By Ebunoluwa Sessou

The Lagos Assembly has called on the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice to enforce the full implementation of tenancy Law of the Laws of Lagos State 2015 as a way to check excessive increment of rent by landlords in the state.

The House also resolved to call on the Commissioner for Information and Strategy to sensitize the public by creating awareness on the rudiments of the Tenancy Law in the State.

This was sequel to a motion moved by a member, Mr. Sa’ad Olumoh on the need to curb excessive rent increment by Landlords in the State.

According to him, Section (37) of the Tenancy Law of Lagos State 2015, made provision against unreasonable increase in rent by landlords and also provided access to court for tenants seeking the protection of the Law against such unreasonable increase in rent, thus making it illegal.

He added that the incessant increase in rent is intensifying the rate of homeless people in our State.

Lending his voice, Desmond Elliot representing Surulere 1, explained that in his constituency, the increment in house rent has gone from 100 to 200 percent, the reason for the increment by investors; amounts to the growth and Infrastructural development in the area but this does not call for an arbitrary increase in rent.

He added that the Tenancy Law is meant to regulate the activities of the investors and the need to review the 2 years agreement, commission and legal fees in the law.

His colleagues, Mr. Aro Moshood slammed the fact that many landlords in Lagos State raise rent without considering the income of their tenants, whereas the law states that the landlord cannot just raise the house rent without duly serving the tenant prior notification.

He further condemned the evacuation of occupants without going through the legal process as stipulated in the Law. “Many people earning minimum wage cannot afford to get a room for themselves”.

However, Mr. Shabi Adebola implores the government to live up to its expectation by providing Low Cost Housing to the less privileged in the State.

The Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa in his ruling stated that the Law is sensitive and should not rely on the information gathered. “We need to go beyond the issue of rent increment and consider the cost of building materials. Hence, suggest the need for an interface between the real estate agents and investors.

Subsequently, the Speaker directed the Acting Clerk, Mr. Abubakar Ottun to send a clean copy of the Bill to the Governor for assent.