LEGAL

Procedure for Recovery of Residential Premises in Lagos State

In my earlier articles, I have described Tenancies, Leases, and the relationship between the Tenants/Lessees and Landlords/Lessors. In the Tenancy contract, the Landlord hands over exclusive possession of the property to the Tenant for an agreed period of time, in return for rental payment; at the expiration of the Tenancy period, exclusive possession of the property reverts to the Landlord.

However it must be noted that inasmuch the property reverts to the Landlord, there is still a laid down procedure for recovering this property from the Tenant. The Landlord may, not on his own, and without employing statutorily provided means, evict the Tenant from the property. Indeed it has been alleged by some quarters that the laws for recovery of premises tend to be more protective of the Tenant, than the Landlord; however it important to note that an eviction that is in compliance with the statutorily employed means will not prevent an employer from repossessing his property.

TENANCY LAW: Rights and Obligations of a Tenant

Definition of Lease

The term ‘lease’, when used in real estate law, means a contract by which one party conveys land, a building ordemised premises to another for a specified time, in return for a periodic payment. Sometimes the words ‘lease’ and ‘tenancy’ are used interchangeably; it is important to note that there is aslight difference between the two words.While a Tenancy is usually for a short term, usually less than 3 years and may be created under hand or orally, a Lease is created by deed and is usually for a longer term or a period over three (3) years. The grantor is usually described as a landlord/lessor/sub-lessor, while the grantee is usually described as at tenant/lessee/sub-lessee, depending on the circumstances of the tenancy arrangement. In a lease contract, the grantor leases real property to the grantee in consideration of a rental fee. The grantee is a person who holds, possesses or is in possession of land or tenements by any kind of right or title; he is a person who holds property under a contractual tenancy for a certain period of time, and pays rent to the grantor as a consideration for the right to exclusive possession, use and enjoyment of the land and tenements, which belong to the grantor. See Black’s Law Dictionary, 9th Edition. For the purpose of this article, the parties will be referred to as Landlord and Tenant respectively.

Land document retrieval at the Lagos State Land Bureau

Have you lost any of your land documents, what you need do is hurry to the Lagos State Land Bureau, Alausa.
For the loss of title document under the Land Instrument Registration Act, commonly called Deeds of Conveyance, you will need to provide the following;

1. Sworn Affidavit of Loss
2. Police Report
3. Publication of Loss
4. Certified True Copy of the Missing Document

You will also need to make extra copies of each of the above documents which will be certified and presented for stamp duty. There is also a payment of Eighteen Thousand Seven Hundred and Fifty Naira (N18,750) which is to  be made into any of the following banks.

1. Skye Bank
2. Access Bank
3. Fin Bank
4. First City Monument Bank

LAND USE ACT, 1978

Arrangement of Sections

Part I

General