The Federation of Informal Workers’ Organization of Nigeria (FIWON) has commended the Lagos State Government for its recent initiative of signing the newly enacted Lagos Tenancy Bill into law, insisting that there is the need for more social housing policy to reduce the burden of the less-privileged in the state.
FIWON’s General Secretary, Gbenga Komolafe, expressed the commendation in Lagos while interacting with journalists.
The new law makes it illegal for any landlord to demand more than a year’s rent from a new tenant.
FIWON also called on the Lagos state Government to urgently reconsider its housing policy which is centred on the mortgage system, as the high cost of building materials and the prohibitive costs of construction also compounded the housing problem.
“We commend the Lagos State Government for its recent initiative of signing the newly enacted Lagos Tenancy Bill into law; and so we urge the government to initiate social housing policy to reduce housing costs for Lagosians.
The law also exposes how it will be unlawful for a tenant to offer to pay more than a year’s rent and gives room for the two parties to sign a tenancy agreement.
The penalty for contravention includes a fine of N100, 000 or three months imprisonment,” he added.
According Komolafe, available records show that less than 10 percent of the population of Lagos own the entire stock of landed property within the state.
“And so, government’s deliberate intervention becomes necessary as one of the measures that could help redress the growing social and economic inequalities which largely account for the multiple social crises we currently endure”, he said.
“This is because housing remains a serious challenge in Lagos State for most working people, especially those in the informal sectors of the economy, most of whom have been sentenced to perpetual ghetto life.”
“Because of the inability to cope with multiple years’ rent payment in advance, in addition to monthly spurious charges, a lot of workers in the informal economy are forced to live under very dangerous conditions in informal houses prone to such environmental hazards as flooding, fire outbreaks as well as incessant harassment and extortion from agencies of the state government”.
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