Lagos Plans Law Criminalising Landlords Charging Over 1-Year Rent, Undertaking Illegal Evictions
Lagos State has presented a new tenancy Bill that would prohibit landlords from demanding more than one year’s rent from new tenants and cap monthly renters at three months in advance.
The Bill, currently before the Lagos State House of Assembly, would also limit agency fees to a maximum of 5 per cent of one year’s rent, down from the widely practised 10 per cent, and make registration with the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA) compulsory for all estate agents.
State Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, disclosed the proposed legislation during a ministerial Press briefing marking the third year of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s second term in office.
Under the proposed law, new tenants would not be allowed to pay more than one year’s rent upfront, while sitting monthly tenants cannot be compelled to pay more than three months in advance.
Landlords who demand or tenants who pay rent above the prescribed caps would commit an offence punishable by a fine of N1 million or up to three months imprisonment.
The Bill also outlaws forceful evictions, lock‑outs, and harassment, insisting that no tenant can be removed without a valid court order.
Akinderu-Fatai disclosed that LASRERA had increased actions against fraudulent estate agents and recovered over N270 million from fake operators between 2025 and 2026.
The Commissioner also warned that Nigeria’s effective housing deficit could approach 28 million units unless aggressive interventions are sustained.
He noted that findings by the National Housing Data Technical Committee put Nigeria’s official housing deficit at 14.925 million units, while an additional 15.2 million homes have been identified as structurally defective or substandard.
Lagos, with an estimated population of over 17.8 million and an annual growth rate of nearly 3.8 per cent, has a housing deficit estimated at over 3.3 million units.
The Commissioner disclosed that the Lagos State Government had delivered 10,623 high-quality affordable homes over the past seven years and is on track to scale its total delivery to 14,022 units before the end of 2026.
The Bill is currently at the committee stage in the Lagos State House of Assembly and is expected to bring significant changes to the housing and real estate sector once passed into law.
