I think sooner or later Nigeria will have to move away from annual rent charges - I'm not sure any other country leases property in this fashion as the norm.

Not only does the current system require a year of saving and an immense outlay to take up a lease, but it creates a terrible power imbalance where you are relying on the agent/landlord's good will to make repairs etc over the following 12 months.

Twice now my family and I have paid this annual rent, services fees etc only to have agents/landlords refuse to carry out previously agreed repairs and fail to address new issues that come up during the term of the lease.

The tenant is then either stuck with a property with issues, or paying to fix the landlord's property.