Lagos’s new tenancy bill: the rules are not the problem. Enforcement is.

Ask a Lagos tenant how much rent they paid upfront. Two years is a common answer. Ask whether they knew the law already caps advance rent for a new yearly tenant at one year. Most did not. Those who did paid anyway, because the alternative was no flat.

That gap between the law and the market is the real story behind the Lagos State Tenancy and Recovery of Premises Bill. The bill was introduced in the House of Assembly in July 2025 to replace the 2011 Tenancy Law. As at the time of writing, it is still before the House and is not yet law.

What the bill would change

• One law for all of Lagos. The 2011 law did not apply in Apapa, Ikeja GRA, Ikoyi and Victoria Island. The bill covers the whole state, with narrow exceptions such as staff quarters and care facilities.

• Tighter advance rent limits. No more than three months for a monthly tenancy and one year for a yearly tenancy, for sitting and new tenants alike. A breach could cost ₦1 million or three months in prison.

• Agents brought into line. Every agent must be registered with the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA). Agency fees are capped at 5% of one year’s rent. An agent who collects rent from two people for the same property commits a crime.

• Faster recovery for landlords. Where a tenant falls two months behind on a monthly tenancy, or three months on a quarterly or half-yearly one, the tenancy ends and the landlord needs only a seven-day notice before going to court.

• Conditions for tenants who sue. A tenant who goes to court must show up-to-date rent and utility receipts and promise to keep paying while the case runs. Tenants can also ask a court to rule that a rent increase is unreasonable.

Why the 2011 law did not work

The 2011 law already capped advance rent for new yearly tenants at one year, with a fine or a prison term for breach. The problem was never the rule. It was who had to enforce it. The law relied on a tenant reporting the landlord who had just handed over the keys. Almost nobody does that.

If the new bill depends on the same tenants making the same complaints, it will fail the same way.

The two parts that could actually work

Agent registration. Agents are fewer, more visible and easier to police than thousands of individual landlords. LASRERA is already acting: at the 2026 ministerial press briefing, the Lagos housing commissioner said it had recovered more than ₦270 million from fraudulent agents since 2025. If the 5% cap is enforced against agents, the pile of fees that sits on top of rent (agency, “legal”, inspection, “caution”) starts to shrink. That is where the state should put its enforcement effort.

Receipts. The bill makes receipts the ticket into court. A tenant without them cannot easily challenge an eviction or a rent increase. A landlord without them will struggle to prove arrears. Receipts stop being a courtesy and become evidence.

A separate change pushes the same way. Since January 2026, the Nigeria Tax Act lets tenants reduce their income tax by claiming 20% of their annual rent, up to ₦500,000, if they can document it. For the first time, a rent receipt is worth money to the tenant. We expect that to do more to bring Lagos renting into the open than any fine. We explain the rent relief in a separate note.

What to do now, whether or not the bill passes

Landlords

• Put every tenancy in writing: rent, term, notice period, service charge and who pays for what.

• Issue a receipt for every payment, including service charge. You will need them to recover your property quickly.

• Use only LASRERA-registered agents and agree their fee in writing.

• If you still ask for two years upfront, plan for one-year cycles. That demand may soon be an offence.

Tenants

• Pay by bank transfer and keep every receipt and transfer record.

• Ask for the agent’s LASRERA registration before you pay any fee.

• Keep paying rent during a dispute. Under the bill, falling behind would close the court door to you.

• Read the notice clause. If your agreement is silent, the bill sets a default of six months’ notice for a yearly tenancy.

The test

Judge this bill a year after it passes, not on the day it is signed. How many agents are registered? How many tenancy cases finish in weeks rather than years? If those numbers move, Lagos will have a tenancy law that works. If they do not, it will have a stricter version of the one it already ignores.