A bill seeking to regulate rent payments in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has passed for second reading.
The bill, sponsored by one of the senators representing Kogi State, Senator Smart Adeyemi, specifically seeks to eradicate yearly advance payment of rents and compel house owners to collect rent monthly in arrears.
The Senator, in his lead debate, said the bill was to alleviate the effect of outrageous rents on properties on residents in the FCT.
According to him, many properties in Abuja were emptied because of the outrageous rents placed on them.
“Many residents of FCT are finding it very difficult to cope with huge rent payment, the reason many of the houses built for such purpose are empty.”
He said some landlords were found compelling their tenants to pay one year or two years rent.
“That is wrong. There are many tenants whose salaries are competing with their rents because they live in cities like Abuja,” he said.
Another Senator from Niger State, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, while describing the proposed law as people-centered, urged his fellow senators to support its passage.
“There’s no gain saying that many residents in FCT are groaning under this difficult system where tenants are asked to pay house rent yearly in advance,” Abdullahi said.
Similarly, Senators Ibrahim Gobir of Sokoto State and Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah from Kebbi State both embraced the bill as the duo supported it without reservations.
According to Na’Allah, a system where tenants many of whom receive meagre salaries — are forced to pay rent annually in advance encourages corruption.
“Where we operate a system that makes it difficult for people to survive, then we may not be able fight corruption notwithstanding the resources deployed for the purpose,” he said.
However, only Senator Chimaroke Nnamani from Enugu State opposed the bill, on the ground that rents are determined by market forces, like cost of acquiring land and building materials.
His position, however, did not stop the passage of the bill for second reading.
