From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed support for the bill on monthly house rent in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The bill, which 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, was introduced by Smart Adeyemi.
The bill entitled: “Advanced Rent (Residential Apartments, Office Spaces, etc.) Regulation Bill 2022,” has gone through the first reading on the floor of the Senate.
Wabba, in a statement in Abuja, yesterday, said the bill which also makes it an offence for any landlord in the FCT to demand payment of advance rent from tenants would help in providing legal support for Nigerians, especially workers who do not own houses of their own and are most times exposed to the predatory tendencies of shylock landlords.
Wabba opined that the private member bill would be an improvement on the Lagos Tenancy Law which outlaws the payment of rent in excess of six months and one year.
“It is heartwarming that 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 a 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 centres 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.”
