Senate Okays Bill Barring Abuja Landlords from Collecting Annual Rent
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Senate Okays Bill Barring Abuja Landlords from Collecting Annual Rent
By Alabidun Shuaib Abdulrahman
The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday passed a bill to regulate rent payments in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Abuja for the second time.
Senator Smart Adeyemi (APC, Kogi) sponsored the bill, which intended to lower the advance payment for new tenants to three months and then return to the monthly payment arrangement.
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It also aimed to safeguard low-income earners from homeowner oppression and to provide landlords with a safety net against erring tenants.
The bill, according to Adeyemi, is intended to mitigate the impact of exorbitant property rents on people in the FCT.
He said: “Some of the landlords have even started threatening me to do one or two things against me if I proceed with the bill and I just laughed.
“When you take up this type of job, it is between you and your God. We shouldn’t be afraid of what anybody could do to us.”
Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC, Niger) described the proposed law as a people-centred bill and urged his colleagues to support its passage.
Senators Ibrahim Gobir (Sokoto) and Bala Ibn Na’Allah (APC, Kebbi) supported the bill.
Only Senator Chimaroke Nnamani (PDP, Enugu) opposed the bill, saying rents are determined by market forces like cost of acquiring land and building materials.
