Fashola’s Red Card For Shylock Landlords

What could be described as a red card was issued to Lagos shylock landlords yesterday when the state Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) signed the State Tenancy Bill 2011 and State Park and Gardens Law 2011 into law.

Landlords in the state now risk jail term if they flout the law which has been hailed by tenants who believe it will bring about a new lease of life for them.

While performing the life-changing duty yesterday, Fashola asserted that the onus now falls upon all property owners to lead from the front to make life bearable for those who do not own properties.

Governor Fashola who spoke at Lagos House, Ikeja, Southwest Nigeria, while appending his signature to the two bills, added that if property owners make the sacrifice, many things will change for the better as price indices will move in a more affordable direction and everyone will be better for it.

“Furthermore, let us remember that property owners are privileged when compared to tenants. This law seeks change like it is done in all decent societies by asking the privileged to sacrifice a little so that the underprivileged can have a survival chance.

“This is the reason why this bill has been commended even before it became a law. It seeks to protect the poor and underprivileged. A society that cannot protect the underprivileged cannot protect the privileged.

“Can we truly expect life to return to normal and expect corruption to disappear if we continue to ask for two or three years rent advance? How many of our employees are paid their monthly salaries in advance? Has the time not come for us to change? Does the landlord really lose anything if the rent is paid as it falls due,” the governor asked.

Governor Fashola reiterated that government on its part remains committed to provision of affordable housing, stressing that in the next few weeks and months, more specific details of implementation that it is finalising will be communicated.

The governor stressed that he aware of the state’s housing challenge and remains committed to his electoral promises to do his best to alleviate it in a sustainable manner, through a mortgage backed housing policy.

“It is true that this law will not on its own solve the housing problems, but it has the potential to radically alter our way of life for good and reduce the needless pressures that we put on ourselves that aggravate our consumer and living indices on a daily basis”.

“Let us ask ourselves the first question- How did we get to the stage of demanding multiple years of rent in advance? History will reveal that it was a simple reaction by landlords to the frustrations of recovering their premises promptly from defaulting tenants. So they chose to collect multiple yearly rents in advance to mitigate the risk,” Governor Fashola stated.

He said the law has done a lot to reduce and simplify the process of recovery of possession, dispensing with the need for personal service, simplifying the notice to quit and providing Alternative Dispute Resolution, asking: “Why should the law then not work?”

“It seeks to ask us in section 11 to stop passing the cost of our solicitors and our agents, landlord’s agents and solicitors to the tenants who are looking for a house because after asking for two years rent, we also ask the tenant to pay landlord’s agent fees and the landlord’s lawyer’s fees who will make an agreement in favour of the landlord. That tenant has a right to also go and engage his own lawyer. If he has to hire a lawyer to check the agreement for him. That means he has to pay the landlord’s lawyer’s fees and also pay his lawyer’s fees. That cannot be fair,” the governor stated.

Governor Fashola recalled that long before the processes of the Tenancy Bill of 2011 was concluded, it had generated a lot of debate and controversies which were not unexpected largely because the law speaks to the problem of the day- provision of shelter in an affordable way for a growing and urbanizing city-state with a large population.

He added that the law which started as an executive bill in government’s efforts to find solutions to some prohibitive practices in the letting and leasing of insufficient residential accommodation all generated different discussions and deliberations in the State Executive Council which was made up of landlords, tenants and lawyers including the state governor.

“By the time the law got to public hearing stage, it had taken on a life of its own. Everybody was interested and I believe the law we have today has tried to accommodate as best as possible the public sentiments.

“This is the character and representative essence of our democracy. This is the law our people want. To those who have started out therefore by arguing simply that it will not work and that government cannot enforce it because there are not enough houses, my response is that maybe the efficacy of laws lies not only in the ability of government to enforce them but more in whether they accord with people’s expectation in such a way as to secure a largely voluntary compliance,” he said.

Governor Fashola, who also spoke on the State Park and Gardens Law 2011 said it is in furtherance of the environmental policy of the State Government and will manage as well as control nature’s gifts like trees.

He added that the Park and Garden bill which is meant to strengthen the capacity to improve life also has economical benefits accruing from it by virtue of its economic opportunities.

He added that when it becomes operational, it will position Lagos State to deal with the effects of climate change by renewing the air that people breathe.

Earlier, while giving insight into the two new laws, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaiye said the new law will regulate rights and obligations under tenancy agreements and the relationship between landlords and tenants whilst also stipulating the procedure for the recovery of premises.

“By virtue of section 1, it will apply, once it is passed into law, to business and residential premises in Lagos State, except those premises which are specifically exempted. This exemption includes properties in Apapa, Ikeja GRA, Ikoyi and Victoria Island, hospitals, emergency homes and residential premises owned or operated by educational institutions for staff and students.

“Section 1(3) empowers the governor to extend this exemption to other properties or areas by Executive Order to be published in the State Gazette. For properties covered by the bill, parties will not be allowed to side step the courts by agreement. They may however choose methods of Alternative Dispute Resolution like the Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse of Citizens Mediation Centre”.

Mr. Ipaiye stated that Section 3 of the bill will make it applicable to all types of contract, whether express or implied, written or oral, or for a definite or an indefinite period while under Section 4, it shall be unlawful for a landlord or his agent to demand or receive from a sitting tenant rent that is in excess of 6 months (in case of a monthly tenant) or 1 year in the case of a yearly tenant just as it also provided that it shall be unlawful for a sitting tenant to offer or pay rent in excess of 1 year for a yearly tenant and six months for a monthly tenant.

“The bill also provides in Section 4(3) that for new tenants, it shall be unlawful for a landlord or his agent to demand or receive rent in excess of 1 year in respect of any premises with the provision for a contravention of the provisions constituting an offence for which anyone found guilty will be liable to a fine of N100,000 or 3 months imprisonment.

“Other features of the bill are that it is compulsory for landlords to issue receipts for rents paid while failure to do so is an offence for which N100,000 fine is prescribed just as tenants are entitled to compensation for improvements made to the premises (with prior written consent of the landlord) if the tenancy is abruptly terminated by the landlord.

“The bill also deals with situations where tenants hide under the quit notice rules to occupy premises perpetually without paying rent. Now, in the case of monthly tenants, once the tenant is in arrears for 6 months, the tenancy shall lapse automatically and the Court can make order for possession and arrears of rent. The requirement that notice must always terminate on or after the date of expiration of the tenancy has also been removed under Section 13(4)”.

“The Bill will also control indiscriminate rent increase. Under Section 37(1), an existing or sitting tenant may apply to the court for an order declaring that the increase in rent payable under his tenancy agreement is unreasonable. However, in coming to a determination as to what is reasonable, the court will consider, among other things, the general level of rents for comparable premises in the locality,” the Attorney- General stated.

Mr. Ipaiye who also spoke on the Lagos State Park and Garden law said it will establish an agency consisting of five members from the public and representatives of the Ministries of the Environment, Physical Planning and Urban Development, Land and Tourism with a four years tenure which is renewable once.

Mr. Ipaiye added that the agency is to administer, maintain and manage all designated parks and gardens and grant permits and collect fees for commercial use of the facilities while enumerating and tagging all trees in the state.

He added that under the new law it is an offence to fell or trim trees without obtaining the permit of the agency, walk on lawn and gardens instead of designated walkways as well as loitering or soliciting for illegal purposes or engage in disorderly conduct with the provision for a penalty of N50,000 or 1 year imprisonment if found guilty.

Prominent among those who witnessed the ceremony were members of the State Executive Council including the Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Bosun Jeje and the Body of Permanent Secretaries.