When the Lagos Tenancy Bill was passed into law on August 8, 2011, tenants across the state heaved a sigh of relief, hoping for a respite from the exorbitant rent being charged by landlords.But three months after its enactment, a cross-section of tenants and landlords who spoke with PUNCH METRO expressed doubt about the efficacy of the law. They include Odejayi Abubakar, Benson Odia, Adaku Madu, Iloke Johnson, Ekaette Egere and Onoja Richard, among others.The Lagos Tenancy Law states that no landlord should collect more than a year rent from a new tenant and six months rent from an existing tenant. The flouting of the former attracts a three-month jail term or a fine of N100,000, while the latter attracts a six-month jail-term or N100,000 fine.The law also empowers a tenant to protest against an unreasonable rent in a law court.While the tenancy law protects the interest of the tenant, it also protects the interest of the landlord. For instance, a section of the law states that anyone who alters or damages a building or premises in order to enforce his or her will shall be guilty of an offence and is liable to a fine of up to N250,000 or up to six months imprisonment.Many tenants are not aware of the provisions of the law, while some accommodation seekers who spoke to PUNCH METRO explained that their experience had shown that the enforcement of the law might not be possible.An accommodation seeker, Adeyebi Bodun, told our correspondent, I have been looking for a two-bedroom flat for two months now and what I have seen so far, shows that the law is useless.I was shown a flat at Alapere in Ketu area of the state and the estate agent told me to pay N260,000 per annum. He also said I have to pay for two years with an agency fee of N100,000. I even begged to pay for one year and six months but he declined.Instances as that of Bodun abound across the state.But in some cases where the landlords and agents agree to the payment of one year and six months rent, the agency fees are very exhorbitant.Another accommodation seeker, Okoro Madu, who just got a mini-flat in the Ogba area of Ikeja, said, I paid N300,000. I was lucky that the agent did not demand two years rent. The flat is not even in a highbrow area of Ogba. I paid N150,000 per annum and N75,000 agency fee, which included the agreement fee and commission.Asked if he told the agent about the provision of tenancy law, he said, I know what I went through before I could get a mini-flat that is as cheap as that. He would have simply told me to go away.A tenant from Jinadu Street, Ijeshatedo area of the state, Mrs. Mary Ogbonna, in a text message sent to our correspondent said the law had done more harm than good.Lawyers have sworn never to obey the law while landlords have simply decided to punish tenants by inflating the house rents in order to obtain a one-year rent. When one pays N400,000 for a property of N300,000, the next year, one is expected to pay N400,000. Fashola needs to look into this, she said.When our correspondent asked some landlords why they were not obeying the law, they were vindictive.A landlord in Yaba, Mr. Mustapha Ajulugba, said paying for more than a year would give tenants advantage as they need not worry about rent within a short time.The state government wants to dictate what I would collect as rent but has decided to exempt some parts of Lagos from the enforcement of the law. You think anybody would take that kind of law seriously another landlord, who preferred to be anonymous, asked.He was referring to a recent pronouncement by the Commissioner of Justice and Attorney-General, Mr. Ade Ipaye, that highbrow areas like Lekki, Victoria Island and Ikoyi were exempted from the operation of the law.A tenant, Collins Duru, said a task force should be put in place to ensure compliance with the law.He said, It would have been better if the government establishes a task force that would hear complaints of accommodation seekers from whom agents demand more than the stipulated rent advance.Phone numbers through which such a task force can be reached should be broadcast on radio stations regularly to enable everybody in the state to know about it.How many tenants or accommodation seekers can afford the legal fees or have the time to go to court if an exorbitant rent is demanded from them'A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Malachy Ugwummadu, warned that the law could not operate in the present situation in the state.Ugwummadu said, The efficacy of the law, ambitious as it is, can only be predicated on a robust housing scheme that operates as an alternative to general houses.The way it is now, tenants will be caught between the ambitious desire of government to mitigate the high tenancy rate and the reality of paucity of housing facilities in the state.
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