*HOW TO LEGALLY MAKE LANDLORD PAY BACK OR DEDUCT FROM RENT, MONEY SPENT ON HIS PROPERTY BY TENANT.*
Daily Law Tips (Tip 454) by Onyekachi Umah, Esq., LLM. ACIArb(UK)
Just as the human fingers vary, so do human status, situations and endeavours vary. At different times, locations and situations in life you are either a tenant or a landlord or even both. You may be the owner of your residence while you are a tenant in your office complex. They can never be a tenant without a landlord. For more on landlords rights and duties, read my article; RIGHTS OF A LANDLORD. Due to the African undue attachment to land and landed property so much attention and superiority is added to the status of “Landlordship”. This makes up for the ill treatment the so called landlords do met out to their often poor tenants.
Firstly, in Nigeria all lands are vested on the thirty-six Governors of the States of the Federation as guaranteed in our conservative and over-due for amendment; Land Use Act of 1978. Consequently, the Governors hold the whole land in trust for the people except those owned by Federal Government and its agencies. Owing to the above fact, a Governor can only grant a Rights of Occupancy for a certain period of time. To quickly understand this subject matter, please read my article; RIGHTS OF A TENANT.
Can government demolish my house and take my land without compensation? Yes, government can demolish your house and take your land! Albeit, government will compensate you for all your expenditure on the land in certain circumstances. The circumstances and steps therein will be theme of this piece. I advise you to get a copy of the Land Use Act of 1978 from any bookshop to understand and appreciate land contracts and transactions in Nigeria, as a whole. A copy of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) will also help.