WHAT ARE THE OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS OF LANDLORD AND TENANT

WHAT ARE THE OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS OF LANDLORD AND TENANT

Landlord-tenant laws were developed to operate as a guide for the dealings, privileges, and duties of both landlords and tenants. There are some general obligations and services that every landlord must offer, notwithstanding the fact that state regulations will differ slightly.

According to the Black’s Law Dictionary, a landlord is defined as the owner of an estate in land, or a rental property who has leased it to another person called the “tenant”. In Coker v. Adetayo (1992) 6 NWLR (PT 249) @ 613, the court defined a landlord to include a person entitled to the immediate reversion of the premises or if the property therein is held in joint tenancy or tenancy in common, any of the person entitled to the immediate reversion, and also the attorney or agent of any such landlord and any person appointed to act on behalf of the state in dealing with any land, buildings, premises.

A tenant, on the other hand, is someone who holds or occupies property or tenements by any form of right or title, whether in fee, for life, for years, at will, or otherwise.

YOUR RIGHTS AS A LANDLORD IN NIGERIA

These include the following:

• The right to carefully screen and select each tenant without any form of discrimination.

• The right to collect the agreed rent in full and any prearranged fees.

• The right to raise your rent according to your lease agreement.

• The right to be informed of any repairs needed to be carried out and be given reasonable access to fix them.

• The right to restrict a tenant from subletting a rental property to an additional tenant.

• The right to access a rental property to inspect, repair and maintain the premises.

• The right to schedule a property inspection. Here, you as the landlord is encouraged to carryout regular inspection of your property.

• The right to evict the tenant legally especially where he/she refused to pay rent, damage rental property or breach the lease terms.

YOUR OBLIGATIONS AS A LANDLORD IN NIGERIA

These include but not limited to the following:

• The responsibility not to discriminate either because of their race, gender, religion or even disabilities.

• The duty of issuing receipts of payment to the tenant.

• The duty of ensuring that the property is vacant, clean and safe on the day that the tenant moves in.

• The duty to insure the property.

• The responsibility of keeping the property safe.

• The duty to keep to the terms as outlined in the tenancy agreement.

• The duty to give the tenant space to freely enjoy the rental property e.g. by avoiding unnecessary frequent visits.

• You as the landlord must respect the rights of the tenant to quiet enjoyment of the property.

• The duty to pay property taxes and any other charges that the tenant is not responsible for.

• The duty to make sure the property is free of health hazards of any time.

• The duty to reimburse the tenants for any repairs they carried out on the structure meant to be carried out by you as the landlord.

YOUR RIGHTS AS A TENANT IN NIGERIA

• You are entitled to quiet and exclusive enjoyment of your home. If noise from other tenants or neighbours is disturbing you, ask them to stop and also inform your landlord. If this does not work, you can make a formal complaint.

• You are entitled to certain minimum standards of accommodation You are entitled to a rent agreement form You have the right to contact the landlord or their agent at any reasonable times.

• You are also entitled to have appropriate contact information for them (telephone numbers, email addresses, postal addresses, etc.) Your landlord is only allowed to enter your home with your permission. If the landlord needs to carry out repairs or inspect the premises, it should be by prior arrangement, except in an emergency

• You are entitled to be reimbursed for any repairs that you carry out that are the landlord's responsibility

• You are entitled to have visitors to stay overnight or for short periods, unless specifically forbidden in your tenancy agreement.

• You are entitled to a certain amount of notice of the termination of your tenancy

YOUR OBLIGATIONS AS A TENANT IN NIGERIA

• Pay your rent on time

• Pay any other charges that are specified in the letting agreement, for example, waste collection charges; utility bills; management fees to the management company in an apartment complex

• Keep the property in good order Inform the landlord if repairs are needed and give the landlord access to the property to carry out repairs

• Give the landlord access (by appointment) for routine inspections

• Inform the landlord of who is living in the property

• Avoid causing damage or nuisance

• Make sure that you do not cause the landlord to be in breach of the law

• Comply with any special terms in your tenancy agreement, oral or written

Knowing your legal rights and obligations is important whether you're a landlord or tenant. Both tenants and landlords are protected under the law. However, you are not free to enforce the law on your own because of this. If you are having issues with a tenant or your landlord, you should seek counsel.

NB: This article is not a legal advice, and under no circumstance should you take it as such. All information provided are for general purpose only. For information, please contact chamanlawfirm@gmail.com

WRITTEN BY CHAMAN LAW FIRM TEAM

EMAIL: chamanlawfirm@gmail.com

TEL: 08065553671, 08024230080