Housing TV Africa

How would you react if your landlord doubled your rent overnight?

When living in Lagos means most of your earnings disappear into rent, frustration is bound to follow.

Nothing is free even in Freetown, as the saying goes. But in the bustling city of Lagos, Nigeria’s industrial capital, nothing is free—and nothing is cheap, especially rent.

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How would you react if your landlord doubled your rent overnight?When living in Lagos means most of your earnings disappear into rent, frustration is bound to follow.The flat ₦10,000 registration fee Is the law silent on this?Weak enforcement of laws Suggestions

Thrown into the chaotic house-hunting race due to a sudden 100% rent increase, Anchi must navigate unscrupulous agents who are only interested in their service fees and squeezing as much money as possible from her.

Even after finally finding a suitable apartment, she still faces hefty agreement and commission fees.

“I’ve been looking for a new apartment since January and my experience has been bad, terrible in fact. I have suffered,” Anchi sighs. “Most of them just want to take their service, nay, registration fee or something. They don’t take their time to show you quality apartments that fit your taste; they just send you anything at random.”

The flat ₦10,000 registration fee

With every new agent you contact, you’re expected to pay a non-refundable fee of at least ₦10,000 just to kickstart the search and be shown a selection of apartments.

Like Anchi, Mr. Livinus had to pay the registration fee before he was even allowed to view apartments.

But upon visiting the apartments, he ends up spending more than expected—between transport fares and little expenses like lunch here and there.

“You’ll still have to come, pay their transport fare, give them small change like ₦1,000 or ₦2,000,” Anchi explains.

The frustration: agents are untrustworthy, rent prices are unrealistic

Although she doesn’t feel compelled to pay the registration fee to all agents, the frustration lies in the fact that they don’t show her a wide selection of decent apartments at affordable prices.

“Sometimes, I don’t pay the registration fee. It’s until when I see something good that we can now start talking about that. But all of them are still untrustworthy, even when they come by recommendation. They just act anyhow they like.”

Anchi exclaims when talking about the rent prices in Lagos State. ‘Crazy’ is one way she can describe it. “I can just imagine someone paying ₦2 million for a house. How much is the person earning in a year? It is mad. I think these prices are ridiculously high.”

Greed and lies

To buttress her point, she adds, “Some agents even go as far as inflating the rent beyond what the landlord asks for. If the landlord says ‘this house is going for ₦1.2 million’, the agents will then turn around and tell you ‘it’s going for ₦1.5 million.’”

This unscrupulous behaviour, Anchi tells this writer, does not stop the agents from still demanding the usual agreement and commission fees.

“They will pocket ₦300,000 in profit and still insist that you pay the usual charges. This ultimately means that the landlord goes along with the scheme, leaving you—the unsuspecting tenant—to bear the cost. Since you started with ₦1.5 million, the landlord will then expect the same amount the following year, even though he originally only wanted ₦1.2 million.”

Anchi believes agents and landlords are in cahoots to exploit people searching for a place to live. “The landlords are just as greedy. Otherwise, they would not agree to play along with the scheme.”

19th Edition Africa International Housing Show

Is the law silent on this?

No. Lagos State has two main tenancy laws governing rent regulations. They are:

The Rent Control and Recovery of Premises Law (RPL): This law applies to middle- and high-income areas such as Apapa, Ikeja GRA, Ikoyi, and Victoria Island.
The Tenancy Law of Lagos State (TLL): This law covers all other parts of the city, primarily mid-to low-income settlements, which make up over 70% of Lagos.

According to the RPL, landlords can only increase rent once every two years and must give their tenants a written notice, at least, six months before the expiration of the current tenancy agreement.

It adds that when a tenant receives the landlord’s notice of intention to increase rent, he or she may attempt to negotiate or accept the terms or refuse the rent altogether.

If he or she refuses the rent, the landlord may take the lawful steps to evict the tenant from the property.

The TLL, on the other hand, states that a landlord must charge rent that is just and reasonable in line with the market value of the property.

Any tenant who believes that the proposed rent increase is excessive may apply to the court to declare it unreasonable.

The court is expected to assess the case based on factors such as general cost of rent in the area; evidence from both the tenant and landlord, and any special circumstances related to the property.

Weak enforcement of laws

While these two separate tenancy laws are aimed at regulating rent payments in Lagos and also protecting both landlords and tenants from exploitation, they have not been strictly enforced across the state.

“We were paying ₦750,000, making us one of the highest-paying tenants in this area. In less than two years, the landlord has doubled the rent,” Anchi points out. “So now we have to pay ₦1.5 million: who does that? There haven’t been any new constructions, no improvements, nothing—just a straight 100% increase.”

Suggestions

When it comes to solutions, Anchi believes innovation could help improve the situation for all parties involved. “If there were an app that directly connects landlords with apartment seekers—cutting out middlemen (agents)—it could make a real difference.”

She continues, “Landlords could simply update their profiles with available spaces, allowing prospective tenants to bid or apply directly on the platform. In other countries, house hunting is so much easier—the stress of running around from place to place is minimal, if not nonexistent.”

How would you react if your landlord doubled your rent overnight?

When living in Lagos means most of your earnings disappear into rent, frustration is bound to follow.

Related Posts:

The flat ₦10,000 registration fee

Is the law silent on this?

Weak enforcement of laws

Suggestions

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