Rights of a Landlord:
 The rights of the landlord includes the right to receive rents from the tenant as at when due, and a restricted right to inspect the premises after a written notice has been given to that effect notifying the tenant about the proposed inspection. The inspection may be carried out at any reasonable hour of the day time only, and can be carried out for limited purposes including; to view the condition of the premises, and to carry out repairs in necessary parts of the building.

 In the event that the tenant does not observe any of his duties or obligations, the landlord has a right to engage a lawyer to institute court action to end the tenancy and repossess the premises. Before a landlord can do this, he must be sure that there is no portion of the Agreement or law stating otherwise, and that necessary notices have been given to the tenant to leave the premises and he has refused.

 Where a landlord exercises his right to go to court, he may ask the court to order the tenant to pay him rent that are unpaid but which have become ripe/due for payment prior to commencing the action in court, and he can further claim the value of rent for the premises per day until the tenant leaves the premises.

When a landlord wishes to eject a tenant from his premises, the following procedure must be followed:
• Issuance of a valid Notice to Quit.
• Issuance of a Notice of owner's Intention to Recover Possession at the expiration of the notice to quit
• Writ or Plaint against Tenant or Person Refusing to Deliver up Possession.
• Service of Processes

Words of Advice to Landlords:
The popular notion is that where a tenant renews his rent yearly, he will be entitled to six months’ notice before he can be ejected, but this notion is only true where a landlord fails to prepare a written agreement to regulate the length of notice that he desires to give the tenant. In order words, the length of notice will be regulated by the law in the absence of an agreement stating otherwise.
The benefit of preparing a written agreement in a tenancy relationship cannot be overstated. From my experience in managing properties and facilities, I have discovered that the first duty of every landlord is to make sure that his tenants have written agreements to guide his relationship with the tenants. This is essential because the law allows the landlord and tenant by way of a tenancy agreement to regulate their relationship in the areas of each person’s obligations, and length of notice to terminate the tenancy relationship. A landlord that therefore wishes to save himself some headaches may choose to regulate a substantial part of the tenancy relationship by way of a Tenancy Agreement and the best way to do this is to consult a competent lawyer for proper guidance.

Barrister Mike.

deolumike@gmail.com