Lagos to Enforce One-Year Limit on Advance Rent

Lagos Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat has said the state government intends to step up enforcement of rules on advance rent payments, as tenants continue to face demands for several years’ rent upfront.

Speaking at a governorship debate in Lagos on Sunday, Hamzat said landlords should not require tenants to pay two or three years’ rent in advance, arguing that such demands were out of step with workers’ incomes.

“So the next chapter for Lagos is to enforce, to make sure. So people should not be asked 2 years, 3 years ahead because nobody gets salary three years ahead,” he said at the event organised by the Nigeria Debate Consortium, a coalition of media organisations.

Hamzat, who is the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the 2027 governorship race, said a provision in the Lagos State Real Estate Registration Agency law passed in 2025 limited advance rent demands to one year.

He described enforcement as the government’s next priority.

The law also requires estate agents to register with the state and appear on an official database, he said, urging residents to use the agency’s online platform to report complaints.

The government needed feedback from residents to monitor practices in the property market, Hamzat said.

He also addressed the wider challenge of housing affordability, saying the state planned to complete ongoing housing projects and make it easier to obtain property regularisation and title documents.

Hamzat said delays in processing land documents could add to housing costs.

He added that the state had automated the process to allow applications online.

He called on private developers to build beyond high-income districts, suggesting that companies developing properties in areas such as Ikoyi and Victoria Island should also consider projects in less affluent communities.