Conflict between landlord and tenant is not a strange phenomenon in Nigeria; indeed, having a smooth tenant-landlord is a blessing in today’s society.
To avoid avoidable tenancy issues, the first step is to know your rights are protected and understand the basic rights you are entitled to as a tenant in Nigeria.
It is difficult to protect a right that is unknown, so it is important for tenants to be aware of certain rights. Below are some of the rights provided by the law:
Right to exclusive possession:
As a lawful tenant, the law holds that the place is solely yours for the period of the tenancy; you have exclusive possession, that is, the right to use premises to the exclusion of all others including the landlord himself. That means that the landlord will need your permission to enter the house or apartment and anyone that enters the premises without your consent is guilty of trespass.
Right to receipt of payment:
You are entitled to be issued with a receipt of payment by the landlord once you pay rent and the receipt must include the amount paid, the location of the property and the duration of the tenancy. Failure to issue a receipt of payment is an offence in Lagos under the Lagos Tenancy Law and there is a penalty of N100k for landlords who don’t issue it.
Right to Notice to Quit before eviction:
A tenant is entitled to be given notice before being evicted from a building and the notice varies based on the type of tenancy agreement; weekly tenants are entitled to a week’s notice, monthly tenants are entitled to two weeks’ notice, yearly tenants are entitled to 6 months’ notice. However, in Lagos, if you have a fixed tenancy, the landlord does not have to serve you a notice to quit once the tenancy expires because the Lagos Tenancy Law presumes that you are aware of when your tenancy is due to expire and so no notice is required.
Right to seven days’ Notice to Recover Possession:
In addition to notice to quit, all tenants are entitled to receive seven days’ notice to recover possession. This is issued by a landlord only after a validly issued notice to quit has expired and this is a critical part of the eviction process, and therefore if this is not issued, the landlord cannot bring an action for eviction.
Break clause
If there’s a break clause in the tenancy agreement, your landlord can give you notice after this. However, your landlord doesn’t have a guaranteed right to possession during the first six months of the tenancy. A break clause is a clause in a tenancy agreement that provides both tenant and landlord the opportunity to terminate the tenancy agreement early during the fixed-term. Essentially, either party can “break” the tenancy before the fixed end date, if the correct procedures and minimum protection contained in the relevant law is followed.
