The proposed Lagos State Tenancy and Recovery of Premises Bill (2025) pending at the legislative house is yet another attempt to curb the rancorous housing situation, particularly the often sour relationship between landlords and their tenants in the state.
While the government’s efforts at regulating tenancy issues are desirable, indeed imperative, laws alone will not fully resolve the complexity of Lagos’ housing situation; such must be complemented with an appropriate dose of enforcement and fine-tuning.
Above all, government and other stakeholders must come to terms with the state’s grave housing deficit and the need for a lot more housing units to bridge the gaps.
By the bill’s provisions, Lagos seeks to calm the endless battles between landlords, tenants and estate agents. It introduces tighter controls on agency fees, provides clearer procedures for rent increases, and extends tenancy law to the entire state.
If passed and enforced, it could reduce transaction costs, speed up dispute resolution, and restore confidence in a market where distrust is rife. If left half-done, it risks becoming another law that looks good on paper but collapses in practice.
The current framework, the Tenancy Law of 2011 (consolidated in the 2015 Laws of Lagos State), remains the main legal reference. That law placed limits on advance rent, required landlords to issue receipts, prescribe notice periods, and outlawed self-help evictions. But poor enforcement and poor supply over high demand have left it weak. Tenants still pay two years’ rent upfront, landlords inflate service charges without accountability, and evictions are carried out with padlocks and thugs.
The new Bill makes some important advances. It sets a five per cent cap on agency commission, criminalises overcharging, allows virtual hearings, and strengthens mediation. It gives tenants the right to challenge unreasonable rent increases before eviction. It also mandates that agents register with the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA).
These are steps in the right direction but to succeed, the Bill must do more. Lagos needs to establish specialised tenancy courts and pair the proposed rules with serious supply-side housing reforms. One major gap is the estate agency. Anyone can call himself an agent and charge fees, while the Estate Surveyors and Valuers’ Registration Board of Nigeria Act, Cap E13 LFN 2007, reserves agency practice for registered Estate Surveyors and Valuers (ESVs).
Lagos should find a way around this, given its peculiarities. Fees should also be harmonised by allowing a reasonable ceiling for residential transactions to protect tenants.
To further harmonise the estate agency market and protect the integrity of transactions, Lagos should design a regulatory model that recognises both licensed ESVs and the large number of organised but non-ESV estate agents operating in the state. Instead of exclusion, the proposed law should adopt a tiered licensing system to take cognizance of ESVs with full rights to practise real estate, valuation and advisory; corporate estate agencies belonging to associations like the Association of Estate Agents of Nigeria (AEAN) and Estate, Rent & Commission Agents Association of Nigeria (ERCAAN), and individual agents in the third tier.
This approach would prevent market fragmentation and the rise of quackery. Professional training and reporting obligations should be made compulsory for the agents. The LASRERA can then serve as the central regulator. Under the new bill, LASRERA should maintain a unified register of all practising agents and ensure accountability and consumer protection.
Another missing piece is speed. Tenancy disputes drown in the Magistrates’ Courts, where rent arrears cases drag for years alongside traffic offences and criminal trials. Justice delayed is justice denied, and many landlords resort to self-help. Lagos should introduce specialised tenancy courts with exclusive jurisdiction over landlord–tenant disputes.
These courts should handle only tenancy matters, run on strict timelines, use simplified forms, and permit online hearings. Cases should go first through mediation, but with limits to avoid endless delays. Judges and registrars should be specially trained in tenancy law, and court orders must be enforced within two weeks. Publishing statistics on case durations and eviction penalties would bring transparency.
Beyond professionalisation and faster courts, the Bill should hardwire reforms that improve everyday relations between landlords and tenants. Standard leases written in plain language, with service charge breakdowns and inventory checklists, would reduce disputes. Rent escrow accounts would allow tenants to pay contested rent into court or licensed escrow, protecting landlords’ cash flow while cases are resolved. Penalties for illegal advance rent or self-help eviction should be heavy enough to deter abuse, with proceeds funding mediation centres and legal aid. LASRERA should run quarterly education campaigns on rights and obligations, because ignorance fuels conflict as much as greed.
Still, no law can cure Lagos’ tenancy crisis without more homes. Over 70 per cent of residents rent, many spending up to 60 per cent of their income on housing. Scarcity is what drives arbitrary hikes and endless fights. The new Bill must be paired with an increase in housing supply. The state should cut the soft costs of building by speeding up title and permit approvals, guarantee quick processing for projects that dedicate a share of units to affordable rents, and offer tax relief for genuine rental developers.
Lagos also needs to mobilise finance for rental housing, through a Rental Housing Fund, build-to-rent projects and real estate investment trusts. Rent-to-own housing should be scaled up, with structured contracts that allow tenants to gradually build equity. Developers could be given priority infrastructure connections in exchange for binding rent caps on some units.
Tenants will cheer a five per cent cap on agency fees and the right to challenge unfair rent increases. Landlords worry about slower cash flow. Agents fear losing income. The balance lies not in shelving reform but in enforcing it fairly, professionalise estate agency, speed up the courts and expand housing supply.
When tenants see fair notices and genuine redress, they will comply. When landlords see quicker justice, they will avoid self-help. And when investors see predictable rules, they will build. The Tenancy and Recovery of Premises Bill offers Lagos a rare opportunity to reset its rental market. The Assembly must sharpen it to address Lagos’ peculiarities, while the executive pairs it with a housing supply compact. Only then can Lagos move from tenancy wars to tenancy trust and from scarcity to growth.
