Areas and Premises the Lagos State Tenancy Law, 2011 does not apply to

Storytelling of the Tenancy Law of Lagos State, 2011.

Remember the incident on the public bus and my views about the discussants engaging in such discussions and how a particular young man’s confidence was charming, despite his ignorance.

I did not realise that with less than a two-hour ride from Lagos State to Osun State, the discussions and my contributions were indirectly marketing myself and our firm, Taitum to others on the bus. At my bus stop, myself and some other passengers on the bus came down from the bus.

Among them were two elderly women and a young lady. The young lady was with one of the elderly women. The other elderly woman approached me and demanded to have my business card. She would love to engage me in some discussions if I do not mind. I obliged and walked her into a waiting cab. After which, I returned to join the cab heading to my destination.

Sitting in the cab were the other elderly woman and the young lady. We exchanged pleasantries. They were also heading to Ipetumodu, Osun State. They are from the town, live outside the country, and were around to greet their extended families before returning abroad.

Our cab ride, at the deliberate request of the young lady who introduced herself as the daughter of the woman with her, happened to be a continuation of the discussion on the bus on the Tenancy Law of Lagos State 2011.

I answered her concise question on the areas and premises the Tenancy Law of Lagos State 2011 does not apply to.

I gave a brief opening to ease their understanding.

Lagos State is made up of five administrative divisions, namely, Ikorodu, Ikeja, Epe, Badagry, and Lagos Island, with Ikeja being the capital. The five divisions consist of a total of 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).

The tenancy law made references to three types of premises: business premises, residential premises, and non-residential premises in Section 1(1) and Section 47. Hence, all properties in Lagos State would either be business premises, residential premises, or non-residential premises.

‘‘Please give me your phone number?’’ the elderly woman asked me. I called out the number and continued to address the question.

Section 47 defines ‘‘Business Premises’’ for ease of interpretation and, except where expressly stated otherwise by the law, includes premises used wholly or in part for non-residential purposes, such as places let out for business, shops, offices, shopping malls, sporting facilities, event centres, lodgings, gaming houses, clubs, and clubhouses, religious worship, institutions, and voluntary services structures, amongst others.

Section 1(2) highlighted that the law shall not apply to these premises

a. residential premises owned or operated by an educational institution for its staff and students

b. residential premises provided for emergency shelter

c. residential premises in a care or hospital facility and a public or private hospital or mental health facility

d. that is made available in the course of providing rehabilitative or therapeutic treatment

Section 1(3) of the law lists these four areas that the law does not apply to

i. Apapa

ii. Ikeja GRA

iii. Ikoyi

iv. Victoria Island

They confessed they were not aware of these exemptions and appreciated me for this education. They joked that they would have loved to come to the court to watch the proceedings and offered that I come to greet them at the family house they were visiting if I finished the court proceeding on time.

The young lady introduced herself as Olamide and also gave me her phone number. She joked that her mother does not pick up calls.

They came down two bus stops near the magistrate court and reminded me not to forget to come.