“I Reported My Landlord, He Threw Me Out” — Lagos Tenant Laments

Chiamaka is not alone. Her story is the daily reality for millions of Lagos tenants. It is why the promise made by Obafemi Hamzat on Sunday night is now trending across Lagos WhatsApp groups. Hamzat, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress and incumbent Deputy Governor, promised to enforce the state law that prevents arbitrary rent increases and mandates landlords to collect only one year’s rent from tenants. He made the pledge during the Lagos governorship debate organised by the Nigeria Debate Consortium.

But for tenants on the ground, the question is simple: Who will protect us if we report? That is the fear of Mrs. Funke Adeyemi, a 41-year-old teacher in Yaba. Her landlord increased her rent from N600,000 to N1.2 million and demanded two years in advance. When she told him the law says one year, he laughed. He told her to go and report to Hamzat and let Hamzat give her a house. Two weeks later, he gave her a quit notice. Funke now squats with her sister in Bariga with her two children, while her properties are still locked inside the Yaba apartment. She said she knows the law, everybody knows the law, but knowing the law and using the law are two different things in Lagos. If you report your landlord, you are homeless.

In Lekki, the story is even worse. Mr. Tunde Bakare, a 33-year-old ride-hailing driver, said his agent demanded N3.4 million for a one-bedroom flat in Ajah. That was N1.4 million per year for two years, plus N600,000 agency and agreement fees. He earns about N280,000 in a good month. After fuel, he remains with N150,000. He asked how he would pay N3.4 million. He had to go back to his family house in Ikorodu and he now wakes up by 4am to come to Lekki to work. Tunde says he has been sleeping in his car on some nights when traffic is too heavy to return to Ikorodu.

Lagos has had a tenancy law since 2011. The law, now enforced through the Lagos State Real Estate Registration Agency, LASRERA, says a landlord cannot demand more than one year rent from a new tenant, rent increase must be reasonable and with proper notice, and agents must be registered with the state. But in areas like Lekki, Yaba, Ikeja and Surulere, asking for two years rent has become normal, despite the law. Lagos has over 20 million people, making it the largest city in Africa. Over 70 percent of residents live in rented houses, according to housing experts.

For a tenant earning N250,000 a month, a two-year rent of N1.2 million means five months salary gone before moving in. Add agency fee of 10 percent, agreement fee, caution fee, inspection fee, and in some cases, landlord appreciation fee, and the tenant is already in debt before sleeping one night in the house. Many tenants now borrow from cooperatives, loan apps, and family members just to pay rent. They then spend the whole year repaying the loan, only for another rent to be due again. Chiamaka said it is a cycle of poverty. You work to pay rent. You borrow to pay rent. You work to pay the loan. Before you finish, rent is due again.

Landlords also have their own side of the story. Mr. Alhaji Musa, a landlord in Agege who owns a 4-flat building, said he demands two years rent because tenants disappear without paying. He said he has had tenants who stayed 8 months without paying. He went to court. Court gave them 6 months to vacate. He lost one year rent. He asked who will pay him, saying government will not pay him. Another landlord in Ikeja, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said building materials are too expensive. He said cement was N4,000 before, now it is N10,000. He built his house with a loan from the bank. The bank does not collect one year. The bank collects every month. If he collects one year rent, he asked how he would pay the bank. Housing experts say both sides are suffering from the same economic hardship, but tenants are the weaker side because they have no house to fall back on.

Tenants who spoke to http://P.M.EXPRESS said they do not want only promises. They want protection. First, they want LASRERA to publish a phone number and WhatsApp line where they can report anonymously, without their landlord knowing who reported. Second, they want the government to make it a crime for a landlord to evict a tenant for reporting illegal rent demand. Third, they want a rent tribunal where cases can be decided in 30 days, not 2 years in court. For Chiamaka, the promise is good, but enforcement is everything. She asked who is enforcing the law and what happens if she reports her landlord, whether she will be thrown out of the house.

Chiamaka said she loves Lagos. She works in Lagos. She serves Lagos in the hospital. But Lagos is pushing her out with rent. She said if Hamzat wants to help tenants, he should not just talk on the debate stage. He should come to Surulere and see what tenants are paying. As at the time of filing this report, LASRERA has not responded to calls for comment on enforcement plans. Tenants say they will wait and watch. They have heard promises before. But this time, they say, they are tired of paying two years rent to sleep in one room.