From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed strong 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 Senator Smart Adeyemi.
The bill titled “Advanced Rent (Residential Apartments, Office Spaces, etc.) Regulation Bill 2022” has gone through the first reading on the floor of the Nigerian Senate.
The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja on Thursday, 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.
He said the bill is also in line with the rent regime in most parts of the world, especially as obtained in contemporary African countries including South Africa and Kenya.
“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 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. 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 land available and affordable to Nigerian workers and people. We also remind the 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,” he explained.