I like to seek your piece of advice on this issue. I live in a room and parlour somewhere in Badagry, Lagos State. I have been a yearly tenant for all the years I have lived in the house which also has other tenants.

I travelled sometime in 2010 and when I returned, I paid six months in advance as my 2011 rent. I have never defaulted in my rent payment. The six months rent I paid expired June this year.

But before one could say Jack Robison, the landord issued a quit notice to me and other tenants asking us to vacate  the premises this December. The notice is a six-month notice. All this while, he has been intimidating and harassing the tenants. He had also increased the rent arbitrarily in the  past.

My grouse however is that why should he chose this festive period to throw families out of his house? Is that not wickedness.”   —  Alex, Badagry, Lagos.

Tenants in most parts of Lagos State may have little or nothing to be afraid of in the hands of landlords as the new tenancy law in the state seems to have come to their rescue. However, as much as the law is tenant friendly, it still concedes some rights to the landlord. One of such rights is that of issuing quit notice to tenants whenever he wishes to do so as  long as it complies with the provisions of the extant law. As a yearly tenant, you are entitled to six months quit notice which is what your landlord has either done personally or through his lawyer.

Issuing a quit notice has nothing to do with whether a tenant is owing or not. It lies more with what the landlord wishes to do with his property. If you fail to vacate the premises after the notice expires, the landlord will go a step further to serve you a notice of intention to recover possession and then proceed against you at the rent tribunal where I have no doubt you will get fair hearing if you are prepared to join issues with him.

I would advise you to negotiate with him. If that fails, you may start looking for another accommodation while the likely legal battle lasts at the tribunal if he eventually drags you there.