ALL YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT QUIT NOTICE LAW IN NIGERIA

Stuck in an
irreconcilable disagreement with your tenant? Already thinking of serving the
tenant a quit notice? Do you now seek to find out what is the quit notice law
in Nigeria?

Landlords
and tenants fight all the time. It could be over non-payment of rent by the
tenant, or the dictating of unacceptable terms and conditions by the landlord.

When a
landlord feels he must have his way, and the tenant won’t just allow the
landlord have his way, a notice to quit always come handy.

A landlord who seeks to recover his premises from a tenant
must comply with the provisions of the law. Any slight deviation from the requirements of the law might frustrate such attempt,
no matter the ills of the
tenant.

So what does
the Nigerian law say about quit notice? Below I take you through the provisions
of the law on the issue of quit notice.

The terms
of the Tenancy Agreement signed by both the tenant and the landlord should
guide the serving of a quit notice.

Tenancy agreements generally can be oral or written. For the
avoidance of doubt, ambiguity and misunderstanding of the intentions of both parties at the time the
agreement is reached,
it is better for the
tenancy agreement to be in writing. This will aid both parties to outline their
terms and conditions in
clearer and more understandable terms.
Nigerian law makes the
writing of tenancy agreements mandatory for tenancies above three years while
tenancy below three years can
just be oral. However, to be on the safe
side, both parties are
advised to put the tenancy
agreement in writing regardless of
the duration of the tenancy.
Tenancy agreement should
contain in details the names of the
landlord and the tenant
as parties to the agreement. The address and basic features of the property to be rented out should also be described in details.

The duration of the tenancy, the rent payable and the date when such rent would become
payable should be clearly spelled out. The modalities for reviewing
rent should be included.

As tenancy
is a matter of contract, the terms of the tenancy agreement therefore
determines if a quit notice can be served, and the lifespan of the quit notice
that could be served.

In a case
where there is no tenancy agreement, or where the tenancy agreement made no
mention of conditon(s) where a tenant could be served a notice to quit and what
the lifespan of such notice could be, the serving of quit notice could be
determined by a statute. This statute holds as thus:

·        
Where
tenancy is at will, the lifespan of the quit notice should be seven days

·        
Where
tenancy is  weekly, the lifespan of the
quit notice should be seven days

·        
Where
tenancy is monthly, the lifespan of the quit notice should one month

·        
Where
tenancy is quarterly, the lifespan of quit notice should be three month

·        
Where
tenancy is semi-annually, the lifespan of quit notice should be three months

·        
Where
tenancy is annually, the lifespan of quit notice should be six month

For more on
lifespan of quit notice in Nigeria, check out my detailed writeup on the
subject that I titled How Long Is Quit Notice In Nigeria?

A quit
notice can be issued by the landlord, or the
landlord’s solicitor or agent.

A landlord who intends to recover possession of their premises is under an
obligation to issue a quit
notice. The notice will specify the period within which the tenant must
quit and deliver up possession of the premises.

There are  instances where the quit notice is not necessary. In such
cases, only the seven days’ notice of
owner’s intention to apply to recover possession will be served. These instances include:

·        
Where the tenancy is a fixed tenancy and it
expires by effluxion of time. Here
there is no need to serve a quit notice,
however a notice
of owner’s intention to apply to recover possession of premises can be served on the tenant.

·        
In a case of monthly tenancy where the tenant is in arrears of rent
for 6 months. Here also there
is no need to serve a quit notice, however a notice of owner’s intention
to apply to court to recover possession can be served.

·        
In a case of quarterly or six months tenancy, where the tenant is in
arrears of rent for one year. A
notice of owner’s intention to apply to court to recover possession of premises can be served in this case instead.

If the
tenant fails to deliver up possession of the premises at the expiration
of the quit notice, the
landlord or his agent should
serve them a seven days notice of his intention to apply to recover possession of the premises.

 This notice should state clearly that the landlord
intends to apply to recover possession of the premises on a date not less than seven days from the date of issuance of the notice.
If the tenant still refuses to
quit at the expiration of the seven days, the landlord or his legal representative should
institute an action against the tenant for recovery of possession of premises
in the Magistrate Court
District or High Court Division where the premises is situated.

The
court will hear the matter, make an order for evicting the tenant as long as
the landlord is able to prove his case. The court may also award damages to the
landlord.

It is advisable for tenants to abide by the terms and conditions of their
tenancy by for example renewing
their rent when due.

Tenants
should also vacate premises when a reasonable notice to quit is given to avoid unnecessary
litigation.

NB: A
tenant can challenge his eviction in court where a landlord has sought to eject
him in contravention of the
tenancy agreement or the local tenancy law.