Every
day with the increase in population, there is a concurrent need for
houses to accommodate this rising population. As a result, there has
always been the need for individuals, corporations and governments to
build and lease or rent houses to fill this void. These houses could
either be for residential or commercial purposes. This has brought the
need to regulate the relationship between landlords and tenants so as to
avoid arbitrary increments in rents, wrongful eviction and illegal
holding over of premises. The procedure for recovery of premises is
largely regulated by statutes. Accordingly, a landlord who seeks to
recover his premises from a tenant must strictly comply with the
provisions of these statutes. In other words, the slightest deviation
from the requirements of the law will frustrate an attempt to recover
possession of premises no matter how troublesome and terrible such a
tenant may be.
Every State in Nigeria now has its own law on recovery of premises. Some of these laws include:
· Recovery of Premises Act. Cap 544 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja) 1990
· Rent Control & Recovery of Residential Premises Law, Vol. 7, Laws of Lagos State, 2003
· Lagos Tenancy Law, 2011
Section
2, Recovery of Premises Act Cap 544 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria
(Abuja) 1990 states that a landlord is a person entitled to immediate
reversion of the premises and includes the attorney or agent of any such
landlord or any person receiving (whether in his own right or as an
attorney or agent) any rent from any person for the occupation of any
accommodation in respect of which he claims a right to receive same.
This section further states that a tenant includes any person occupying
premises, whether on payment of rent or otherwise, but does not include a
person occupying premises under a bona fide claim to be the owner of
the premises. The Rent Control and Recovery of Residential Premises Law,
Vol. 7, Laws of Lagos State of Lagos State of Nigeria 2003 expressly
include a sub-tenant and service tenants (homes occupied by virtue of
employment) for the purpose of recovery premises.
