Tenancy law

This is a law that regulates the relationship between the landlord and the tenant. It is unfortunate that many tenants or landlords are ignorant of this law and that is the reason for the conflicts between the landlord and tenant.

THE RELATIONSHIP OF LANDLORD AND TENANT 

The tenancy relationship arises when a leasehold estate is created by the landlord in favour of a tenant for a term certain or upon the happening of an event which is certain to hold under another, having a right of reversion. 

The relationship is brought about by an agreement between the parties, which agreement is for the enjoyment of an estate by the lessee subject to the lessor’s right. Here the landlord grants the right to the exclusive possession of his property or part of it to the tenant to hold for a given term. 

The grantor is called the landlord or lessor while the grantee is the tenant or lessee. The landlord retains the right to possess the property at the end of the term, this right is referred to as the reversion.

The relationship of Landlord and Tenant does not arise in the case of a TRESPASSER because there was no agreement creating an interest in any form because the occupation of a trespasser is wrongful and unlawful and cannot be termed as an occupier. 

In the case of a LICENSEE, it is a general rule that a licensee does not qualify as a tenant since the agreement between parties to the license creates mere personal rights as opposed to a proprietary interest in favour of the licensee to use and occupy the premises for a purpose and to do something rightfully on the land which would have otherwise amounted to trespass. 

This, though led into occupation by the licensor, the licensee has no estate known to law. This position is emulated by the Lagos State Tenancy Law 2011 which have specifically excluded a servant or licensee to be accorded the paraphernalia of a tenant under the Law as a result of which in Lagos State before one can become a statutory tenant there must exist a contractual relationship evidencing the intention of the parties. 

DEFINITION OF A STATUTORY TENANT

According to the Black’s Law Dictionary

“A statutory tenant is a tenant who has been in lawful possession of property and wrongfully remains as a holdover after the tenant’s interest has expired”. 

Section 47 of the Lagos State Tenancy law, states that a tenant:

“Includes a sub-tenant or any person occupying any premises whether by payment of rent howsoever or by operation of law and not persons unlawfully occupying any premises under a bona fide claim to be the owner

SCOPE OF TENANCY LAW

The rationale behind these Tenancy Laws is to preserve the reasonable expectation of a person’s proprietary interest in a property and prevent the tenant from the heartlessness of the landlord who relying upon the strict principles of contractual relationships, would scruple at throwing the tenant, possible together with his family, out of lodging, for them to face the adverse circumstances on the street.