Senate moves to stop landlords from collecting yearly rent in Nigeria

A bill seeking to restrain house owners in the country from demanding more than three months’ rent from tenants scaled first reading in the Senate on Tuesday.

The bill titled: “Advance Rent for Residential Apartments, Office Spaces, Etc, Regulation Bill 2022,” was sponsored by the Senator representing Kogi West in the upper legislative chamber, Smart Adeyemi.

The lawmaker, who addressed journalists after the plenary, said the bill would enable tenants to make a maximum advance payment of three months’ rent and monthly payment thereafter.

Adeyemi said: “We discovered that landlords are compelling tenants to make one-year and two-year advance rent payments before they would give them keys to their apartments.

“This may not be an issue to quite a number of people but to many others, it is a great pain for them. Most Nigerians need the protection of the law to be able to meet their basic needs after paying rent.

READ ALSO: Nigerian govt again urges landlords to charge monthly rents

“Many landlords did not secure loans to build their houses, they are products of free money they acquire from the system. Yet, they make life difficult for poor Nigerians who do not have such privilege of making ill-gotten money from the system and putting up structures.

“The buildings are constructed in such a manner that an average Nigerian would not be able to afford it. Many people are involved in corrupt practices to get their rents paid while the ladies took to prostitution.

“The law we are proposing stipulates a maximum advance rent payment of three months. After the expiration of the three months rent, the tenants are expected to pay monthly.”

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