Most times you don't get to see the landlord or house owner, you will have to deal with the agent or lawyer who has given the apartment to you. As such, the rent is usually very heavy. In my opinion, the middleman who acts as the agent makes the rent more exorbitant than the landlord or house owner is aware.
In parts of Lagos, a room apartment goes for as much as twenty thousand naira per month while a room and parlour with kitchen and bathroom goes for as high and three to four hundred thousand naira annually. This is in most cases the lowest you can see within the megacity of Lagos. In my view, there are experiences you may likely pass through if you need a house to rent within Lagos. The following steps should be considered.
Payment Method: Here is one crucial area you must consider vividly. In my opinion, meeting directly or paying directly with the house owner is better because there will be open discussion from the owner of the property you are renting. The middlemen who have taken letting out apartments as a job adds commission which they do not joke with, all to be paid by the tenant. This is why I advocate that in seeking an apartment, get one where you discuss with the owner one on one.
Electricity Bill History: There are parts of Lagos where they do not have electricity supply for a long time. Getting an apartment in such places could make life generally boring or more expensive. I have unfortunately lived in such places before. The cost of running a power generating set makes life a living hell if one would have to run a generator daily. There is also the problem of accumulated unpaid electricity bills. This is one of the reasons why some locations are not considered for power supply. The power distribution company always considers industrialized locations to supply electricity because they pay more. Areas why tenants or users do not pay their bills are not usually considered for electricity. As a would-be tenant, you should consider the electricity history before packing or renting an accommodation.
Security Issue: Places that are notorious for security laxity are always not good for peaceful residents. Hence, before you localize your family in any part of town, it is advisable you check out the security update. A typical example was when I went to write JAMB in my aunt's place at Palm Avenue, Mushing. There were always armed robbery cases and people were always on the run. Sometimes, the victims are unsuspecting and innocent residents. I won't recommend such places for tenants.
Student Populated Areas: Like in Akoka, Ojo and other places around Lagos where there is a heavy number of students, the rent is always very high. Landlords usually depend on the payment of rent as retirement investment. In these areas likewise, the crime rate is also high, making local residents deduce to local vigilante and cultural festivals like Oro to keep erring students away.
Lagos New Law For Tenants And Tenants
Following the high complaints rate of tenants in Lagos, the government has taken it upon itself to design a standing rule that would guide both the landlords and tenants respectively in the business of renting a property.
The most laudable part of this law is that tenants are at liberty to pay rent on a monthly basis against the initial practice where landlords take rents per year.
Also, the landlord does not have the liberty to evict a tenant if the tenant has not secured another place to pack in to.
Rents cannot be frivolously increased as the rent must be commensurate to the value and location of the property.
In a nutshell, I have come to realize that there is nothing more comforting than having a house of your own where you do not have to pay rent to anyone. And that having a house to rent out to others, one should not overburden his or her tenants. It should be humanity first in everything we do.