The Lagos State Tenancy and Recovery of Premises Bill 2025 is still being considered and debated on the floor of the state’s House of Assembly, but much has filtered out from its provisions, raising hope that the frosty relationship between landlords and tenants may end soon.

The Bill is a major reform initiative aimed at modernising rental regulations in the state. It is expected that the Bill will address identified problems by reshaping the landlord-tenant relationship. capping advance rent, regulating agents, providing tenants with legal protection against unfair rent increases, and introducing faster and more transparent eviction procedures.

A city with an expanding population and rapid urbanisation, Lagos faces unending housing challenges, including excessive advance rent demands, unregulated real estate practices, and prolonged eviction disputes. The state’s existing rental law can no longer contain these challenges, hence the new Bill.

With a hyper-active rental market, the state harbours estate agents in their numbers who ply their trade in ways and manners that make the market uncomfortable for renters, while favouring themselves and their principals—the landlords.

Concerned about these unwholesome activities, the new Bill has therefore recommended stricter oversight of agents and capped their fee at 5 percent of the rent value as against the 10 percent and, in some cases, the arbitrary fee they charge.

A section of the bill provides that all real estate agents in the state must register with the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA). The section also mandates that funds collected for landlords must be remitted within seven working days, requiring agents to issue proper receipts to ensure transparency.

Any agent that violates these provisions risks penalties of up to ₦1 million, two years imprisonment, or both, because the new rules aim to professionalise the sector and protect tenants from exploitation.

These rules are provided to curb longstanding abuses by unregistered and fraudulent agents. Lagos tenants have repeatedly fallen victim to double-renting scams, inflated commissions, and outright fraud and the new Bill is out to put an end to all that.

In response to tenants’ outcry against advance rent payment, the new Bill has put a limit of one year. Under the new bill, new tenants cannot be asked to pay more than one year in advance, while sitting tenants who normally pay monthly cannot be forced to pay more than three months in advance.

Offering or accepting rent payments above these limits becomes an offence punishable by a ₦1 million fine or three months imprisonment.

Many renters consider this provision transformative, as exorbitant advance rent has driven many into debt and homelessness. However, some observers note that high housing demand might still affect practical enforcement, more so as the state government does not offer alternatives.

In the case of a dispute or disagreement, the Bill provides that tenants can challenge unfair rent increases. Although the Bill does not regulate rent prices, it gives tenants the right to challenge unreasonable rent hikes in court.

Another section of the Bill allows the court to assess whether an increase is justified by considering any special circumstances related to the property, pointing out that landlords cannot evict a tenant while such a case is ongoing. This provision offers critical protection in a state where landlords often raise rent by 50–200 percent without warning. (Business Day)

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