The landlord pursues whoever signed the tenancy agreement, not whoever failed to pay. If your name is the only one on it, the full rent is legally your problem and your roommate owes you privately rather than owing the landlord. If you both signed, you are usually both on the hook for the whole amount rather than half each, which means the landlord can come to whichever of you is easier to reach. Either way the landlord's remedy runs against the tenancy, so the first thing to establish is what the agreement says and whose name is on it.
Find out which situation you are in
- Only your name is on the agreement
- You owe the landlord the whole rent. Your roommate owes you, not the landlord, and that is a private debt you would have to pursue yourself. Practically, you are the one exposed.
- Both names are on the agreement
- Most Nigerian tenancy agreements make co-tenants jointly and severally liable, which means each of you can be pursued for the entire rent rather than for your own share. Read the clause before you assume you are only liable for half.
- Your roommate is your subtenant
- If you took the place and let a room to them, you are their landlord as well as the tenant. Ending their occupancy has its own notice requirements, and you cannot simply change the locks.
- Nothing is in writing
- This is the common case in shared flats and the hardest one. Without a written agreement you are relying on messages and transfer records, so start collecting them now rather than later.
The first month
Ask directly and early, in writing. A message asking when the money is coming does more work than a conversation, because it dates the problem and it is the record you will need if this does not resolve.
Tell the landlord before they find out. Landlords are far more willing to take a part payment or a short extension from a tenant who came to them than from one who went quiet. Silence reads as a plan to default.
Keep paying your own share, separately and traceably, so the arrears are clearly attributable. Paying a lump sum on both your behalf muddies who owes what.
Agree a written repayment plan if they intend to pay. Dates and amounts, in a message you both have. If they intend to leave, agree a move-out date and what happens to the caution fee in the same message.
Do not lock them out
Changing the locks, removing their belongings or cutting the power is self help eviction. It is unlawful across Nigerian tenancy law regardless of how much they owe, and it turns a debt you are owed into a claim against you. It is also the point at which a dispute that was going to be settled becomes a case.
Proper removal runs through notice and the court. It is slow, which is exactly why getting names on paper and catching arrears in the first month is worth more than any remedy after the fact.
Tenancy rules and notice periods differ by state. Take advice on your own agreement before acting on anything here.
Setting the next share up so this cannot happen
- Put the split in writing on day one
- Who pays what, by when, and what happens if someone is late. A one page note both people have is enough, and it is the difference between a misunderstanding and a dispute.
- Pay the landlord separately where you can
- If each person transfers their own share, arrears attach to the person who caused them and you have a clean record of your own payments.
- Hold a month in reserve between you
- A shared buffer of one month's rent turns a late salary into an inconvenience rather than a default.
- Know who you are moving in with
- Most of this comes down to who you chose. Verified profiles, a real conversation before anyone pays, and a look at how someone answers direct questions about money are worth more than any clause.
Questions people ask
Am I liable for my roommate's unpaid rent in Nigeria?
If you are the only signatory, yes, the landlord looks to you for all of it. If you both signed, most agreements make you jointly and severally liable, so the landlord can pursue either of you for the whole amount. What your roommate owes you is a separate, private matter.
Can I evict a roommate who stopped paying?
Not by yourself, and not by changing the locks or removing their things. That is self help eviction and it is unlawful however much they owe. Removal runs through notice and the court, and the process differs by state.
Should I tell the landlord my roommate is not paying?
Yes, and early. Landlords are much more open to a part payment or a short extension from someone who came to them first. Going quiet is what turns arrears into a notice to quit.
How do I protect myself before this happens?
Put the split in writing before anyone moves in, pay your own share separately so the record is clean, and keep a month's rent in reserve between you. A written agreement on day one is the cheapest protection there is.
What if we never signed anything?
Collect what you do have: messages agreeing the arrangement, transfer receipts, anything dated. Then get the going-forward arrangement in writing now, even mid tenancy. It does not fix the past but it stops the same argument repeating.
Where to go next
Other things worth knowing before you pay
Measured listing figures update automatically from active Flatmate listings; worked examples are labelled separately. General information, not legal advice; tenancy rules differ by state.