Lagos Landlords: Collect More Than 3 Months Advance And Go To Jail/n100k Fine.

A law that will land many Lagos landlords in jail for three months or pay a fine of N100,000 if they collect more than three-month rent advance is on the way.

The Tenancy Bill, which is slated for public hearing tomorrow, has some sections which some landlords in the state consider very harsh.

One of such is Section 4, subsections 1, 2 and 3 which states that: “It shall be unlawful for a landlord or his agent to demand or receive from a sitting tenant, rent in excess of three months in respect of any premises.

Another stated: “It shall be unlawful for a sitting tenant to offer or pay rent in excess of three months in respect of any premises.”

According to subsection 3 of the same section: “Any person who receives or pays rent in excess of what is prescribed in this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine of N100,000 or three months imprisonment or any other non-custodial disposition.”

Section 5 of the bill further prescribes a N10,000 fine for landlords who fail to issue receipts to their tenants upon payment of the rent. It further states that, “Where a tenant, with the previous consent in writing of the landlord, effect improvements on the premises and the landlord determines the tenancy, such a tenant shall be entitled to claim compensation for the effected improvements on quitting the premises.”

Section 9, subsection 2 and 3 state respectively: “No landlord shall demand or receive any additional fees, charges or rates outside the agreed rent for premises, for services that the tenant has not expressly contracted for.

“No sitting tenant will be liable to pay any agency or other fees outside the contracted rent, unless expressly agreed at the inception of the tenancy.”

The bill further tasked landlords never to take laws into their hands but seek redress in the courts should there be issues between them and their tenants.

However, some landlords in Lagos have expressed displeasure with the bill. They expressed their disappointment with those who proposed the bill.

While some have threatened to go to court over the bill, others claim that the bill, when passed into law, would not work in the state.

The landlords based their argument on the cost of building a house in the state. They claimed further that they source for funds with which they erect their buildings. “How do they want us to get our money back?” one of the landlords asked.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State House of Assembly says it may invite the state Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives to clarify some allegations leveled against it by the Civil Society Club of Nigeria (CSC) recently.

Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and Cooperatives, Hon. Babatunde Adewale, who disclosed this said that the committee would ensure a thorough investigation of the case.

Among the allegations was that unscrupulous butchers still operated an illegal loading bay at the Irepolodun Market in Oko-Oba Abattoir, Agege.

Comrade Babatunde Ashafa, the coordinator of the CSC, further alleged that some of the butchers were fond of killing sick cattle at night and selling them to unsuspecting buyers in the morning as fresh meat.

http://thepmnews.com/2010/01/20/lagos-landlords-to-face-3-month-jail-term