The agent is pressuring you — "two other people want this flat." The agreement is eleven pages of legal English, you're handed a pen, and the rent, agency fee, legal fee, and caution fee are due today. So you sign without reading. Eighteen months later, you're in a dispute about a quit notice, a withheld caution fee, or a rent increase — and the answer to who wins is sitting in clauses you never read.
This guide walks through what a Nigerian tenancy agreement should contain, the fees that are (and aren't) legitimate, the red-flag clauses to negotiate out, and what your rights are when there's no written agreement at all.
Before the Agreement: Verify the Landlord
The most expensive tenancy mistake in Nigeria isn't a bad clause — it's paying a fake landlord. Before any money moves:
- Confirm ownership or authority. Ask for evidence the "landlord" owns the property or manages it with the owner's written authority. Fraudsters rent out flats they don't own — especially vacant ones.
- Ask neighbours. Two minutes of conversation reveals who actually owns the building and whether the last tenant left on good terms.
- Deal with identifiable people. Full name, verified phone number, and pay by bank transfer to an account matching the landlord's or authorized agent's name — never cash to an intermediary. If an agent collected your money and vanished, see our guide on estate agents who take your money.
The Five Clauses That Decide Future Disputes
Notice period (the quit notice clause)
By default, a yearly tenant is entitled to six months' notice — but the agreement can shorten it, and many landlords' templates quietly cut it to one month. This single clause decides how much time you get when the landlord wants the flat back. Negotiate for the statutory period; at minimum, know what you signed. Full guide: quit notice in Nigeria.
Rent review
Does the agreement say how and when rent can be increased? A fair clause requires written notice months before renewal. A dangerous one lets the landlord revise rent "at their discretion." If the agreement is silent, the general law applies — an increase must be properly noticed and can be challenged if arbitrary. See rent increase law in Nigeria.
Caution fee / security deposit
The agreement should state the amount, exactly what it covers (damage beyond fair wear and tear — not repainting after five years of normal living), and when and how it's refunded. Protect yourself further: on moving in, photograph every room and existing defect, date the photos, and share them with the landlord in writing. That file is what wins the caution-fee argument years later.
Repairs and maintenance
Standard split: structural repairs (roof, walls, external plumbing, sewage) belong to the landlord; day-to-day maintenance and damage caused by the tenant belong to the tenant. Watch for templates that shift structural repairs onto you. Also check who pays service charges and what they actually cover — get an itemization.
Renewal and vacation terms
How is renewal communicated, by when must you signal you're leaving, and what condition must the flat be returned in? "Return freshly painted" is common and negotiable — fair wear and tear is the lawful standard.
Agency Fee, Legal Fee, Caution Fee: What's Legitimate?
The move-in stack — rent + agency fee + legal/agreement fee + caution fee — is where most tenants get squeezed. What you should know:
- Agency fee — the agent's commission. 10% of annual rent is the standard; in Lagos the Tenancy Law makes it an offence to demand excessive fees from tenants.
- Legal/agreement fee — for preparing the tenancy agreement. 10% is again the widely applied standard; 15–20% "because the lawyer is senior" is negotiable, not law.
- Caution fee — refundable by nature. A "non-refundable caution fee" is a contradiction; push back or get the deduction conditions written precisely.
- Get receipts for every payment, separately itemized. A single unlabelled transfer to an agent is how refund disputes become unwinnable.
Red flags to negotiate out (or walk away from)
- "The landlord may re-enter and recover the premises without notice or court process." Self-help eviction is illegal regardless — but this clause tells you how the landlord thinks.
- A one-month notice period on a yearly tenancy buried in the fine print.
- "Rent may be reviewed at any time at the landlord's discretion."
- Non-refundable caution deposit, or a caution clause with no refund timeline.
- Tenant responsible for all repairs including structural.
- Blank spaces in the copy you're signing — insist every blank is filled before your signature.
- No copy for you. You are entitled to a signed copy. No copy, no payment.
No Written Agreement? You Still Have Rights
Millions of Nigerian tenancies run on nothing but rent receipts and trust. If that's you, know this: an oral tenancy is legally valid. Paying rent that is accepted creates a tenancy protected by statute — the default notice periods apply, you cannot be evicted without a court order, and your rent receipts are your title documents. Keep every receipt and pay by bank transfer so the record builds itself.
The catch: every term beyond the basics becomes a matter of evidence. Who fixes the roof, whether the deposit was ₦100k or ₦150k, whether the landlord "promised" not to increase rent — your word against theirs. That's exactly the kind of dispute mediation resolves well, because a mediator can get both stories on the table and land a written agreement going forward.
When the Agreement Is Already a Dispute
If you're past prevention — the landlord is ignoring the agreement, withholding your caution fee, or enforcing a clause you say was never agreed — escalate in order: raise it in writing, send a formal demand letter, then file for mediation before court. Most tenancy disputes are negotiations wearing legal costumes; a signed mediated agreement settles them in days.
Tenancy agreement dispute?
Withheld caution fee, disputed terms, or a landlord ignoring the agreement — file your case on SettleMe. A certified mediator hears both sides and facilitates a signed, enforceable resolution. Most cases resolve within 7 days, entirely online.
File Your Case →₦10,000 per party · One-time flat fee
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a tenancy agreement compulsory in Nigeria?
No — oral tenancies are valid and protected. But without writing, disputed terms come down to evidence, so always insist on a written, signed agreement and keep your copy.
Should a lawyer review the agreement before I sign?
For high rents or unusual terms, yes — a one-off review costs far less than the dispute it prevents. At minimum, read every clause yourself against the five checkpoints above and question anything you don't understand.
Can the landlord keep my caution fee for repainting?
Only for damage beyond fair wear and tear, and only with documented costs. Normal fading and minor marks from years of ordinary living are the landlord's cost, not yours — this is exactly why move-in photos matter.
The agent charged me 20% agency plus 15% legal fee. Is that legal?
In Lagos, demanding excessive fees from a tenant is an offence under the Tenancy Law, and 10% + 10% is the accepted standard. Elsewhere it's the market norm. Itemized receipts give you the evidence to challenge gouging — through mediation if talking fails.