Most Nigerian tenants operate on rumour. Somebody's cousin said something, a thread went round once, and everyone repeats it until it feels like law.
So here is the actual text, from the Tenancy Law of Lagos State 2011, on what your landlord can and cannot do.
First: does this law even apply to you?
Two checks before anything else.
It is Lagos law. Abuja, Rivers and every other state are separate jurisdictions with their own rules. Advice written for Lagos does not automatically travel.
Section 1(3) exempts four areas — Apapa, Ikeja GRA, Ikoyi and Victoria Island. In those, these protections do not apply in the same way and your written agreement carries the weight.
Also useful, from section 3: a tenancy agreement exists where premises are granted for value, whether express or implied, oral or written. "We didn't sign anything" does not mean you have no tenancy. It means you have no proof of the terms.
What your landlord cannot do
Cannot demand more than one year's rent in advance from a new tenant. Section 4(3). For a sitting tenant it is six months if monthly, one year if yearly. Breach carries a ₦100,000 fine or three months' imprisonment under 4(5) — and note 4(4), which makes it unlawful for the tenant to offer or pay more too.
Cannot refuse you a rent receipt. Section 5 obliges one on payment, stating the date, the names and addresses of both parties, a description of the premises, the amount, and the period covered. Failing to issue it carries a ₦100,000 fine.
Cannot take your deposit without accounting for it. Section 10: where you pay a security deposit, a service charge or money for facilities, the landlord or agent must issue a separate receipt, and you are entitled to a written account at least every six months of how that money was disbursed.
Cannot seize your property. Section 8 provides that the landlord shall not seize any item or property of the tenant, or interfere with your access to your personal property.
Cannot throw you out personally. Section 44 makes it an offence for any person to forcibly eject a tenant, attempt to, or even threaten or molest a tenant "by action or words" with a view to ejecting them — or to demolish or modify the building to force you out without court approval. The penalty is a fine up to ₦250,000 or six months' imprisonment.
That covers changing the locks, removing the roof, cutting the power to make a point, and the threatening voice notes. Recovery of premises goes through the court, not the landlord.
Cannot wander in whenever he likes. Section 7(4) permits the landlord to view the premises only at reasonable hours in the daytime, after previous written notice. Section 6 gives you privacy, freedom from unreasonable disturbance and exclusive possession, subject only to that restricted right of inspection.
Cannot cut off shared services. Section 8 also requires the landlord not to terminate or restrict a common facility or service, and to keep the premises insured and maintain external and common parts.
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What your landlord can do
Being fair about this makes you better at the parts you can argue.
- Inspect, in the daytime, at reasonable hours, after written notice.
- Recover possession, following proper notice and a court order. Section 13 sets the default notice where the agreement is silent: a week for a tenant at will, one month for monthly, three months for quarterly and half-yearly, six months for yearly.
- Refuse subletting. Section 7(6) — you may not assign or sublet any part without his written consent.
- Expect the place kept in repair. Section 7(3), reasonable wear and tear excepted.
- Raise the rent — but see below.
Rent increases
This is the one people get most wrong. A landlord can increase rent, but section 37 gives you a route if it is unreasonable: a court may consider the general level of rents in the locality for comparison, hear evidence, and order the increase changed to a specific amount.
And critically, section 37(4): it is unlawful for a landlord to eject a tenant from any premises pending the determination of the action. Challenging an increase does not put you on the street while it is decided.
Using any of this
Rights you cannot evidence are rights you will lose. So: collect every receipt, keep the agreement, put requests in writing, and keep a dated record of anything that goes wrong.
Then use the cheap routes first. The Law itself recognises the Lagos Multi-Door Court House and the Citizens Mediation Centre at section 2(3), and mediation is free and far faster than litigation.
For the specific situations, we have separate guides on red flags in a flatmate agreement and on what belongs in a flatmate agreement.
And if you are sharing, get the structure right from the start on roommates — both names on the tenancy, or written consent naming you.
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This article explains general provisions of the Tenancy Law of Lagos State 2011. It is not legal advice and has not been through professional legal review. For a specific dispute, speak to a lawyer or the Lagos State Citizens Mediation Centre.
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