It has been a year now that the Lagos State governor, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, signed the Tenancy and Lagos Parks and Gardens Bill, aimed at regulating the relationship between landlords and tenants, into law.Signing the bill into law on August 25, 2011, the governor, while acknowledging the fact that property owners were more privileged than tenants, disclosed that the law sought to make some changes, by asking the privileged to sacrifice a little so that the underprivileged could have a surviving chance.According to him, 'a society that cannot protect the underprivileged cannot protect the privileged.'The law provides that any landlord who collects more than a year rent from new tenants would be liable to three months imprisonment with the option of N100,000 fine, if convicted.Also, landlords who impose and collect more than six months rent from their 'sitting tenants' would, if convicted, go to jail for six months.Furthermore, any landlord who forcibly or illegally ejects tenants from his house would go to jail for six months when convicted, or pay a fine of N250,000.However, the major fear of many Lagosians particularly 'sitting and tenants to be' over this law, is its implementation.Their concern is that many tenancy laws even during military era had not made much impact.A cross-section of Lagosians who spoke on the issue expressed their displeasure at the seeming helplessness of the state government to make the law effective.Inside Lagos gathered that the initial impact of the enactment of the law saw landlords increasing rents by as much as 50-100 per cent for the legally permissible one year rent.An estate agent, speaking under the condition of anonymity, faulted the government on the notion that the landlords in the state owed a moral obligation to comply with the provisions of the new law.According to him, 'the law is bound to fail, if all that the government can do to ensure the implementation of the law is by expecting that landlords will fulfil their moral obligations'.The agent believed that except urgent steps were taken, the law would succeed in worsening the housing problems in the state.He noted further that the landlords, sensing the inability of the government to enforce the law, had not only increased the rents, but also insisted on two years rent.The implication of this, according to him, is that, aside paying more than a year rent, tenants now have to pay more for rented apartments.Speaking on the issue, a journalist in one of the newspaper organisations in Lagos, who gave his name as Banji, expressed his doubts as to the ability of the government to give the law the necessary bites needed to be effective.'My brother, I am still sceptical about how this law can be enforced. With Lagos being a buyer's market for commercial housing, I don't know how many tenants will like to take their landlords to court when the demand odds are in favour of the landlords', he said.He lashed out at both the state and federal governments for failing to provide alternatives to private estate developers, who control over 90 per cent of the property market in Lagos.According to him, 'the law can only be implemented in a situation of equilibrium, when supply meets demand. Government has not even done enough to mitigate the sufferings of Lagosians on accommodation issues and yet it is asking landlords to make sacrifices. That is a tall dream.'Housing demand is far higher than supply. Consequently, the option of approaching the court to seek redress over excessive rent becomes fruitless as rent rates would have gone up not only in the property but generally in the locality'.He advised the government to ensure an increase in the number of affordable housing units to a level where there would be alternatives for tenants.The law, he said, would achieve its desired goals when prices were brought down by the forces of demand and supply, otherwise, the landlords would retain the power to influence and manipulate the rent rates in a locality to their advantage.A landlord at the Fagba area in Lagos, who gave his name as Deacon Oladele, while speaking on the issue, called for a Public-Private partnership scheme to lessen the housing problems being faced by Lagosians.He asked the government to provide parcel of land, while private individuals would develop the property and collect rent on it for a fixed period. This would ensure that the eventual cost of completing the housing units is reduced drastically and subsequently let out at affordable rent rates to members of the public, he argued.Deacon Oladele advised further that in the absence of government's intervention in creating housing units, private individuals and developers should be encouraged to build housing units.He said this could be done by ensuring a reduction in the cost of completing title to land.He then suggested that a task force should be put in place to ensure compliance with the law while erring landlords and tenants should be punished.The state government however, insists that the law has served its purpose.The Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye, while commenting on the issue, disclosed that awareness of the law had grown.According to him, 'most landlords and tenants know the dos and don'ts of the tenancy relationship in Lagos State.'Hundreds of cases come to the various citizens mediation centres across the state and the Tenancy Law forms the basis of dispute resolution and settlement agreements there. To this extent, the law has served its purpose'.Speaking further, he said, 'you may have some landlords and tenants agreeing secretly to breach the law but that does not concern the police if there's no formal report. We have however, informed the public that any attempt to breach the law should be reported at our office of the public defender'.Though the initiative is laudable, government still has a lot to do at making the law effective and not solely relying on the landlords fulfilling their moral obligations as citizens of the state.
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