Why Pay House Rent In Advance?

To be honest with you I support the two year rent in advance. The truth of the matter is that we Nigerians for the most part are different. We can't say because western countries pay rent three months in advance we should do the same. The fact is that in Nigeria most people are trying to get the upper hand and outsmart the next person that comes their way. For instance, my mother has had someone owing her huge sums for up to five years in the past (the person was meant to pay after 6 months) and its not like this person was broke for five years oh, the person in that time sent her youngest son to study in the US and built a house of her own. So tell me, why shouldn't we pay rent in advance? Until we can re adjust our attitudes, I think the two year advance system is best.

It has nothing to do with unfair. It has to do with economy system. We basically have none.

this is one of the reason things upside down, why we have people in such terrible states.

Nobody is going to help us, Nigeria has to do this to move forward.
Becos of 1 person, you want to extend this to 120mil people??

Whatever the justifications advanced for this, it's just not OK for score of people to continue struggling because they could not afford to pay the high advance rent always being demanded

If I want to start collecting monthly rent, I will consult lawyers about laws regarding tenancy, and see if we can include some clauses in the rental agreement and also if such an agreement between the landlord and tenant will be respected in the court of law if the terms are carried out to the letter.

•   I will collect an amount that is equal to 3 month's rent as caution fee, which will be returnable at the expiration of tenancy (Amount returned will depend on factors such as rent owed and cost of avoidable damages to the property)
•   Rent for each month is due on or before the end of business on the first business day of that month. You still pay one month in advance
•   Failure to pay rent on the first day of the month will be considered as a breach of the agreement and there will be incremental additional payments as for as long as the rent is not paid.
•   If a tenant does not pay by the end of the month, he/she (the tenant) will agree that he has terminated his tenancy, in which case he or she will agree to be given another 30 days (maybe 60 days if I had collected 4 months rent as caution fee) of grace to look for alternative accommodation.
•   If the tenant pays up all the accrued fees within the 30 (or 60) days of grace, the contact will be reinstated. A tenant can activate this clause only once in the life of the contract
•   At the expiration of the grace period, the landlord will be entitled to enter the rented premises in the presence of a law officer (probably from a law court acting on the terms of this agreement) and a representative of the tenant (if one is available). The purpose will be to remove the properties of the tenant and evict him. (plus pregnant wife or crying newborn babies o)

The wahala plenty sha. I’ve been on the two ends and I tell you the yearly rent is steep, but I’ll rather pay yearly than monthly. I’ll also gladly receive a 2 year rent but I’m willing to go with monthly rental if the law will protect the landlords too from fraudulent tenants.

His money is with me. that's why I won't wait for the rent default to be equal to the advance rent before I activate the eviction clause.

while  i find the payment of money in advance unpleasant,as a Nigerian, i can understand it. forget poverty, nigerians are lousy about paying up. anyone who does biz on credit can tell you. people who sell clothes on credit to bank 'big boys' always have to chase them.  so much of the pp i've done as an engineer, na soso story i go dey hear - ehn ehn .a friend did a job for a manager in a top engineering firm, on the agreement that the man would pay aftyer delivery. the man started telling stoies after receiveing the design.

theres something in our nature . . forget condition. . .  

Unless he finds a replacement.
remember he had people lined up ready to rent that house before he picked one.
Most times the tenants themselves get someone to sublet the house,that's usually how they get their money back.
and if the new sublettor is a "good person" he ends up living in the house after the initial lease is up.

I Believe that 2 years advance is both wrong and cruel; so also is the agreement fee paid; I believe that onus is on the government to create an enforceable legal framework where by a landlord can get 6months deposit and pay monthly in advance; so for a new tenant you need to come up with 7 months payment; if a tenant defaults on payment for 2 consecutive  months ; the landlord can institute an eviction proceeding in court which must be concluded within the remaining 4months thus protecting the landlord and giving the tenant ample time to get alternative accomodation or bring their payment upto date.

My parents have never collected rent. thank God we have stopped paying though. I came to Lagos with my suitcase to look for work and, like I said earlier, I have been on both sides. As a tenant, I quite agree with you that the initial cost of renting an apartment is rather high but I still prefer to pay yearly. It's easy on my budget.

As a landlord, if you coughed out money to buy/build a rental property, and one of the tenants has not paid for about three years now. If you fit collect 10 years advance from this kind person e too much?

@Busuguma

Here in the UK you are not allowed to take more than 2-3 months deposit from a tenant, this to be kept aside to be refunded to the tenant when they exit the property. You are allowed to deduct any costs you need to recover from the tenant from the deposit in the event that there is damage to your pproperty or its contents.

Secondly there is a  process for evicting tenants which has to be followed otherwise you will be in trouble with the law basicaly you cannot just chuck a non paying tenant out neither can you disconnect utilities i.e. gas , water or electricity or remove doors and windows - you have to go through the proper channels courts e.t.c just to get them out, your chances of recovering unpaid rent may also be very slim once you start the eviction process. If you are unfortunate to have a sit in tenant who knows the law inside out and can use it to their advantage you could end up having to pay mortgage on a property for several months  or years with no rental income coming in for you during the period.

In order to get good tenants you will require references from them as well as credit checks to ensure that the prospective tenant is credit worthy and will not become a nightmare once they move in to your property but the system is not fool proof, we had a set of tenants , two brothers who due to one of them being off work  defaulted on rent payments ,they owed 3 months rent which we never recovered from them, needless to say their deposit was not enough to cover our loss but on the positive side they did not damage anything in the apartment.

As a land lord you have to look after your interest because you have loans/mortgages to repay, your rental property should be seen as a business and not a charity, remember if you cannot pay your cerditors you'll loose the property.

The system here is a lot easier because you do not have to go round asking for rent each month, you just get the tenant to set up a standing order  for the rent to be paid into your account every month, all you need to do is check to make sure the rent is in each month and  chase any late payments and take  the apropriate action if it there is a likely hood that you will not get the rent, I normal chasing  a a day or two after the rent is due, begining with texts , email then phone calls followed  by a letter reminding them thay they will incurr interest on what they owe for each day the rent remains unpaid, if after a after 2-3 weeks nothing is forthcoming then its time to serve an eviction notice and debt recover process.

Compared to what goes in Nigeria this his much easier. We have some office blocks in Lagos with tenants, these are business that we have to chase yearly for rent, each year they come up with empty promises fortunately for them my parents collect the rent so they are soft with them , left to me I would have had them in the streets years ago.

As regards the comment that nigerias do not like paying bills, its very true!, everyone  wants something for nothing !,
I have currently got two nigerian owned businesses I did  some work for  here iin the UK who are refusing to pay up 
By the end of this  week , I'll be instructing debt collectors to recover the monies they owe me.

"After spending millions of naira building a house, most times over budget because of the constant inflation, why would they not want to collect their rent two years in advance?  It is only natural.

If landlords only ask for rent on a month to month basis, they will end up with more tenants who will not pay on time.  When the landlord evicts them for not paying on time, they will say the landlord is wicked.

What is puzzling is that they don't give you an option of paying a higher rent on a pay as you go basis.  Maybe I will pioneer this when I become a landlord, and other people will follow suit.

If landlords are forced to forego the 2 years advance, the average rental fee will definitely go up."

Quote from: 7kasali on Yesterday at 02:08:46 PM

""Generally an average Nigeria don't like to pay bills. We had a property that we charged month to month rent in ibadan the tenants always gave us stories each month until we transfered the management to a real estate company and somehow they are able to pay 1 year in advance.""

I agree with you both. There should be a legislation compelling both the Land lord and tenet for the benefit of both parties, one that the other will not be smarter than the order.

It  is more  convenient to pay in advance  to  avoid using the money  for something else and incurring the wrath of  landlords.

oh boy why will i allow someone stay in my house for three years without
paying? I think nigerians are generally 'kind' when it comes to these sort of things
I personally will not let my house to unemployed people/recently employed graduates
a man with more than 3 kids  except in some cases.

_{another thing is people should anticipate the condition of the tenants, always check how they are doing
in terms of work and business}

i agree with most views, its a real mad xter here in Nigeria. the govt should really look into this issue, and make laws where people should pay their rent monthly, that way we'll see lesser 30yr old guys still living with mum.

Jjay1, i feel u jare.
once supply exceeds demand,even rental prices will fall.i think there is an inbuilt mechanism in Nigerians that makes them want to be in debt even if the money is under the mattress.even our presido refuses to repay loans.so u can see that the situation is endemic.i think i prefer 2 years because it allows for planning and cost effectiveness.

check out this scenario,
1 month---paid
2rd month---10% increase
3rd month---another 5% increase
4th month---18% increase.

of course u can shout but u will explain to the landlord if na your father build the house.

Isn't it much safer that you pay your rent 6months to two years in advance and not be bothered by the landlord than have the landlord come knocking on your door every 30days like a trift collector and hassling you??
If a landlord has to collect rent every month, that means your contract with him on the house is only valid for 30days and is subject to review at the expiration of set date. Imagine you paid 10,000Naira last month, this month NLC and NUPENG go on strike, fuel scarcity, price of comodity goes up, what do you think will happen to next months rent?? You think say landlord go think am two times before ehn kick you commot from house??
I love this advance payment system, because it gives you rest of mind and ample time to plan ahead of you and prepare yourself for the next period of rent, also reduces the headache of thinking about money for rent every month. Especially civil servants wey government can owe them salary for months without show. It also helps you to eveluate the convineince of the property and establish if you like it or you would love to move to a new location at the end of the rent.
Those of you who have had to live in a hotel for a long period of time would appreciate this advance payment system. Imagine the receptionist calling you a 7.00a.m and reminding you that if you plan on staying further you had better come pay your bills now or check out time is at 12.00p.m.

We Nigerians complain too much jare. We hate okada's they are causing too much nuisance in the society, yet okada riders go on strike Nigerians start crying. Ordinary recharge card wey be 3000 Naira a month for one month validity dey hard some of us, talk less of 20.000 - 50. 000 a month for house rent.