An Examination of the Meaning, Types, and Nature of Tenancy under the Nigerian Law
Description
The concept of tenancy is widely used in Nigeria because a vast majority of Nigerians, occupying about 53% of the Nigerian population, live in urban areas. Out of this population, 85% lived in rented accommodations, devoting a large cent of their income to rent in houses owned by landlords to whom they pay rent on a monthly, quarterly, six-monthly, or yearly basis. This proves that tenancy agreements are widely used and still prevalent in today's Nigeria. Therefore, this work aims to briefly discuss the meaning, types, and nature of tenancy in Nigeria with a specific focus on the trends of the law on the subject matter. In undertaking this research, a doctrinal research methodology was employed. In essence, the study relied heavily on library materials to obtain information from both primary and secondary sources, such as statute books, textbooks, journal articles written by various legal scholars, internet sources, dictionaries, and judgments of the courts. The research observed that there is no uniform law regulating tenant/landlord relationships in Nigeria; as such, states adopt the most suitable laws to govern their jurisdictions. Besides that, most tenancy relationships are created/ entered into without resorting to the available laws. Again, there have been conflicting views on the types of tenancy by both the court and the academics. The worst is that there has not been any legislative pronouncement to settle the issue. To this end, the research recommended a total enforcement of the land tenure laws, set minimum structure for rental collection, and ensure maximum supervision of tenancy contracts.