21st July, 2011
The Lagos State Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Bosun Jeje, on Wednesday said the Lagos tenancy law was to protect citizens from being subjected to arbitrary rent increase by their landlords.
Jeje told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the law was the government’s only way to moderate the high cost of accommodation.
The commissioner, however, noted that rent was determined by market forces.
“As far as government does not have houses to give to the people, the rent will still be determined by demand and supply.
“But there is a law that is in place now to regulate rent system in Lagos State. I think the law will check landlords increasing house rents arbitrarily,†he said.
NAN quotes Jeje as saying that the Lagos rent edit could not completely provide solution to the high cost of accommodation because of poor enforcement.
He said that the rent tribunals were mediating on the rent issues between landlords and tenants as a means of ensuring peace.
Jeje also said that the tenancy law would soon be leveraged as the government was planning to inaugurate a mortgage system that would assist Lagosians to build their own houses.
According to him, the state’s Ministry of Housing plans to aggressively embark on a housing programme to support the scheduled mortgage system.
Under the housing programme, he said that new satellite towns that would provide more accommodation for Lagosians would be set up.