Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, says the state government plans to enforce the one-year rent payment provision to prevent landlords from demanding two or three years’ rent in advance.

Hamzat, who is also the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, said the provision was contained in the Lagos State Real Estate Registration Agency Law, enacted in 2025. He added that the government’s next priority was to ensure compliance.

He made the remarks on Sunday during a governorship debate organised by the Nigeria Debate Consortium in Lagos.

The debate was organised by a coalition comprising The PUNCH, Channels Television, TVC News, TheCable and Vanguard.

Hamzat also outlined measures to address housing affordability and other challenges in the state’s property sector.

“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,” he said.

The governorship hopeful added that the law requires real estate agents to register with the state and be listed on an official database.

He urged residents to use the Lagos State Real Estate Registration Agency’s online platform to report issues and help the government monitor activities in the sector.

“So 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. Because this— when these things happen, government must also have the feedback,” he said.

On efforts to improve access to affordable housing, Hamzat said the government would complete ongoing housing projects and work towards reducing the time required to obtain property regularisation and title documents.

He said delays in processing land documents could increase housing costs, adding that the state had completed the automation of the process to enable residents to submit applications online.

Hamzat also called for greater collaboration with private developers to ensure that housing projects were not concentrated in high-income areas.

He urged developers undertaking projects in affluent locations such as Ikoyi and Victoria Island to consider investing in less affluent communities as well.

“As you develop a property, say in Ikoyi or VI, can you develop another one in Egodo? So those are part of the discussions that we will have so that as we are building for the rich, we’re also building for the poor, apart from what the government is doing to make sure that people actually have housing,” he said.

Referring to his manifesto, Hamzat said its “Everyday Dignity” component was designed to ensure that residents were not burdened by rent payments to the extent that their dignity was undermined.

“If you look at my manifesto, the E part is everyday dignity. What it says is people should not pay rent that demystifies their dignity. And what that means is we must work with landlords. We understand that we run a capitalist economy,” he said.

The issue of advance rent payments remains a concern for tenants in Lagos, where landlords have been reported to demand multiple years’ rent despite existing legal restrictions.

Section 4 of the Lagos State Tenancy Law 2011 prohibits landlords or their agents from demanding or receiving more than one year’s rent in advance from a new tenant. The law also sets limits on advance rent payments by existing tenants, depending on the nature of the tenancy.

The Lagos State Government has also been considering reforms to its tenancy framework to address concerns over rent increases, agency practices and disputes between landlords and tenants.