RECOVERY OR POSSESSION OF PREMISES/PROPERTIES/APARTMENTS

Over the years, legislation has recognized the necessity to govern the interactions between landlords and tenants, aiming to prevent unjustifiable rent hikes, improper eviction or ejectment of tenants by landlords, and unlawful occupancy of premises by tenants, leading to legal provisions for premises/properties/apartments recovery.

The process for premises recovery is guided by statutory regulations. Therefore, a landlord, when attempting to reclaim their property from a tenant, must adhere rigorously to the stipulations of the statutes. In Nigeria, different legislations across the States of the Federation govern the recovery of possession of premises, exhibiting similarities with little variations.

In Abuja, the applicable legislation is the Recovery of Premises Act, Cap. 544 LFN 1990. It’s important to highlight that there is no overarching Federal Law specifically addressing the recovery of premises. While the Recovery of Premises Act in Abuja is an Act of the National Assembly, it is not a Federal statute in the broader sense; it is designed specifically for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

In Bauchi and Cross River, the relevant legislation is the Rent Control and Recovery of Premises Law.

In Lagos State, the recovery of premises is regulated by the following laws:

• Lagos State Tenancy Law 2011
• Rent Control and Recovery of Residential Premises Edict No. 6, 1997 of Lagos State
• Recovery of Premises Law, Cap. 118, Laws of Lagos State 1973
• Magistrate Court Law, Laws of Lagos State 2009

It is essential to recognize a key aspect of the Lagos State Tenancy Law 2011, which is its limited applicability across Lagos State. According to Section 1(2) of the Law, it does not extend to:

• Residential premises owned or operated by educational institutions.
• Residential premises provided for emergency shelters.
• Residential premises in a care or hospital facility, whether public or private, or mental facility Premises offered during rehabilitative or therapeutic treatment.

Additionally, as per Section 1(3), the Law excludes the following areas:

Apapa
Ikeja GRA
Ikoyi
Victoria Island

Consequently, in the situations and locales mentioned, where the Tenancy Law 2011 is not applicable, the applicable laws are the Rent Control and Recovery of Residential Premises Edict No. 6, 1997 of Lagos State for residential areas and the Recovery of Premises Law, Cap. 118, Laws of Lagos State 1973 for non-residential areas.

As mentioned earlier, the primary objective of the aforementioned laws is to regulate the interactions between landlords and tenants, specifically:

• Preventing arbitrary rent increments;
• Preventing illegal holding over by tenants. and
• Preventing unlawful eviction of tenants

Process for Regaining Possession of Premises/Properties/Apartments

Recovery of premises involves the following key steps:

• Serving a statutory notice to quit by the landlord, his agent, or solicitor.
• Issuing an owner’s intention to recover possession with a seven days notice.
• Initiating legal action in a court of competent jurisdiction, leading to a court hearing and potentially obtaining a judgment or order for possession.

Any deviation from the outlined procedure could prove detrimental to the entire process.

Based on the information provided, it can be deduced that two notices must be delivered to the tenant before initiating a valid recovery of premises action. This requirement is outlined in Section 7 of the Recovery of Premises Act, Abuja, and Section 13 of the Tenancy Law of Lagos State 2011. These notices include,

• the notice to quit and
• the notice of the owner’s intention to seek possession.