THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Thursday expressed strong support for the bill by Senator Smart Adeyemi seeking to outlaw the collection of annual or biannual rent in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
National Record had reported on Wednesday that Senator Adeyemi’s bill, titled, “Advanced Rent (Residential Apartments, Office Spaces, etc) Regulation Bill 2022”, was one of the five bills read for the first time during plenary on Tuesday.
The bill, if passed, would make it an offence for any landlord to demand payment of advance rent from tenants. It seeks to reduce advance payment of rents from one or two years by tenants to three months and subsequent monthly payments.
Senator Adeyemi had told journalists after the plenary on Tuesday that the bill would enable tenants to pay maximum advance payment of three months’ rent, followed by subsequent monthly payments.
He said the bill is borne out of the realisation that landlords in the FCT compel tenants to pay one or two years advance rent before giving them keys to their apartments.
The law, he said, is targeted at welfare and wellbeing of the downtrodden – majority of who elected those holding public positions.
The NLC, in a press release signed by its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, on Thursday said the bill “is aimed at providing legal support for Nigerians especially workers who do not own houses of their own and thus are most times exposed to the greed of shylock landlords.”
The press release, entitled, “The Nigeria Labour Congress Throws its Full Weight Behind the Bill on Monthly House Rent in the FCT,” reads:
“The Nigeria Labour Congress wishes to express its total support to the Bill on monthly house rent in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) introduced by the Senator representing the good people of Kogi West Senatorial District in the Nigerian Senate, Senator Smart Adeyemi. The bill which is titled “Advanced Rent (Residential Apartments, Office Spaces, etc.) Regulation Bill 2022” has gone through the first reading at the floor of the Nigerian Senate.
“The bill provides for a maximum of three months advance rent payment in the first instance and subsequent monthly payment for the rest of any tenancy lease in the FCT. The bill also makes it an offence for any landlord in the FCT to demand payment of advance rent from tenants. This is aimed at providing legal support for Nigerians especially workers who do not own houses of their own and thus are most times exposed to the greed of shylock landlords.
“The private member bill is an improvement on the Lagos Tenancy Law which under Section 4 on Advance Rent outlaws the payment of rent in excess of six months and one year. The bill is also in tandem with the rent regime in most parts of the world especially as it obtains in contemporary African countries including South Africa and Kenya.
“Nigerian workers welcome this legislative initiative by Senator Smart Adeyemi who is also a Comrade as a former President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), an affiliate of the NLC. We also recall that the issue of high rents in urban places like Abuja was raised during the recent NLC National Roundtable on Social Protection Cover where Senator Smart Adeyemi represented the Chairman of the Roundtable, HE Senator Ibrahim Shekarau. It is heartwarming that Senator Adeyemi took to heart the concerns of Nigerian workers on the asphyxiating trauma occasioned by high rent hence this bill.
“We need to once again make the point that workers are paid on monthly basis and so it is inconceivable, callous and wicked to expect them to pay on a yearly basis. The crisis of house rent in Abuja is so problematic that it has become the sub-burner for all manner of social misnomers such as official corruption, prostitution, and violent crimes in urban centers particularly the FCT as most Nigerians are put under the insufferable pressure to make a lot of money to afford a roof over their heads. We hope that the passage of this bill will rescue many Nigerian workers and ordinary people from the rent-siege.
“It is also important to reiterate our earlier calls on the government including the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory Administration and relevant agencies of government responsible for the provision of houses to double up on their efforts to make decent houses particularly lands available and affordable to Nigerian workers and people. We also remind government that the right to shelter is a fundamental human right and the Nigerian Constitution places a burden on the Nigerian government to redeem this obligation.
“While renewing our commitment to consummate the various ongoing engagements with relevant government agencies on the provision of mass houses for workers and the masses, we again salute the solidarity and patriotism shown by Senator Smart Adeyemi.”
