All over the world, mostly in the developed economies and countries of the west, rental income has proven to be a dependable income. It is regulated by government, the people know what is expected of them, there are rules to be obeyed, there are laws you don't ignore and as a last resort, there is insurance in place to protect the income of both landlords and tenants.
In most developing and underdeveloped countries, Nigeria as a reference and in particular, rental income is very unreliable. As a matter of fact, building a house for rent is tantamount to taking a gamble. Why is this so? It is because, the industry is not properly regulated by government, most tenants and landlord either do not know what is expected of them or pretend not to know what is expected of them. Also, there is no proper and adequate insurance in place to guarantee rent should tenants default or repair the house should tenants damage the property and run away, a very common occurrence that often happen.
Talking from experience as one of the directors in a construction and facilities management company in Lagos, Nigeria. It got to a critical point that we had to review our operations and unanimously agreed to delete managing properties for rent from the services we rendered to the public.
Most tenants that practically begged and swore with heaven and earth including their ancestors to be of good behaviour and to promptly pay their rents as at when due before being accepted to move in, suddenly become monsters and dare devils once they are in. Most especially those from a particular section of the country that I would not mention for fear of being labelled bias, partial or tribal. Truth is, you all know what I am talking about and you may agree with me that I am stating the obvious.
These days, you see some TO LET adverts explicitly asking people from that region not to make contact. This is stereotyping, but would you blame these agents for doing such? When 10 out of 10 cases of tenants on your table that refused to pay their rents but have the effrontery to pay lawyers to take their landlords to court in defence of not paying their rents are from this particular region of the country. Quite unfortunate, it is what it is and I am making no bones about it. How do you explain that? Mind you, people from other tribes do same but the percentage in comparison is almost negligible.
Some landlords can be inconsiderate when it comes to the issue of repairs and maintenance. There should be a particular amount set aside from rental income to maintain a house. When a tenant calls for repair, it is the duty of the landlord to heed such call and make the house comfortable for the tenant. These often times is not done because some landlords already spent the 1 year or 2 years rent collected and have no money to do maintenance and repairs. If the tenants goes ahead to do the repair due to emergency etc, to get a refund from the landlord becomes difficult in the presence of a pre-agreement to refund or not.
Greed, selfishness, sheer wickedness, inconsideration, improper financial planning, indiscipline, living above your income, and being irresponsible are major factors that are bedeviling landlords and tenants in Nigeria, especially tenants as I emphasised in this writing.
You paid a rent for 2 years or 1, you know that your rent is due in another 2 years or one, it is your duty and responsibility as a tenant to put some money aside on a monthly basis towards paying your next rent. There is no excuse at all for non-payment. Whether you are sick, lost your job, bereaved, etc. It is not enough reason to not pay your rent. The primary and most important bill to pay on time is your rent or mortgage. You don't joke with it! People get away with not paying rent in Nigeria because the government protected the rights of the tenants much more than it protected the rights of the landlords. The tenant is human and so is the landlord. They deserve to be equally protected.
You take your landlord to court because you were told to move out of a property you owe rent for years? What do you expect? You even had the guts to lock your landlord out of his/her property? You refused to pay your rent but you are building your own house. You bought a car to tell people you have arrived at the expense of your rent. You took your family abroad on holiday but refused to pay your rent. You keep bribing the court clerk and poor magistrate to keep postponing the case until you are ready to move out of your rented apartment. You go to church and pay Tithe, you go to mosque and pray 5 times every day, you worship Ifa, offer sacrifices to the gods but curse your landlord by not paying your rent. He offered you a place to live for your protection and that of your family. You should do better than that. Do you know how he built that house? He must have denied himself some comfort and must have worked hard to build the house. Now, you think you have more rights over the house than your landlord?
I wish Nigeria is like some countries in Europe and Asia that I will not mention. Tenants are thrown out of the houses they rented if they default. The police will be on standby and watch without interfering. That sends a message to others to keep up payment. If the house was built with loan and is repaid with rent, how does the landlord payback when you refuse to pay rent? So, you want the bank to repossess the house while you pack your bags and move to another house to repeat same thing? That is the height of evil. What should those living overseas do if you want to find an excuse? They pay a refundable bond, equivalent to their monthly rent, this is held by landlords for repairs in case tenants damage anything in the house or apartment when they want to leave, then pay their full month rent by direct debit and it continues that way till the end of the contract signed.
I think this system should be practiced in Nigeria by some landlords. Draw up a contract, stipulate therein that the tenant must pay the equivalent of 1 year rent as refundable deposit/bond, to be used for repairs if tenant leaves the house worse than he met it. Then rent should be paid monthly by dividing one year rent by 12 months. It makes life easy for both parties, makes a steady income for landlords and makes tenants more responsible. My opinion...
Anthony Ihidero
July 2018
