The Lagos Tenancy Law: What Lagosians Should Know
1. The Lagos Tenancy Law does not apply to residential premises owned or operated by an educational institution for its staff and students; this would include boarding houses, hostels, university staff quarters etc.
2. The Lagos Tenancy Law does not apply to residential premises provided for emergency shelter; in a care or hospice facility; in a public or private hospital or a mental health facility; and those made available in the course of providing rehabilitative or therapeutic treatment.
3. The Lagos Tenancy Law does not apply to premises in Apapa, Ikeja GRA, Ikoyi, and Victoria Island. The Governor has power to extend the Law to these areas by order, and the tenancy reform bill currently before the Lagos State House of Assembly would apply to the whole of Lagos State if passed — so watch this space.
4. The Lagos Tenancy Law states that if you are a sitting tenant at a property, it is illegal for a landlord or his agent to demand or receive rent in excess of 6 months for a monthly tenant, or 1 year for a yearly tenant. It is also unlawful for the sitting tenant to offer or pay rent in excess of 1 year for a yearly tenancy and 6 months for a monthly tenancy. The penalty for both landlord and tenant involved in such an arrangement is a fine of N100,000, or 3 months imprisonment, or another non-custodial sentence.
5. The Lagos Tenancy Law provides that it is unlawful for a landlord or his agent to demand or receive from a new or prospective tenant rent in excess of 1 year in respect of any premises; it is also unlawful for the new or prospective tenant to offer or pay rent in excess of 1 year. The penalty is the same as above — a fine of N100,000, 3 months imprisonment, or another non-custodial sentence.
6. Every time you pay rent, your landlord is obliged to issue you a rent payment receipt. The receipt must state the date the rent was received, the names of the landlord and tenant, the location of the premises, the amount paid, and the period the payment covers. A landlord who fails to issue a receipt is liable to a fine of N10,000 payable to the court. Keep every receipt — in a dispute, they are usually your strongest evidence.
7. As a tenant, if you get your landlord’s consent in writing to make improvements on the premises, and the landlord later ends the tenancy, you are entitled to claim compensation for those improvements when you quit the premises. Note the two conditions: the consent must be in writing, and it must come before you do the work.
8. Your landlord is obliged not to seize any item or property of yours, or interfere with your access to your personal property. Read this one carefully, though. This obligation — along with the landlord’s duties not to disturb your quiet enjoyment, to keep the premises insured, and to maintain common parts — applies “subject to any provision to the contrary in the agreement between the parties.” In plain terms, your tenancy agreement can override it. This is precisely why you should never sign a tenancy agreement without reading it.
9. If you pay a security deposit, a payment for services and facilities, or a service charge in a block with common areas, the landlord or his agent must issue you a separate receipt for it. You are also entitled to a written account, at least every 6 months, of how the money you paid was disbursed.
10. Where your tenancy agreement does not stipulate your notice period, the Lagos Tenancy Law provides that the following applies:
- 1 week’s notice for a tenant at will;
- 1 month’s notice for a monthly tenant;
- 3 months’ notice for a quarterly tenant and a half-yearly tenant; and
- 6 months’ notice for a yearly tenant.
An important detail many people miss: for quarterly, half-yearly and yearly tenants, the notice does not have to expire on the anniversary of the tenancy. It can terminate on or after the date the tenancy expires. This changed the old common law position, under which a notice served on the wrong date was simply invalid.
11. If you believe a rent increase is unreasonable, you can apply to court. The court will consider the rent charged for comparable premises in the area, among other factors, and if it agrees the increase is unreasonable it may order the increase reduced. You do not have to simply accept whatever figure the landlord names.
12. If your landlord, in trying to eject you from the property, demolishes or alters the building without court approval, threatens or molests you, or attempts to remove you by force, the landlord is committing an offence, punishable on conviction by a fine of up to N250,000 or up to 6 months imprisonment. Remember that only a court can order your eviction — so any attempt by a landlord to remove you personally is unlawful no matter how much rent you owe.
13. Since 2022, real estate agents in Lagos must be registered with the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA) and hold a valid permit. Before you pay an agent a single naira, check their registration status on the LASRERA website. LASRERA also maintains a register of tenancy agreements, and it is the tenant’s responsibility to register the tenancy — which also gives you an independent record of your tenancy if a dispute arises later.
On tenancy agreements
As a tenant, you are entitled to request a written tenancy agreement from your landlord, and for yearly tenancies a landlord who refuses to issue one risks a fine on conviction. A tenancy agreement is an important document because it outlines the terms of your tenancy in the property — arguably the most important protection any tenant has, particularly given that several of the landlord’s statutory obligations can be varied by the agreement itself.
Where the tenancy runs for more than three years, a written agreement is not enough on its own. The lease must be made by deed and registered as a land instrument in Lagos State. Skipping this can leave you holding a weaker interest in the property than you thought you had.
Unfortunately, even when the landlord issues a tenancy agreement, most tenants simply sign it without reviewing it properly. Ideally this agreement should be reviewed by a legal expert.
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