^^^^ bros, cool temper na! You know, somebody has to defend the landlords, they have a case here and I don't like all these to backfire, if it ever backfires then who will suffer? The same poor masses!
That is why I am thinking that the landlords should be considered.
The way I see it is that the law may be very considerate for the poor majority, but the rich minority were not stripped of their powers either, leaving a dangerous battleground where (I fear) the tenants cannot win the battle, and if they ever lose, they will suffer more as house rents can baloon out of control, impoverishing the poor who we want to protect.
In capitalism, I have learnt that the investors should be protected from arbitrary legislations which might make a particular business unprofitable, yes, landlords are humans and a part and parcel of the populace, any law made to put them into any type of disadvantage will make more investors to stop building, then the real wahala will start, and I don't like what will happen next.

Nigerians want the Government to be magicians and perform wonders, but no one is ready to obey any Law
Selfish people. We compire our nation to developed nations but the citizens are never willing to help any govt at any level. We are only good at insults and yeye critics.

Lease, in the context of rental property, do not allow you to collect multiple years rent. It only binds you to an agreement for a specified minimum rental period.

spyder880:

^^^^ bros, cool temper na! You know, somebody has to defend the landlords, they have a case here and I don't like all these to backfire, if it ever backfires then who will suffer? The same poor masses!
That is why I am thinking that the landlords should be considered.
The way I see it is that the law may be very considerate for the poor majority, but the rich minority were not stripped of their powers either, leaving a dangerous battleground where (I fear) the tenants cannot win the battle, and if they ever lose, they will suffer more as house rents can baloon out of control, impoverishing the poor who we want to protect.
In capitalism, I have learnt that the investors should be protected from arbitrary legislations which might make a particular business unprofitable, yes, landlords are humans and a part and parcel of the populace, any law made to put them into any type of disadvantage will make more investors to stop building, then the real wahala will start, and I don't like what will happen next.

fashola is at fault!

firstly, you just don't bring out new tenancy laws and expect it to be enforced instantly without thinking it through.
i understand the rents in some parts of lagos are crippling the tenants but then he should be looking at why these rents are premium and why landlords take 2-3 yrs advance. it is because nothing protects the landlords in lagos.

if fashola can also make the courts work in which any tenant cannot owe more than 3 months before being evicted, then no landlord would have any problem with the six months rent policy. landlords are also humans and nobody remembers the problems they go through building properties in lagos and the cost of maintaining these properties.

bfire:

Lease, in the context of rental property, do not allow you to collect multiple years rent. It only binds you to an agreement for a[b] specified minimum[/b] rental period.

those are the key words.
binding, agreement and specified minimum rental period.
it simply means, come rain come shine, mr fashola then tenant is bind to an agreement to stay[u] x number of years[/u] in ma house with full rent payment.

In the UK, you pay monthly because 9 times out of 10 the landlord is also paying for the house monthly i.e. mortgage. In Nigeria, landlord builds house with his cash and yet some fools dont want to pay complete. Make you try that nonsense for my papa yard! You go regret the day you were born. All this people talking about go to court and wasting their time. Where is a wretched tenant who can afford to pay me my N250,000/ year going to get money to pay even an ordinary charge and bail lawyer? nonsense and ingridents!

@Coogar:
Full rent? Please, explain.

It's a pay as you go monthly thing and lease would not bind you to pay, say 2ys lease, total lease due for 2yrs at once. No?

Where are the lawyers among us, can leases be paid for in monthly instalments?

bfire:

@Coogar:
Full rent? Please, explain.

It's a pay as you go monthly thing and lease would not bind you to pay, say 2ys lease, total lease due for 2yrs at once. No?

lease is not necessarily a pay as you go monthly thingy. . . .it's normally between 6 months to 2 years depending on the agreement. it also means within that period, i as a landlord cannot increase the rent. it will be a flat rate throughout the period of agreement. the lease agreement commits the tenant to a specific term of occupancy. . .unlike the rental agreement which are often renewed every end of the month. . .

since a lease's terms are for a specific number of months and are usually outlined in a written, mutually signed contract, the tenant cannot break the lease by vacating the property during the length of the contract. If he does so, he will be legally held liable for the amount of rent remaining on the contract.
technically, the lease offers the landlord more protection than the rental agreement.

Please Sarcastic, Where is this your house. I need accommodation badly and landlords are now asking for 3 years

coogar:

here lies the difference. . .

i think governor fashola erred by passing this ridiculous law that favours the tenant without thinking of protecting the landlords who pay premium to build and maintain their properties. in the united kingdom, tenants pay monthly or even weekly but the landlords are protected by solid insurance schemes and courts of law that actually works. if a tenant refuses to pay, judges get bailiffs to throw such tenants out within few months. in lagos, tenants have been known to stay 4 yrs without paying any rent whilst the case is being dragged and dragged in the courts. . . .[/b]it is unfair on the landlords. they have no protection from the government at all.
landlords are not monsters. they take rents in advance because they protect themselves from unscrupulous tenants who sometimes refuse to pay for years.
i think lagos landlords should look for new strategies. forget [b]house for rent, use house for lease. fashola's law is impotent to that legal technicality.

God bless you real good. People only want to obey laws that protect them forgetting the other party.

^^^ thank you for the lectures, so lease is pre paid by the tenant for all the duration of time stipulated?

spyder880:

^^^ thank you for the lectures, so lease is pre paid by the tenant for all the duration of time stipulated?

it depends. . . .
but your protection is. . . .the tenant cannot opt out of the agreement any time he wishes.
if i enter a lease agreement with you for your property at 100,000 naira per month for one year(january 2012 - january 2013). . . . . .i cannot say i am moving out in april 2012. . . . .  even if i do, you will still collect your rent from me between (april 2012 - jan 2013). whether i stay in the property or not is not your business. the agreement was for me to be there for a year. . . .and by law, you shall collect the rents for a year.

No, lease is not prepaid for the entire period of the agreement. The parties may agree on payment structure which must not contradict existing property laws.

There are terms and conditions that should be agreed to by the lessor and the lessee. Any such agreement is what is binding on both party.

Yes, the agreement is better compared to month to month rentals and guarantees the lessor (landlord) of a steady income.

spyder880:

^^^ thank you for the lectures, so lease is pre paid by the tenant for all the duration of time stipulated?

No, but both parties can negotiate  mutually agreeable terms. Why would anyone be quick to obey a law because it's skewed in their favour to the utmost detriment of the other party?

Just so you know, I am not a landlord but I have seen first hand situations where some very reasonable ones are taken as mugu and believe it or not they eventually gave up on the law because it does not protect them in any way.

bfire:

[b]No, lease is not prepaid for the entire period of the agreement. The parties may agree on payment structure which must not contradict existing property laws.[/b]There are terms and conditions that should be agreed to by the lessor and the lessee. Any such agreement is what is binding on both party.

Yes, the agreement is better compared to month to month rentals and guarantees the lessor (landlord) of a steady income.

Agreed, but as a tenant, I am also bound by the terms of the lease, so I may pay my rent monthly, if at some point I contravene the agreement of that lease, the landlord can evict me and I'd still be liable for the full lease with the landlord having full backing of the law to get every penny.

^^^ I am a victim of the 'good landlord' problems. Since I built a house and let in tenants last year, I have left them to enjoy all the facilities in that compound and even assists them in all problems. I don't visit there, just to reduce any rift, I let them pay as they like, monthly or even after 3 months, I let in a lot of poor people who don't have any money to pay in other places, including picking a family from under a flyover where they lived and asked them to move into my house and pay every month end. I didn't make them sign agreements of exploit them in any way.

What did I get in return? Fight, trouble, police cases of all types, refusal to pay light bill and sometimes rent, subletting their rooms and packing out, littering the compound and turning the frontage into a dustbin, breaking a part of the fence and disobeying me and my caretaker. I have had so much headache in the last 1yr7months that I am thinking of demolishing the house because of the trouble it is giving me. Now I have talked with my lawyer to take over the property and administer it. But I will first increase rents by 20% so the people that don't like it can leave in peace. Tenants can be a load of trouble sometimes.

spyder880:

^^^ I am a victim of the 'good landlord' problems. Since I built a house and let in tenants last year, I have left them to enjoy all the facilities in that compound and even assists them in all problems. I don't visit there, just to reduce any rift, I let them pay as they like, monthly or even after 3 months, I let in a lot of poor people who don't have any money to pay in other places, including picking a family from under a flyover where they lived and asked them to move into my house and pay every month end. I didn't make them sign agreements of exploit them in any way.

What did I get in return? Fight, trouble, police cases of all types, refusal to pay light bill and sometimes rent, subletting their rooms and packing out, littering the compound and turning the frontage into a dustbin, breaking a part of the fence and disobeying me and my caretaker. I have had so much headache in the last 1yr7months that I am thinking of demolishing the house because of the trouble it is giving me. Now I have talked with my lawyer to take over the property and administer it. But I will first increase rents by 20% so the people that don't like it can leave in peace. Tenants can be a load of trouble sometimes.

you should have hired me!

spyder880:

^^^ I am a victim of the 'good landlord' problems. Since I built a house and let in tenants last year, I have left them to enjoy all the facilities in that compound and even assists them in all problems. I don't visit there, just to reduce any rift, I let them pay as they like, monthly or even after 3 months, I let in a lot of poor people who don't have any money to pay in other places, including picking a family from under a flyover where they lived and asked them to move into my house and pay every month end. I didn't make them sign agreements of exploit them in any way.

What did I get in return? Fight, trouble, police cases of all types, refusal to pay light bill and sometimes rent, subletting their rooms and packing out, littering the compound and turning the frontage into a dustbin, breaking a part of the fence and disobeying me and my caretaker. I have had so much headache in the last 1yr7months that I am thinking of demolishing the house because of the trouble it is giving me. Now I have talked with my lawyer to take over the property and administer it. But I will first increase rents by 20% so the people that don't like it can leave in peace. Tenants can be a load of trouble sometimes.

Reasonable landlord = Mugu by naija parlance.

Contact your nearest property lawyer to take the case up. Once its in front of the rent tribunal, you will see the changes to his attitude. Nigerians like to test the law to see if it will be successful but once they are the guniea pigs they wont let it happen to them twice again. FYI do you know it is punishable for you to offer beyond 6months rent? Claiming Ignorance of the law won't help you because you already know the law. Dont let people push you to do otherwise because its only you that will experience the wrath of the law once it catches up with you or your landlord.

 

That up there was what I also thought amongst several conditions tantamount to fines or jail terms, most of all these other folks responding are too emotional to evaluate the total consequencies.
BTW I do have a house on the Lekki axis myself (bought in 2006). I have a good tenant there and I will find it difficult as I have known in Nigeria to eject him without due process in the event that things don't go too well. The law in most part of the world favors the tenant so we must thread softly. I live here in the U.S. and hey, the law says monthly I don't like it but paid for three years before I started paying for my own property, still paying, lol.

So, folks, as much as I don't feel comfortable with the seeming loose manner BRF(SAN) has passed this law without working on striking a balance or a win-win on both sides , I will still advise that we don't get into too much sentiments but help those who genuienly want to adhere to the law so they don't fall foul of it. I hear some-body saying , "Trust Nigerians, wanting to take advantage, " of course the law is there to benefit people na . Se, in the past some guy in Agbada just came out of His car a gave you a dirty slap with his 5-6 tugs around ( because you offended him )and you tucked your tail and walked away but if you knew you could sue him and you talked with a lawyer and He's brought to book your confidence in the law will soar.

With time it won't just be tenancy law that will be upheld but our actions can force the govt of the  day to ensure the law is applied and the full weight of the law comes to bear if any one if found wanting, make i stop here. Afterall I no be lawyer sef

please make sure you inform PUBLIC DEFENCE @ alausa about this meace!!!

^^^ thank you for admitting the law is one sided, I remember that saying that any peace without justice is a peace of the graveyard. The peace we expect from this one sided law is not the right type of peace.

As a father, the Lagos govt should have thought of all their children, or what type of peace are you expecting when you tell your last son to take some favours from your wealth to the disadvantage of your first son who might have helped you build the wealth and you still expect to sleep well in that house? Na wao!

This same group of people we are demonizing are the people who built up Lagos. When the govt was irresponsible in the late 80s till late 90s, when the politicians were exploiting us and the companies have been getting selfish, these group of men were toiling under the sun/rain, starving themselves, pinching their pannies, denying their family some pleasure, refusing to buy flashy cars and saving every penny to build for you. Do they deserve not to reap from their sweat in any way? Even the natural laws of creation, the religious books are all in their favour. They should be allowed to enjoy from their sweat.

The trouble from insisting your child should not enjoy the fruits of his labour is that he will lack the motivation to go out and fight for more reward, and that will rob everybody of goodies.
The omo onile will not see who to exploit
The tenants will not see houses to rent
Who will pay the exhorbitant building levies to Fashola?
Building materials suppliers will go hungry
Workmen go hear wheeen!
Engineers and builders will find another job.

spyder880:

^^^ thank you for admitting the law is one sided, I remember that saying that any peace without justice is a peace of the graveyard. The peace we expect from this one sided law is not the right type of peace.

As a father, the Lagos govt should have thought of all their children, or what type of peace are you expecting when you tell your last son to take some favours from your wealth to the disadvantage of your first son who might have helped you build the wealth and you still expect to sleep well in that house? Na wao!

I  do agree that the law is one sided but i think i heard the Governor saying those that are privilege should be willing to help the less privilege to make the society a better one. The issue is a law has been passed and we are bound to obey that law as citizens of the state, i don`t seem to understand why it should be different in this country. We should please severe ourselves from this imperialist or colonial sort of thinking and attitude and liberate ourselves, we all cry to high heavens about the ineptitude of the ruling class but  we cannot obey simple law, we go to church make noise and disturb the peace of other people with loud speakers in the name of night vigils, we go to Mosque and pray 5 times a day, disturb the peace of the neighborhood with noise emanating from loud speakers by 5am in the morning, i just wonder what we learn from this places or what the Bible or Koran is all about including Jesus Christ and Mohammed, i am disgusted by the ignorance of my people. "Nation of idiots ruled by fools".

I wonder why it is such an issue? At the end of the year, the amt will still be the same, so what is the issue?

I had a meeting with my landlady and we settled rent issue and the PHCN issue. She has agreed to collect 6 months and will issue a receipt. Its no big deal. It is when you are dealing with agberos that is when there will be an issue. Any educated person will see that the rent will still enter your account. Nobody is trying to cheat you.

@ceejay80s
The law is the law, we must obey the law! I watched press tv yestaday and saw german protestor parading the streets and complaining that their house rent is too high, same demonstration in russia 2months ago and their government did something, it is only the landlords or landlords children in nairaland that will disagree to the new rule, take it up with him,if he disagrees, take him to court, u would stil be in that house for almost 2yrs without paying him,and the case will be adjourned,then u would hv saved enough money and gotten urself another place that would be better, ould hv saved enough money and gotten urself another place that would be better,


Your view sounds ridiculously legaly right, but morally totaly wrong.
Subsequently the tenant will eventually leave, while the Landlord reposes his property forever and ever.
Most importantly, if the Landlord has not forgiven him, for the losses caused, the tenant will surely repay him in Hereafter,
which cannot be quantified with the worldly material. So who losses, Landlord or Tenant?
Problems become compounded when we try to solve them with so called "man made laws" (that get reviewed at any instant to suit a target)

^^^^^^^

It is very easy to counter it. The landlord will sue the tenant, whereva he runs to and collect his full rent with interest. That is the law.

^^^^ very good point blank, the issue of negotiation. In your case you are wise enough to come up and talk the issue out with your landlord and not think of taking her to court so you can just throw the 6 months at her in the end or send her to jail. Thank you for this high sense of responsibility and I assure you, if any of my tenants come to me and talk things out, who am I to refuse since I know my money will come to me in another 6 months. But the attitude I don't like is to make it seem like 'yes! Serves them right, they are wicked' etc

I urge everyone to talk it out and iron out the potential problems even before you rent expires. Trouble does not benefit anybody, except the lawyer of course.lol.

@spyder880
I am not sure if you have gone through a copy of the Law (Tenancy act). Its very straight forward and all inclusive. The Law wins until amended. If anyone plays to the gallery, its to his or her perile. Pay and receive not more than 6 months.  Quit notie

blank:

^^^^^^^
It is very easy to counter it. The landlord will sue the tenant, whereva he runs to and collect his full rent with interest. That is the law.

landlord sues the tenant and the case takes 10 years before the landlord gets paid. who has the time for that?
if the tenant decides to do a runner, the landlord is left high and dry to lick his wounds.

^^^^ thank you, now where is the protection for the landlord on that?

We all know the truth, our laws are dead, together with our corrupt, rotting. Judical system. Why are we pretending like this will revive everything and heal the world? I am done with this topic sef, will be watching with one eye to see how long it takes before this landlord lands in Kirikiri with a striped uniform!

spyder880:

^^^^ thank you, now where is the protection for the landlord on that?

We all know the truth, our laws are dead, together with our corrupt, rotting. Judical system. Why are we pretending like this will revive everything and heal the world? I am done with this topic sef, will be watching with one eye to see how long it takes before this landlord lands in Kirikiri with a striped uniform!

fashola will be mad to put any landlord in prison without any form of protection.
if the government won't protect the landlords, the landlords will protect themselves. . . .i cannot build a house for mega-millions and let one dubious tenant short change me because of one ridiculous law. otherwise, i'd put animals there and smile when i see people cotch under the bridge.

lets engage in in-depth finking before posting any fin, what is a law, its a guideline that's binding on everyone living within a geographical area, law are been passed for a reason, so u v the right to exercise Ur power my dear poster, its Ur right, report to d appropriate authorities, maybe to the nearest local government office to lay your complain, sum fin would surely be done,