When your tenant becomes your landlord's problem

My brother called me this morning vexed. His tenant in Agege has not paid rent for five months. He wants to lock the place today. I told him calm down, that is not how the law works.

Under the Tenancy Law of Lagos State 2011, you cannot just lock somebody out. You must serve a valid notice to quit. The length depends on the tenancy agreement. If it is a monthly tenancy, you give one month notice. If yearly, you give six months. After the notice expires, you can then issue a seven day notice of owner's intention to recover possession. Only after all that can you go to court.

My brother said the tenant is a troublemaker who even threatened him. I told him let the law handle it. If you take the law into your hands and that tenant reports you to the police, you will be the one in trouble. The law protects both landlord and tenant. Ignorance is not an excuse.