It’s Time for Abuja to Catch Up: Why the FCT Needs Its Own Tenancy Law to Protect the Oppressed

By Ujah Israel Ujah Esq.

In what many have hailed as a progressive and people-focused reform, the Lagos State Government has updated its Tenancy Law to strike a delicate balance between landlords’ rights and tenants’ dignity. From capping rent advance demands to outlawing self-help evictions, the new provisions reflect a deliberate effort to tame the excesses of landlordism and protect vulnerable citizens already gasping under Nigeria’s economic hardship.

But while Lagos moves forward, Abuja remains dangerously silent.

Here in the Federal Capital Territory, the cost of living is becoming a punishment, not a condition. Rent in many parts of Abuja rivals that of high-end global cities, with landlords demanding one to two years’ rent upfront from first-time tenants — and even from struggling sitting tenants — without mercy or regulation. Estate agents charge arbitrary “legal” and “agreement” fees. Rent receipts are rarely issued. Landlords evict tenants in the dead of night without court orders. All this happens in a city that houses the National Assembly, the Presidency, and the Judiciary — a place that ought to be the beacon of lawful conduct.

The question is simple: Why has the FCT not enacted its own Tenancy Law, like Lagos?

What Lagos Got Right

The new Lagos Tenancy Law boldly addresses long-standing abuses in the rental sector:

Landlords can no longer demand more than 3 months’ rent in advance from sitting tenants. Tenants are likewise not allowed to pay beyond this, preventing exploitation and desperation.

Landlords are required by law to issue rent receipts. No more denials, backdating, or “off-record” transactions.

Legal and agreement fees are capped at 10% of annual rent, ending the regime of inflated “agency” costs.

Clear notice periods for termination based on the type of tenancy, ensuring fairness and predictability.

Tenant rights to privacy, exclusive possession, and lawful enjoyment of premises are enshrined and enforceable.

Unlawful evictions are criminalized, meaning no more illegal lockouts or harassment.

This is not just legislation — it’s a declaration that the dignity of tenants matters.

Abuja Tenants: The Forgotten Majority

In Abuja, however, tenants live at the mercy of unchecked landlord power. There is no active law capping how much rent can be collected in advance. Landlords charge 10%, 15%, even 20% for “legal and agreement” fees, most of which go unreceipted. Disputes drag for years in the courts. Enforcement is weak. Protection is non-existent. And in a city built with public funds, millions of Nigerians — civil servants, traders, students, young professionals — live under the daily threat of exorbitant rent, unjust eviction, and housing instability.

The irony is glaring: The FCT is where lawmakers legislate for others, but not for themselves. How can this contradiction be justified?

A Call to Action: FCT Must Enact Its Own Tenancy Law

This is not a mere policy gap; it is a moral failure and constitutional embarrassment. The FCT, under Section 299 of the 1999 Constitution, is to be treated as a state. If Lagos has a tenancy law, Abuja should have one too.

We, therefore, call on:

The Honourable Minister of the FCT, to initiate and forward a tenancy reform bill to the National Assembly.

The National Assembly, especially the Senate and House Committees on Housing and Urban Development, to pass a comprehensive FCT Tenancy Law in the spirit of social justice.

The Nigerian Bar Association (Abuja Branch), civil society, housing rights advocates, and tenant unions, to mobilize for legislative change.

A Law for the Living — Not Just the Powerful

It is often said that Nigeria is hard. But it is not the soil or the sky that makes it hard — it is the people who make rules that protect wealth but not welfare, property but not people.

If the cost of living must not kill the living, then the law must come alive in Abuja. It is time to put an end to exploitative landlord practices, arbitrary rent hikes, and homelessness induced by greed. It is time to humanize housing.

Lagos has shown the way. Abuja must now stop pretending to be the capital of law and order if it cannot protect the people living under its roofs.

 If you are a tenant in Abuja or a housing advocate, this is your moment to speak up. Demand reform. Organize. Push your representatives. Justice cannot be one-sided, and housing should not be warfare.