Tenants may soon have a sigh of relief as Sen. Ned Nwoko (PDP – Delta North) has initiated a Bill titled, “One-Month Rent Limitation and Landlord Registry Act”.

The proposed Bill, if passed into law, will make it easier for tenants to pay rent monthly instead of one, two or three years rent payment currently being practised.

The lawmaker, who is expected to present the proposed Bill before the Senate when it resumed plenary on Jan. 30, said this at a media briefing on Thursday in Abuja.

In the Bill, the senator is also seeking for a rent control body to effectively monitor and implement the law in every state and local government area.

He said one of the components of the proposed Bill was that every tenancy agreement must be in a written form while a copy must be filed by both landlord and tenant at the rent control agency.

According to him, the agreement must be put in place two weeks before the commencement of the tenancy.

Nwoko said that the Bill became necessary because he saw the difficulties Nigerians faced when they were made to pay one year rent on accommodation when their salary was on monthly basis.

He also said that the proposed Bill stipulated a strong penalty against a defaulting party and imposed a fine of 10 per cent of the total rent sum.

He further said that rent control was for both rich and poor as there were houses/flats of different classifications all over the country.

“The issue here is that it is unfair on tenants to be asked to look for such huge amounts for advance payment of rents of one year or two years.

“It is not done in any civilised nation. Where does the money come from? What is needed is a rent control body to effectively monitor and implement the law in every local government area and in every state.

“Every tenancy agreement must be in a written form and a copy must be filed by both landlord and tenant at the rent control agency.

“This must be done two weeks before the commencement of the tenancy otherwise there will be a fine of 10 per cent of the total rent sum.

“The Low cost housing has nothing to do with rent control, they are houses built by any of the tiers of government for the low income earners or for the vulnerable in the society, including the disabled.

“It is almost impossible for any government to build enough low cost houses for those in need unless they partner with some housing associations or some other voluntary agencies,” he said.

He added that the best way forward was for people to earn well and the banks to give mortgages at an affordable rate of not more than three per cent.

Nwoko said this way people would become house owners over a period of time, adding that it is a long term plan and solution. (NAN)

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