The Lagos State Government has introduced a bill that could address the state’s rent hike and agency fee issues.
Reports indicate that the bill will introduce monthly and quarterly rent payment as part of efforts to reduce financial pressure on residents, especially low-income earners.
Lagos State Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai noted that the proposed legislation seeks to address rising concerns over rents in Lagos. This includes eliminating concerns on excessive rent hikes, arbitrary agency fees and fraudulent practices of unregistered estate agents.
Akinderu-Fatai stated that the Lagos tenancy bill is currently in the committee stage in the state House of Assembly. Hence, it is expected to bring major reforms to sanitize Lagos’ housing and real estate sector.
The Commissioner furthered that the bill will introduce mandatory registration for all estate agents with the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA). This is expected to make operating without registration a punishable offence and tackle illegal activities including rent hike, etc.
The Lagos tenancy bill is also expected to facilitate a faster tenancy dispute resolution timeline. This will include the introduction of weekend and public holiday hearings for tenancy-related matters.
Meanwhile, Nigerians have expressed mixed reactions to the move. While some see it as a solution to the issues, others believe that it may introduce new problems.
X user, YoriOlajire said;
If and when this happens I can assure everyone that if your rent is 2.5m atm per year. Your rent will not be ₦208k, they’ll look for ways to round up to ₦250k per month and then it’ll move to ₦300k.
Things will become worse and a lot of Nigerians will become homeless. Getting an apartment will become tougher especially for single ladies because landlords will not trust them
However, another user @AgbaJohnDoe suggested that the government could consider another approach.
“What if the state government decides to ask every landlord to value their properties, which would be certified by selected valuers, and peg the total annual rent to be received from each property at no more than 5% of the property value, subject to review every three years?” He quizzed.
