Lagos already has a one-year limit on advance rent in law. What it has not had is enforcement. Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat now says that is the next chapter.
Speaking on Sunday at a governorship debate, he said the provision sits in the Lagos State Real Estate Registration Agency law passed in 2025, and that compliance is the priority from here.
What he said
“So the next chapter for Lagos is to enforce, to make sure. So people should not be asked 2 years, 3 years ahead because nobody gets salary three years ahead.”
That is the clearest statement yet that the state intends to act on a cap that has been on the statute book for a year without visible enforcement.
Why this is different from every other rent story this month
It is worth being precise, because the three stories look similar and are not:
| Jurisdiction | Status of a 12-month limit |
|---|---|
| Lagos | In law since 2025 – now pledged for enforcement |
| FCT | Bill passed second reading in the House; not law |
| Enugu | Capping agency and legal fees, not rent |
| Kogi | Assembly moving to regulate rents and fees |
Lagos is not proposing this. It is a year ahead of the FCT, which is still at committee stage, and it is the only one of the four where a tenant could argue the rule already binds a landlord.
The agent register
Hamzat also said the law requires real estate agents to register with the state and be listed on an official database.
That is the enforcement mechanism, and it matters more than the rent cap. A one-year limit is hard to police house by house; a register is checkable. If an agent is not on the list, everything about the transaction is already irregular.
The reporting platform is the part you can use
The most practical thing in the statement: he urged residents to report issues through the Lagos State Real Estate Registration Agency’s online platform.
“Our appeal to the citizens is in terms of communication, to make sure that people use that site, because that is the only way we can track.”
Read plainly, the state is saying it cannot enforce what it cannot see. A demand for three years’ rent that nobody reports leaves no trace.
What a tenant in Lagos should take from this
A demand for two or three years is now the specific thing to refuse. The state has named it. If a landlord or agent insists, the dispute is no longer about market practice – it is about a provision the government says it will enforce.
Ask whether the agent is registered. The law requires registration and a public database. An unregistered agent collecting a year’s rent is the clearest signal that something is wrong with the transaction.
Put the refusal in writing. A message saying you are willing to pay 12 months under the Lagos State Real Estate Registration Agency law, and asking the landlord to confirm, creates a record. Verbal refusals disappear.
Report it on the platform. The state has explicitly asked for this and said it is the only way it can track. If enforcement is going to be real, reports are what make it real.
Do not withhold rent unilaterally. Refusing to pay a lawful year because you believe the demand is unlawful is a different act from refusing an unlawful demand. Get advice before you hold back money.
The housing promises alongside it
The rest of the statement was standard housing policy, but two items bear on cost:
Title and regularisation delays. He said the state would work to reduce the time needed to obtain property regularisation and title documents, and that automation of the process is complete so applications can be made online. He linked delays in land documentation directly to housing cost – which is the same point our title coverage keeps making.
Where developers build. He called for developers to build in less affluent communities as well as Ikoyi and Victoria Island. That is an argument about the concentration of new supply at the top of the market – the same two-speed pattern visible in the price data.
What is not established
He is the APC’s governorship candidate, and he was speaking at a debate during a campaign. A pledge made in that setting is a policy intention, not a record of enforcement.
No enforcement mechanism, budget, staff or penalty was announced. The report does not state what happens to a landlord who demands two years after the law bites, and no enforcement figures were given – no prosecutions, no sanctions, no complaints resolved.
The law’s commencement arrangements and the exact penalty provisions were not set out. Whether the one-year provision has been in force since 2025 or awaits further regulation is not stated in the report.
Frequently asked questions
Is one year’s rent the legal maximum in Lagos?
The Deputy Governor says a one-year provision is contained in the Lagos State Real Estate Registration Agency law passed in 2025, and that enforcement is now the priority.
Can my landlord still ask for two years?
He says they should not be asked for two or three years. No penalty or enforcement action has been specified in this report, so the practical position depends on how the state enforces.
Do Lagos agents have to be registered?
Yes, by law – agents must register with the state and appear on an official database, according to the Deputy Governor.
Where do I report a landlord demanding three years?
Through the Lagos State Real Estate Registration Agency’s online platform, which he urged residents to use so the state can track complaints.
Last updated: 9 November 2026. The one-year provision in the Lagos State Real Estate Registration Agency law of 2025, the enforcement pledge, Obafemi Hamzat’s quotations, the agent registration and database requirement, the reporting platform, the title-document automation and the call for development outside Ikoyi and Victoria Island are from Punch’s report of 9 November 2026, covering his remarks at a governorship debate organised by the Nigeria Debate Consortium (Punch, Channels Television, TVC News, TheCable and Vanguard) on Sunday 8 November 2026. He is the APC governorship candidate; the statement is a campaign pledge. The FCT, Enugu and Kogi statuses are from our earlier reporting. Not legal advice.
