Landlord-Tenant Bill passes second reading

The Enugu State House of Assembly on Tuesday March 11, 2025, passed for a second reading a bill to amend the 2004 Landlord and Tenant Law.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), this amendment aims to address the financial burdens faced by tenants, such as excessive legal fees, agency fees, and other hidden charges.

The lawmaker representing Nkanu East Constituency stated that, the bill has sparked public interest, with debates highlighting the challenges tenants face in affording decent housing.

Mr Okey Mbah, the sponsor of the bill, stated that the legislation aims to reduce frustration and exploitation of prospective tenants.

He stated that prospective tenants are exploited through excessive charges, including legal, agency, caution, and caretaker fees.

Mbah noted that many people have benefitted from the exploitation, pointing out that the amendment bill was not targeted at anybody, nor was it seeking to increase rent.

According to him, the state government must take drastic action to regulate agents and protect low-income earners.

“This second amendment bill is proposed to alter the provisions of the 2004 Landlord and Tenant Bill as amended in 2008.

“It is basically proposed to address the arbitrary and high cost charged by agents in Enugu State in the course of procuring house rents from prospective tenants.

“This high cost to prospective tenants comes with no regulations as the rent markets have become a free-for-all, with most persons posing as agents defrauding innocent accommodation seekers.

“These agents disappear without a trace, in most cases.

“Section 3 of this amendment proposed an amount not exceeding 10 per cent of the annual rent as an agent fee and section 4 also proposed the same to apply to the legal fee charged.

“The bill, at the same time, seeks to abolish other arbitrary charges like caution fees, management bills and other hidden charges added to prospective tenants,” Mbah added.

Mr Anthony Nwankwo, representing Awgu South, expressed concern that house rent, legal, and agency fees in Enugu have reached levels comparable to those in major cities like Lagos and Abuja.

Nwankwo urged the house to investigate landlords who raise rents annually, emphasizing that such increases impose unbearable burdens on tenants.

However, Mr Hyginus Okoh, PDP, Enugu East Urban, warned against passing a bill that would make agents further punish accommodation seekers.

Okoh noted that the cost of surveying land increased immediately after surveyors were asked to pay a certain amount to the government.

The Speaker of the House, Chief Uche Ugwu, directed the House Committees on Housing and Judiciary to review the bill and submit their report by March 25, 2025.

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