Recovery of Premises in Nigeria: A Law for Justice or Legalised Bias Against the LandLord?

Abstract

More often than not, Landlords have had cause to throw caution to the wind by adopting various unlawful means to prevent the continuous illegal holding of the demised property by their tenants. This situation manifests in several ways, prominent amongst which are; unlawful evictions, arbitrary rent increment, and the sealing of such demised premises by the landlord. Hence, the indispensable place of the law to regulate such anomalies cannot be over emphasised. Notwithstanding its place, the question of how fair the law is, particularly with reference to the landlord, pokes the mind. The doctrinal research approach was adopted to analyse the existing legal regimes governing the recovery of premises across Nigeria. The study examined the position of the relevant legal frameworks in relation to the right of recovery of premises exercisable by both the landlord and the tenant.4 It was observed that although the law is made to eliminate arbitrariness, especially by the landlord, it appears not to guarantee justice. It was found that the nature of tenancy determines the statutory notices that will be given to a tenant at a sooner period or the expiration of the tenancy. The cost of litigation and the undue delay in the recovery of premises were identified as some of the significant challenges to the recovery of premises processes in Nigeria. Recommendations incidental thereto were accordingly proffered.