. The Landlord can’t interact with tenants without it, and it affects whether you stay or not.
What should the agreement letter include?
Name of the Landlord
Name of the Tenant
Full description of the property
Payment information (amount, account to make payments
The expiration date of the tenancy
Duration of the rent
Next renewal of payment
If the landlord asks for more than what the agreement stipulates, the tenant can sue him/her.
- Right to Receipt
Apart from the issuance of an agreement, another important thing in sealing an agreement is “receipt”.
A tenant has the right to ask for a receipt of payment of his free and extra charges.
Failure of the landlord to produce this at any cause in time is an offence. And such a landlord is liable to be sued by the tenant.
A tenant should not be deprived of their entitlement to receive receipts for payments, renewals, and other transactions.
- Right to Privacy and Usage
Joshua Animasahun and his wife, Damilola were loving and living in their self-contained home (popularly known as self-con among Nigerians) until their landlady came up with rules that were not in their initial agreement.
But ignorantly they also submitted to it even though it was totally inconvenient for the young couples.
Their landlady forbids them using security and electric lights at night in the compounds and rooms.
“She told us we cannot turn on the security light in the compound at night and light inside our own room, As if that wasn’t enough, she included that we are not allowed to bring in visitors of any kind, not even siblings should come and stay with us, seriously we thought she was a witch at a time”. Mrs Damilola illustrated
She said they were living in the house as if they were in prison.
“Meanwhile, She also told us that we could not come in after 7 pm“. She concluded.
Individuals have the right to use certain property they acquired or rent without no restriction. Both parties can only impose restrictions if they agree upon them during agreement.
Which made it expedient for individuals to read, understand, and ask questions before agreeing or signing an agreement.
This means, the tenant can sue anyone who trespasses on his privacy once he/she has paid and signed the agreement.
Tenants can sue the landlord for trespass and more once the landlord breaches the agreement.
Nevertheless, the landlord can come to inspect his property, but shoulda have cordial agreement and consent of the tenants
Right to read and understand the agreement
The tenant also has the right to read and further ask questions or seek clarity during the agreement.
He also can terminate if the agreement does not meet his expectations.
5 Right to authentic Quit Notice:
This is where issue arises the most;
A quiet notice as defined by the “Black’s law dictionary is a written notice given by a landlord to his tenant, stating that the former desires to repossess himself of the demised premises, and that the latter is required to quit and remove from the same at a time designated, either at the expiration of the term if the tenant is in under a lease, or immediately if the tenancy is at will or by sufferance”.
Legal statutory requirements for serving eviction notice in Nigeria
It is illegal to forcefully evict a tenant or even do such without following the legal route. This implies that a landlord does not directly have the right to recover his property from a tenant not until;
“The agreement expires, the tenant is served a notice for 7 days before the court and the court agrees and gives the order.
If the court orders a forceful means of reacquiring a possession, the law enforcement agents (police) steps in.
According to the Rent Control and Recovery of Residential Premises Law 1976, a landlord who is willing to recover the possession of premises let to his tenant shall:
“On the determination of the tenancy, he shall serve the tenant with the statutory 7 days’ notice of his intention to apply to the court to recover possession of the premises,”
“Thereafter, the landlord shall file his action in court, and may only proceed to recover possession of the premises according to the law in terms of the judgment of the court in the action.
Section 16 of the Rent Control and Recovery of Residential Premises Law 1976 provides that the following will apply to a notice to quit:
The length of notice shall be one week in the case of tenancy at will.
- One week for a weekly tenant.
- One month for a monthly tenant.
- Half a year for a yearly tenant.[7]
However, the length of the notice can also be determined by the landlord and tenant in agreement. That is, in case the length has been discussed or stipulated in the agreement letter, this could determine the length of it.
Where the court could not hear the quit notice before the 7 days, the landlord could take action but not by himself but through the appropriate authority.
Similarly, the tenant in this manner could also appeal this in court after the expiration of the 7 days.
Who should serve or write the agreement
It is common in Nigeria that most landlords draft this themselves, but such an agreement does not stand legal.
The legal standard for this is that the tenancy agreement should be written by a lawyer with consent and review by the landlord.
Also, the tenant for better understanding should allow his lawyer to read it and explain it to him/her.
Though the landlord prepares and provides the details in the agreement letter but he must pay a lawyer to draft it.
Notice of owner’s intention to recover the possessed apartment
Finally, after the notice of quit, the landlord can proceed to “Notice of Owner’s Intention To Recover Possession of Premises.”
This will also be confirmed by the lawyer and the court. However, the court would only permit this only when the tenant refused to quit.
The notice of owners intention to recover possession of premises will only be served after the 7-day quit notice.