Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State has finally signed the much talked about tenancy bill into law, despite the controversies that have trailed the concept from virtually all strata of the society.
Although the law does not address what landlords would charge per se, but the length of time the charged rent is meant for. Some critics argue that the caveat in the law does not protect tenants enough from greedy landlords, while landlords are also complaining that the law will give tenants the opportunity to exploit them.
By the provision of the law, any landlord that collects rent in excess of six months from a sitting tenant and one year from a new tenant would either be jailed for three months or pay a fine of N100,000 on conviction. In the case of forceful ejection of a tenant which involves the landlord going to remove the roof or doors to the apartment, the landlord would be jailed for six months or pay a fine of N250,000... etc, etc.
I believe Abuja residents will be more than glad to have such a law in place within the federal capital territory to help put some guys in check with the heartless and mind-blowing rents they charge fellow Nigerians.
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