Landlords/tenants always create problems for themselves while trying to eject their tenants by the issuance of invalid or insufficient quit notices.It is elementary that only valid quit notice can terminate tenancy agreement with certain exceptions which will be discussed later.it is common among the landlords/agents to rush to lawyers after the expiration of tenant's rent to ask for lawyers to issue 7 days owner's intention to possess because the tenant is in arears of rent.this is wrong in law and it can not sail through if the matter gets to court and the tenant gets a competent lawyer,this is because the conditions precedent have not been fulfilled.if a tenant whom was issued insufficient/invalid quit notice knows his rights or consult an expert,he will just sit tight and be expecting the landlord to take him to court where the notices will be declared invalid and the court will order a fresh valid notice to be issued on the said tenant.
i discover that quit notice properly so called is not understood by pple,some erroneously think it is a prerequisite in all instances,while some believe that 6 months notice must be given to a yearly tenant at all times,some ,in error ,also believe that once a tenant's rent expires,it requires only 7 days notice.These are indeed errors of fact and of law, which will be put in correct perspective seriatim:
1.it is the prerogative of the landlord to determine whether he is giving any quit notice or no quit notice at all at the end of the tenancy-according to the provisions in the tenancy agreement signed by both parties b4 the tenant parks in.any term in the agreement is binding on the parties who endorse it voluntarily.indeed the agreement supercedes the provisions for quit notice in THE TENANCY LAW OF LAGOS STATE.Indeed section 12 is only applicable where there is no contrary provisions in the agreement.the import of the introductory paragraph of the section is that if instead of 6 months both parties agree to 1day notice, so be it.hear what the section says:
'S.12(1)Where there is NO STIPULATION as to the notice to be given by either party to determine the tenancy,the following shall apply...
Caveat-the problems are self inflicted by the landlords therefore they should stop complaining,they will collect agreement fees,they will spend it instead of engaging a lawyer to draft agreement for them.
2.TENANCY FOR A FIXED TERM
Tenancy agreement can be drafted in such a way that landlords will not need to bother themselves on the issue of quit notices,what will be required is 7 days notice.See Section 12(5) of the Tenancy Law.for detail on this contact akinolaesq@yahoo.com
3.CAN Expiration of rent validly terminate tenancy agreement
The answer to this is NO unless the tenant is a licencee or he operates tenancy for a fixed period.the mere fact that tenant's rent has expired does not make him a squarter or tenant at will,he is indeed a statutory tenant and he is still protected by the law.The law requires that he should be given valid quit notice unless he is in arears for a specific months as provided by section 12(2)&(3) of the Tenancy law,which is reproduced hereinunder
'(2)in the case of monthly tenant,where he is in arrears of rent for three months,the tenancy shall be determined and the court shall make order for possession and arrears of rent upon proof of the arrears of rent by the landlord.
(3)in the case of a quarterly or half yearly tenant,where is in arrears of rent for six months,the tenancy shall be determined and the court shall make an order for possession.....'
apart from where the above conditions have taken place,valid quit notice is a prequisite before a tenancy can be determined or terminated.indeed the new law does not make provision for a yearly tenant that is holding over,therefore Section 12(1)(e)will be applicable where there is no contrary agreement.
4. CLARIFICATION ON THE ISSUE WHETHER QUIT NOTICE COULD BE ISSUE BEFORE THE EXPIRATION OF TENANCY
Quit notice is permissible in law to run concurrently with subsisting tenancy.for instance a yearly tenant that is let into a premise in january 1st jan. 2012 could be issued with a valid 6 months notice on july 1st to end on dec 31st 2012 .the essence of quit notice is to put the tenant on notice so that he can look for alternative accommodation-whether it is given during the pendency of the rent or after the expiration of the rent is of no moment.the most important thing is that the required month(s)must be complete:it can be given in excess, for instance instead of giving a 6 months notice ,one can decide to give 7 months however if by calculation in law,a quit notice is a day shorter then there is no quit notice validly known to law.in law a month is a full calendar month starting from 1st to the last day in the month.u can not start counting of a month other than from 1st see the Interpretation law.See Section 12(4) of the law which provides thus:
'Notice of tenants under this subsection(1)(a)-(e)of this section need not terminate on the anniversary of the tenancy but may terminate on or after the date of expiration of the tenancy'