About Nigeria

Nigeria is a multi-ethnic country in West Africa. It borders Benin to the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Nigeria is known for its rich culture, having over 259 ethnic groups spread across 36 states. Nigeria is also known for holding certain titles and to name a few; it is the most populated country in Africa; has the longest bridge in Africa; the second largest movie industry in the world; and Africa’s biggest economy. The country attracts a lot of expatriates, investors, and tourists who all travel for the numerous economic opportunities and tourist attractions available in the country.

Visiting Nigeria

There are several international airports serving different states in Nigeria. The busiest one, which is also one of the busiest in Africa, is the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. This is where most international flights arrive and depart from. The most popular means of transportation in the country is by road. There are many road transport operators serving various destinations in the country using luxurious buses. There are also bus parks from where public buses can be boarded to any location in the country.

5 Star Hotels In Nigeria

Nigeria has a couple of five star hotels, some of which are even part of an international chain of hotels. These include the following top rated hotels.

Federal Palace Hotel

This is an elegant hotel that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and offers its guest excellent hospitality, exquisite dishes, and breathtaking room options.

Sheraton Lagos Hotel

This is another of Lagos’ elite hotels that offers you great reward for your money. Sheraton Lagos Hotel offers guests exquisite dining experience and a whole lot of recreational activities onsite.

Sheraton Abuja Hotel

This is a premium hotel in Abuja that has a lot of leisure inclined facilities and standard classy rooms to meet the needs of both business and pleasure travellers. The onsite casino and shopping arcade are guests’ favourites.

Eko Hotel And Suites

The popular choice for National events, conferences, and shows, has amazing room options and offers guests an astonishing view of Kuramo Beach and the Atlantic Ocean.

Intercontinental Hotel

Situated on the waterfront of Lagos’ Victoria Island, this hotel offers its guests luxurious rooms of architectural masterpiece. It is ideal for every traveller, business or pleasure.

Lagos Oriental Hotel

Munched between two luxury areas in Lagos, Lekki and Victoria Island, Lagis Oriental Hotel is in proximity with various business and tourist attractions. It offers its guests premium rooms with Asian furnishing.

Tips For Choosing A Luxury Hotel

Although choosing a 5 star hotel in Nigeria is not as difficult as other places like Dubai, it is still necessary to put some things into consideration. Travellers should consider the hotel’s proximity to their sites of primary interest. There should also be an adequate knowledge of what the hotel has to offer in terms of unique services that will complement a traveller’s stay.

Attractions In Nigeria

Nigeria is home to a lot of unique tourist attractions including ancient landmarks, cultural sites, parks, and so on. Here’s a few of the popular places of interest.

Yankari Game Reserve, Bauchi

Kajuru Castle, Kaduna

Millenium Park, Abuja

Idanre Hills, Ondo

Gashaka Gumti

Obudu Mountain Resort

Olumo Rock, Abeokuta

Lekki Conservation Centre, Lagos

Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort, Ekiti

Ado Awaye Suspended Lake

Dala Hills, Kano

Who is liable to carryout repairs on the rental property?

Landlord is only liable for the structural and external repairs of the rental property, you are responsible for the internal repairs and minor wears and tears repairs. If you carry-out structural and external repairs on the property with the previous consent of the landlord in writing, you will be entitled to receive compensation from the landlord for the amount expended on such repairs.

Can landlord increase rent?

Some states have Rent Control Laws in place, but the provisions of such laws against arbitrary increase of property rent by landlords are usually not enforced in court.

What remedies are available to me where landlord collects rent but cannot deliver up possession of the rental property to me?

One of landlord's obligations is to ensure that the property is ready for possession by tenant on the agreed date. If the property is not ready, you can repudiate the agreement and write the landlord for a refund of rent. If the landlord refuses to return the rent, get a lawyer to do the following:

• Pursue the landlord and recover the money paid as rent
• File a claim for damages against the landlord for breach of agreement
• Apply to court for specific performance, if you are still interested in the rental property
• File a claim for special damages that arise as a result of the landlord's breach of agreement. You would have to prove that the landlord could have reasonably known that you would suffer damages for not making the property available.

If there is element of criminality in landlord's action, your lawyer may petition a security agency about the alleged advance fee fraud and criminal breach of trust committed by landlord. In the North, your lawyer can institute a direct criminal complaint against the landlord without a need for fiat from the Attorney General.

Can Landlord enter my rental property at will?

Landlord can enter the property where there is an emergency or where it has been abandoned by you. Landlord can also enter the property after serving a notice of entry to you when he wants to inspect the property, carry-out repairs, or to show the property to a potential buyer.

Can I accommodate guests on the rental property?

Yes, your guests can visit the rental property. However, where the lease has a clause that limits how long guests can be accommodated on the property, landlord can force the guest(s) to leave the property.

What are my basic duties as tenant?

By signing the tenancy agreement, you are agreeing to abide by all the express and implied terms of the lease, including to pay rent as and when due, pay utility bills without delay, report any damages on the property to landlord, maintain the cleanliness of the premises, etc.

Can landlord or tenant change the lease agreement at will?

Tenancy/lease agreement cannot be changed except with the agreement of the other party. Rent, however, can be increased by landlord periodically.

Who can evict a subtenant?

Landlord has the authority to evict a subtenant. However, where you assume the role of landlord, you may also be able to evict subtenant if you had a direct lease agreement with the subtenant or collected rent from subtenant.

What happens when my term of lease expires?

Landlord can terminate a lease at the expiration of the term of lease. That means your landlord is under no obligation to renew your lease or allow you to stay in the property. Where there was an option to renew clause in the lease agreement, your landlord should give you a sufficient notice that your lease will not be renewed. When your first term of lease comes to an end, you are expected to move out of the property and deliver up possession to landlord if there is no written agreement to renew the lease by another term.

You can renegotiate and sign a new lease with landlord. Where landlord continues to accept rent from you after the end of the first term, you become a periodic tenant of the landlord.

Landlord has not given me adequate eviction notice, is this valid?

If landlord has not given you adequate eviction notice to terminate a periodic tenancy, the notice still has effect. Sometimes, the court may construe the expiration date to start counting from the date you were served with the notice.

Note that the timeframe for valid eviction notices may be determined by the agreement you had with your landlord. If no agreement was made, the timeframe will be determined by the operation of law based on the period of your tenancy and your mode of payment of rent as follows:

• If your tenancy is on a weekly basis, you are entitled to 7 days' Notice to Quit
• Tenancy at will – 7 days' notice
• Monthly tenancy – 1-month notice
• Quarterly tenancy – 3 months' notice
• Half-yearly tenancy – 3 months' notice
• Yearly tenancy – 6 months' notice to quit.

Landlord has served me with valid quit and eviction notices, what should I do?

You can act according to the eviction notices and pack-out of the premises. You can also not do anything and continue to live on the premises. If you choose the latter option, your landlord will have to file a court action against you for recovery of premises.

What defences do I have if landlord files an eviction proceeding against me?

Where you are faced with a court proceeding filed against you by landlord for recovery of possession of rental property, you may have the defence that landlord has not followed due procedure for lawful eviction; or that you withheld the rent because landlord failed to make necessary structural repairs on the property after repeated demands; or that you have not been compensated for your improvements on the demise premises; or that your tenancy is still subsisting. You may be entitled to damages for trespass if you suffered unlawful ejection by landlord.

Can I increase rent?

Yes, but you should negotiate with tenant or give tenant adequate notice before effecting a hike in rent.

Can tenant refuse me entry into the property?

If you have provided sufficient notice to tenant, tenant cannot block your entry, but may suggest a different date and time for entry.

Can I forcibly eject tenant from my property?

No, you cannot. You must provide tenant with written eviction notices. Where tenant remain on the property after expiration of the eviction notices, you must commence a formal eviction proceeding to eject him by Order of Court. The court frowns at self-help or extra-judicial action taken by landlord to evict a tenant from property. Where you resort to self-help or use the police against tenant, tenant can, depending on the circumstance, pursue a claim against you for damages, wrongful eviction and trespass.

What should I do if tenant does not vacate the rental property after being served with eviction notices?

On the expiration of the time stated on the Notice of Owner's Intention to apply to Court to recover possession of the property (also known as "7 days' Notice"), if tenant neglects or refuses to give up possession, you should get a lawyer to apply to the appropriate court to get back possession of the property. Only the court bailiff has the power to physically remove the tenant and the tenant's belongings. The law does not allow you to remove the tenant yourself.

On what grounds can I terminate the tenancy agreement and evict tenant from the property?

You can terminate the tenancy agreement and commence eviction proceeding against tenant subject to the lease agreement where he is in arrears of rent; is constituting a nuisance; conducting illegal activities in the lease property; has violated a term or condition in the lease agreement; has seriously damaged the rental property; has sublet the demised premises to a 3rd party contrary to the agreement; is interfering with your rights as the landlord or the rights of other tenants; or you or your family member wants to personally use the premises; or you want to carryout structural repairs on the premises.

NEXT STEPS?

If you are in a dispute over a rental property, or concerned about your legal rights whether as the landlord or tenant, or want to evict tenants from your property, or currently facing eviction from landlord; seek proper legal advice and help from a legal practitioner.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

A landlord, identified as Idemudia Obamonyi, alllegedly set the building of his late father’s house, a property he inherited, over refusal of his tenants to pay rents.

According to reports, over 20 shops in the building located at Iwebo lane behind Oba Market in Benin City, Edo State, were razed. Idemudia was said to have been heard shouting telling people to allow the house burn since he does get any money from the house.

A resident in the area, Ifaluyi Obasogie, said it was unheard of for a landlord to set his own house ablaze. “We saw people holding him and he was saying let the house burn, I don’t get any money from it.”

A shop owner who gave his name as Justice Aigbekhan said they have paid their rent but Idemudia kept asking for money claiming that he wants to perform his father’s burial. “If they are having family issues, they should go and solve it. It is not for them to put us in trouble.”

He has since been arrested.

BY ISHOLA BALOGUN & EBUN SESSOU Hon Olusegun Olulade is the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Strategy and Publicity, representing Epe Constituency 11 in the State Assembly.

In this interview, he explains the need for the tenancy law while also charging prospective tenants who are victims of the excesses of landlords in the state to take advantage of the law by petitioning the government for prompt action. Excerpts. How far is the Tenancy Law working in the state? Laws are made for the purpose of the people. And once there have not been any issue for the interpretation of those laws in order to test the law, it will be there. If there have been any issue to test tenancy law which is to the benefit of everybody, we should take opportunity of the law to curb these excesses and corrupt tendencies in the system.

It is clear that if I need a house and I’m not paid in-advance in my place of work, I’m therefore not expected to pay an advance of three years rent. If not, such an individual could be opened to corrupt practices in order to meet up with his or her responsibilities.

What we are saying in essence is that, a prospective tenant is expected to pay a year rent while a sitting tenant is not expected to pay more than six months advance. And that will give a tenant an opportunity to plan ahead to be paying a particular amount of money for a specific period of time. But what if the landlord insists on collecting more than a year rent for a new tenant and a year from a sitting tenant? The tenant should go to court. Although, it is not everything that one should go to court for. Perhaps, the tenant can enlighten the landlord on the situation of things because it is not everybody that is aware of this policy. Then, it becomes very necessary that such tenant should enlighten the landlord on the portion of the law that is biding both tenant and landlord not to go against the law. If not, both landlord and tenant will be in problem. But situations like that abound in the state. That has not been brought to our notice.  They can write or petition the Lagos State House of Assembly. And it will addressed with all urgency as long as there are proofs.

Once, there is a law, then, it is a different ball game. It is only when we follow due processes and practice true federalism that we can have the Nigeria and Lagos State of our dream. So, we will not fold our hands as a government and see things done the wrong way. I expect prospective tenants to write petitions to the House. And I expect some NGOs, to rise to the challenge  and defend prospective tenants in Lagos. It is wrong on the part of landlord to say, government, didn’t build my house for me and therefore I can take whatever decision on it. Housing is a property and it can be there for years. And the fact that properties appreciate on a daily basis, it will be wrong for any landlord to exploit his tenant. Some landlords say they got a loan from the bank and they are expected to pay back within a specific time and so, they’ve got to recoup their money? That is bad planning. Anyone who wants to service a bank loan and has the mind of inflicting hardship on his or her fellow person, is not doing the right thing. Such a landlord or investor is only being selfish. Commonsense demands that you plan very well independent of the tenant or any other person to achieve your plan. What is government doing to encourage investors or people to own houses? There are plans. It is because people always look for quick money.

There are mortgages that have been set aside for people, even to own houses in Lagos State. You can see the ministry of Housing on that for details.  We are also building low cost housing estates so that people can have access to affordable houses.  The first project that this administration commissioned was an housing in Odo-Iragushin  in Epe, and that falls under my constituency. And those houses are also on mortgage. People can pay within the period of 20 and 30 years. It is just for people to go to the Ministry of Housing, Lagos State on how to go about it.  This is a government that is progressive. It is a government that is responsible and responsive to the yearnings of the people. Whatever law is made in the house is made after due consultation and therefore it is pertinent for all the arms of government to come together to ensure that it works. And that is why there is room for public hearing for stakeholders to be involved in making some valid decisions. One of the problems on land acquisition and building houses is the issue of land speculators “Omo Onile”, what is government doing about it to stem the tide? The government of Lagos State will not fold its arms where peace is threatened in a particular section of the state.

And I have not seen anywhere that such case has been reported that we haven’t taken necessary action on it. We will not allow land speculators to take charge. There are proper ways of doing things. If there are such cases, it should be reported for immediate action.  People should be free to lodge their reports. The house belongs to Lagosians. People voted us in and if they are facing any problem, they should be free to report such cases. What about the issue of agberos Recently, there are cases of violence on the part of this union but the House has been able to resolve that problem. This group of people has union that is recognised by the constitution of Nigeria. So, it is not something that is peculiar to Lagos. But, Lagos is a commercial centre for Nigeria, that is why, it is the focus on this issue. There is consciousness in Lagos and individuals cannot limit the crisis of those unions only to Lagos. There was a time, they were banned in Oyo State. But, we cannot rule it out because there are some challenges including poverty, unemployment that are affecting this issue.

Landlord and tenant problems are among the most contentious after issues of land ownership and the reasons are obvious. The interests and concerns of both categories are usually divergent or  opposed to one another. One tends to wonder why this is often so and what can be done to reduce or eliminate it. In my opinion, the journey to solution in this instance should start with a careful understanding of the key issues that generate these conflicts. A discussion with most tenants reveals the following issues are the common areas of complaints against their landlords.

Most landlord and tenant relationships usually start on a semi-formal level and it is only as these issues build up and are not addressed amicably that they degenerate into a level where the landlord is more comfortable with ejecting the tenant or the tenant is more interested in renting another property than renewing his or her tenancy. When issues arise, it is better to discuss them and find amicable solutions to them where possible.

The primary complaint of tenants is that many landlords do not mind their own business. They tend to interfere in the personal space of their tenants and seek to control everything happening in the property. The obvious reason for this is the fact that many landlords have personal attachment to their properties. They are concerned with the look and feel of the properties. They cannot stand to see anyone inhabiting the property without taking care of it as his or her personal property.

This is further compounded if the landlord lives in a portion of the property where he or she could easily see what goes on. Only few landlords can discipline themselves not to comment on issues such as cleanliness and maintenance. This is also one reason why several tenants are not excited about the possibility of living in the same compound or building with their landlords. A tenant’s personal space is important to him since he has paid for it and it is his right to quietly and peacefully enjoy that space. Undue interference and control of the tenant due to this proximity are unacceptable.

Another sore point that often arises is regular increment of rent by the landlord or property manager. Although there are regulations put in place in Lagos State for intending tenants to pay one year rent at the inception of their tenancy, many tenants are forced to pay two years .Some landlords and agents are in the habit of increasing rents every year. The parameter for rent or booking increase that some landlords use is the rent paid by the newest tenant in their neighbourhood. This almost always results in conflict between landlords and tenants especially due to the significant increase in the expenses of the tenant. Considerate landlords usually allow the new rent to be in force for at least two or more years before increasing the rent.

In addition, conflicts can arise when a landlord is very slow in effecting repairs or maintenance of the property and leaves everything concerning the building to the tenants. There are two kinds of maintenance that occur on rental properties. There are repairs that are products of normal wear and tear on the property; this often affects the structure of the building and common infrastructure such as water, sewage and roofing system for instance. These repairs are the responsibilities of the landlord. There is also a minor or major damage that is caused by a tenant’s negligence for instance and should be handled by him or her.

Tenants expect the landlord or his agents to respond to calls to carry out repairs promptly. Quite naturally, when the landlord fails in this regard, the tenant becomes hostile and often sees him as interested only in the money and not welfare. The motivation to pay rent based on moral compulsion is removed. Some tenants have had to pay for the installation of permanent assets such as prepaid meters on properties when the landlord is nowhere to be found.

The principal solution to this is to ensure that your tenancy agreement contains terms that deal with the above issues in a way that is fair to both parties. These issues can be discussed and agreed on upfront. When it comes to rent increase, the period of increase and the percentage could be discussed beforehand. It is also important for tenants to formally bring up the need for any repairs in writing in order to have a document for reference as well as follow-up. The tricky aspect may be where the issue involves interpersonal relationship and attitude. These are issues that could be resolved through open dialogue and where this fails, you may consider moving to another property rather than living in an environment of conflict.

Quit notice, or a notice to quit is simply a letter by the owner of a property otherwise known as the landlord to the person using or living in the property, otherwise known as the tenant, proclaiming the termination of their agreement and ordering an end to the usage of the property by the tenant within a stipulated time frame.

Are you stuck in a disagreement with your tenant and your attempts at resolving it have persistently kissed the dust? Do you now wish to serve them with a quit notice but are lost on how to craft a quit notice that reflects on your venerable landlord personality and that does conform with the provisions of the law?

Come along as I take you on a step by step guide on how to write a comprehensive quit notice that conforms with the provisions of the Nigerian law and is lacking of embarrassing grammatical and morphological blunders.

1. Address the tenant by their name as written on the tenancy agreement

If you’re planning to serve a tenant a notice to quit, chances are high that have issues with them. Don’t approach your quit notice with a mindset to either harm them or get back at them for harming through the content of your letter.

So rather than address the tenant like this:

Bia, Mr Man,

You should address the tenant like this:

Segun Tochukwu Abdullahi,

Serving a notice to quit sometimes does precede tiresome court processes, and you wouldn’t want to leave any loophole for your estranged tenant to exploit to your disadvantage.

2. Go straight to the point. Let the tenant know the purpose of the letter at once

You should start your letter by telling the tenant that you want them to quit using your property.

So your letter should start like this:

You are by this letter directed to quit living at my 2 bedroom flat located at House No 14, Kola Musa Street, Birnin Kebbi not later than 5th May 2018.

You shouldn’t waste time asking for example how their family is doing. After all, if you so much care about the well-being of their family you won’t be evicting them from your property.

3. Give the tenant reason(s) that necessitated the notice to quit

Don’t end the letter by just stating that you want them to quit your property. Go a step further in the second paragraph and give the tenant reason(s) you want them out of your property.

Reasons could be non-payment of rent, constituting a nuisance to neighbours, or usage of the property for unlawful activities.

The second paragraph should thus read like below:

Complaints by neighbours and my personal findings reveal that you have turned your apartment into a wrestling arena, starving the neighbourhood of peace. You have refused to stop despite several warnings. This is not something that I or your neighbours can tolerate any longer.

4. Your letter should be written for ease of understanding of the tenant

You should not start flaunting the Soyinka side of you while writing a quit notice. It should be written in simple English — or any language that the tenant can understand, otherwise they might claim to not have understood the content of your letter.

So, rather than use such lines as below:

The regularity of the cacophonous emissions from your space has shredded the last piece of our tolerance.

Use the one below:

We can no longer tolerate the noise coming from your apartment.

5. Don’t forget the date when you want the tenant out

This depends on what is on the tenancy agreement. In a case where the tenancy agreement made no mention of circumstances where a notice to quit can be issued, the provisions of the laws of the state come into effect.

For example, in Lagos State, if a tenant pays rent annually, the legal life span for a notice to quit that can be served such tenant is six months.

You should make sure that the deadline to quit that you give your tenant conforms with the provisions of the laws of your state

For more information on the legal time frame for quit notice in Nigeria, check out How Many Months Is Quit Notice In Nigeria?

6. Make a copy of the notice for yourself, for record sake

You should keep a copy of the notice you’re about to serve your tenant for the sake of record. It just might prove useful in a court process that just might ensue.

7. Serve the notice to the tenant

Common practice in Nigeria is to paste the notice on the front door of the tenant. This is good, but could be supplemented by handing it over to the tenant.

In a case where the tenant expects the notice and tries to dodge receiving it, the landlord can hand it over to any adult member of the tenant’s household.

By Onozure Dania

An Igbosere Magistrate’s court in Lagos, yesterday, sentenced a septuagenarian retiree, Adekunle Akinsemoyin, to 10 months imprisonment for demolishing two tenants’ toilets and removing the roofing over their heads.

She sentenced him after finding him guilty of a three-count charge of conspiracy, malicious damage and breach of peace.

On the first count of conspiracy, Omoyele sentenced Akinsemoyin to three months imprisonment with and option of N50,000 fine.

For removing the roofing sheets covering the tenants rooms, the magistrate sentenced him to one month imprisonment with an option of N15,000.

Omoyele also sentenced him to six months imprisonment with an option of N25,000 fine for unlawfully demolishing the toilets of the tenants.

The convict paid N90,000 fine and went home.

The convict, 73, was arraigned on July 7, 2015, alongside Musa Kalamu, 75, a farmer, who was, however, discharged and acquitted owing to lack of evidence linking him to the offences.

During their arraignment, the duo pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted bail of N50,000 each with one surety each in like sum.

Akinsemoyin and Kalamu were accused of conspiring to demolish toilet and illegal removal of roofing sheets covering the rooms of the complainants, Wasiu Ramon and Fatai Andoyin.

Earlier, Police Prosecutor Cyriacus Osuji told the court that the duo committed the offences on June 14, 2015 at 6.00 a.m at 24, Okiti Lane, Off Iga-Iduganran Street, Lagos Island.

The offences contravened Sections 166 (d), 338 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.