Hello my people. A new law is coming to put a stop to payment of 2 to 3 year advance rent, but will this solve the problem of exploitation by agents?.

Residential Letting Agents are the worst scum of the earth in Lagos. They make hard work look bad and hard working people look like muguns. After a landlord builds or buys a property at great expense, an agent sitting in a dingy office doing nothing will claim up to 70% of the rent as commission. This pushes the cost of renting so high eg if the rent is #300,000 for 2 years, an agent will add a whopping #210,000 for his own pocket bringing the rent to #510,000. I am not forgetting Tenancy Agreement fee, I come to that later.

Its really easy money for the lazy kind. The agents like to give excuses that they have to walk many miles a day and knock on many doors and ask questions. They claim that this is hard work. The fact is most landlords seek the help of the agent to let their properties. Should it not be the landlord who should pay the agents commission. Back in the days of monthly payments, an agent had the job of monthly collections and earned his keep by adding a fair amount for his service of collecting rent for the landlord. Now they just sit in the office and collect 2 years rent without any struggle and they still claim a large commission. Some even charge each prospective tenant up to #1000 transport and viewing fee.

On top of everything, there is the fake and false Tenancy Agreement fee up to #20,000. This is a fee for the #20 photocopy of an agreement, a document that is supposed to be issued by a legal firm and witnessed by a solicitor will be provided by the agent for you to sign. It is not even worth the paper it is written on. All this pushes up our rent as above to #530,000.

I feel that the passing of this law is another waste of time. Here is an opportunity to put a stop to a nasty system of exploitation and all the government is doing is to change annual rent to monthly rent. Well it is not good enough especially for Lagosians. What is worth doing is worth doing well. If Fashola want to help us with rent and accommodation, the agents should be the first on the bill.

Damn, if all you wrote is really true then that sector needs some serious regulation.
However it's one thing to have a law and it's another to enforce it; remember there's a law concerning eviction where you give at least 6months notice, but inspite of this law a landlord can evict a tenant immediately after serving the quit notice, some don't even give quit notice you come home and see your belongings on the street.

Antiques of the rogue letting agents

Letting agents will sometimes collect e.g #90,000 and give you a receipt of #60,000 along with some silly excuse that the other money is for other things. If something should then go wrong, you don't get the undocumented sum back.

Most agents will collect money from 2 or 4 people on one property. Agents tend to communicate the availability of a property amongst themselves. Each agent will take a customer or victim to the same vacant property and then collect money. Duped Lagosians will then have to squabble amongst themselves for the property.

Sometimes an agent will let out a property on behalf of a landlord, collect the money and run. Instead of the stupid landlord to run after the agent, he goes on to disturb the tenant for a repeat payment or eviction.

All these evil activities go unpunished and there don't seem to be any law to curb this activity. Would someone kindly let Fashola know cos I don't think he does

As per landlord giving notice, that too is not enforceable. A friend of mine rented an apartment and paid 2 years money, he then travelled abroad for six months on business. When he got back he found all his stuff outside and new tenants living in his flat. Apparently in his absence, the landlord passed on and those relatives that inherited the property just broke in and moved his things out without any notice. Their excuse was that they thought the property was vacant since they did not see anyone there.

They promised to refund the money and a list of damaged personal effects was made. The original tenancy is about to end this August and so far no money has been refunded. It is beginning to look like another sum of money is going into the hands of a lawyer to sort this out in court. But the worst aspect of this case is the culprits refuse to show their faces and no one knows their names or where they live. They keep on putting their agent forward and they seem to swop agents like garments.

In a case like this, whom do you sue?

bumpity

this law never arrive?

Is the thread on a lagos state legislative process or on house agents? probably better to change the title so readers are drawn to the relevant topic. thought I was going to be informed of a certain legislation on rents in lagos and the source thereof.