Nigeria’s minister asks landlords to start collecting rent in arrears

Babatunde Fashola

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has instructed all homeowners in the country, beginning Friday, July 6, 2018, “to agree to pay a month’s rent in arrears”, noting that the pressure of payment on the tenant’s side would be reduced in 12 months

Fashola stated this while speaking on the theme: “Innovative housing finance model as a catalyst for home ownership,” at an event for real estate operators in Abuja. According to him, property owners across the country should understand the plights of the low – income earners.

He recommended a landlord-tenant-employer relationship, whereby the landlord enters into an agreement with the tenant’s employer to ensure that the rent is deducted monthly from the tenant’s salary.

Fashola said, “If you ask me to go and bring in advance one year’s rent from what I’m going to earn monthly, how feasible is that?

“Even my salary as a minister is paid at the end of every month, not even at the beginning; then you the landlord is now asking me to bring next year’s salary, and we’re complaining that there’s corruption.

“I tried to intervene as a governor, passing the resolution to our own council in Lagos then, but the outcome was not peaceful, because there were landlords in our midst.”

Fashola also expressed his displeasure with the practice of advance rent payment, arguing that all the developed economies Nigeria were being compared to do not practice annual rent payment.

“Those who get paid weekly, pay their rents weekly; those who get paid monthly, pay monthly rents.’ Fashola stated.

According to him, the masses, unlike the well to do in the society, cannot afford to pay their house rents in advance.

“I believe this meeting is about the critical mass of Nigerians, the taxi drivers, market men and women who earn their money daily and are not even sure of making any revenue for that day. Meanwhile, landlords expect advance payments,” the minister told his listeners.

The minister closed his speech saying that there was no country in the world where everybody owned a home.