eviction
Eviction is the legal process of removing a tenant from a property, and in Nigeria it must go through the courts however aggrieved the landlord feels.
In plain English
A landlord cannot simply throw you out, and a great many Nigerian landlords behave as though they can.
Eviction is a legal process. It requires proper notice, in the form the law prescribes, and where the tenant does not leave, it requires a court order. Changing the locks, removing the roof, cutting the power or having your belongings put on the street is not eviction. It is self help, and it is unlawful.
Tenants should know this because the threat is used constantly, and it works precisely because so few people know their position.
Landlords should know it because doing it the wrong way exposes them to real liability, and because a court will not look kindly on somebody who took the law into their own hands, however genuinely they were owed.
The process is slow, and that slowness is itself part of the Nigerian rental problem. Because eviction is difficult, landlords protect themselves by demanding a year or two of rent in advance, which shifts the entire burden onto tenants, who then borrow at terrible rates to pay it.
Everybody is responding rationally to a broken system, and everybody pays for it.
A landlord cuts the power and changes the locks on a tenant who is two months behind. The tenant sues. The landlord was owed the money and is now defending an action he will probably lose, having done the right thing in the wrong way.
Questions people ask
Can my landlord lock me out?
No. Removing locks, cutting power or putting belongings outside without a court order is unlawful, however much rent is owed.
How much notice must a landlord give?
It depends on the tenancy and the state, and the law prescribes specific forms and periods. Get advice rather than accepting whatever you are told.
Why do Nigerian landlords demand a year upfront?
Largely because eviction is slow and difficult, so they shift the risk onto tenants. It is a rational response to a broken system, and tenants pay for it.
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