A bill to restrict the payment of rents to six months in the Federal Capital territory (FCT) was on Wednesday proposed in the Senate. The bill stipulates six months imprisonment or a fine of N50,000 or both for landlords that collect more than six months’ rent from a prospecting tenant.
The bill seeks to regulate the relationship between landlords and tenants and rent control.
It also seeks to protect tenants from double agency payments by placing the burden of agency fees on the landlord.
It also stipulates that any rent agent, who collects additional agency fee from the tenant, commits an offence punishable under the bill.
The chairman of the Senate Committee on FCT, Senator Smart Adeyemi said rents charged by landlords in the FCT are so high that it is often far beyond the reach of average income earners.
Abuja, the nation’s capital is rated as one of the most expensive cities in the world due to the high price of accommodation.
A similar law already exists in Lagos, the nation’s economic capital.