A landlord must issue rent payment receipts to tenants
Storytelling of the Tenancy Law of Lagos State, 2011.
The tenant had paid the rent to the landlord, and there were no issues between the landlord and the tenant. They considered this okay once the money had exchanged hands and both parties acknowledged the exchange. This has been the practice for many years between the landlord and the tenant.
So when another tenant wanted to rent the premises for its businesses, it was strange to the landlord and all the other tenants that the new tenant was asking for a receipt. When the situation was getting embarrassing for the landlord, reluctantly, he obliged and issued a handwritten notice acknowledging the receipt of the rent from the tenant.
The landlord does not have the receipt and specifications required by the law. He was not even aware he had to provide a receipt.
The tenant concerned rejected the handwritten note and demanded a receipt specified by the Tenancy Law of Lagos State 2011.
The landlord was our client for other legal-related matters. He has been for many years. He shared his experience and what he considered a ridiculous demand from the tenant with us. He wanted to be sure the tenant's demand was backed by the law and what the provisions of the law were.
My colleague who attended to him said he was reluctant to attend to him because he had never briefed us to manage his large estate. Plus, he is used to coming to discuss for free other legal issues unrelated to the briefs he had engaged us on. On careful thought, he had told him his request would be written as a legal opinion and reviewed by his superior, who gave him the bill for the written opinion.
Section 5(1) — as from the commencement of this law, all landlords shall, upon payment of rent by the tenants, be obliged to issue a rent payment receipt to their tenants in respect of such payments
Sub-section 2 of the law states that the receipt shall state the
(a) date on which rent was received;
(b) names and addresses of the landlords and the tenants
(c) description and location of premises in respect of which the rent is paid
(d) amount of rent paid
(e) period to which the payment relates
What our client was also not aware of was that any landlord who fails to issue a rent payment receipt to his tenant as prescribed under this section shall be liable on conviction to a fine of one hundred thousand Naira.
