One of the demands of every tenant who is seeking to rent a new house in Lagos aside issue of electricity and water is whether the Landlord will be living in the same house with them.
This has become a normal question among home seekers especially in Lagos State.
Many Lagos tenants prefer to live in apartments or houses without their landlords present due to potential issues like excessive control, privacy concerns, and interference in their lives. Landlords’ perceived “monitoring spirit,” tendency to control aspects of the tenant’s life, and unwillingness to maintain the property can lead to tenant dissatisfaction.
Some of the common causes of landlord and tenant altercations have been found out to include disagreement over electricity or utility bills, safety or security issues, unauthorized use of premises, sanitary issues, illegal possession of premises, illegal rent increases, property maintenance and repair issues, and unpaid rents among other issues.
The best way for tenants to avoid altercations with landlords is to be very familiar with the terms of the tenancy agreements they signed with the landlord, and to never sign onto a tenancy contract that include details they do not clearly understand or which the landlord or a representative of the landlord cannot clearly explain. The wisest approach before signing a tenancy agreement is to consult a lawyer as he or she will be in the good position to detect potential issues down the road.
Apart from this, Lagos tenants also don’t like to live with their landlords for the reasons below.
Privacy
Many home seekers in Lagos want to live as their own landlord without being controlled by anyone. While some landlords in Lagos are perceived as wanting to exert excessive control over tenants, dictating things like generator usage, guest visits, and even parking.
Interference and Monitoring
Tenants often feel scrutinised and monitored by landlords, leading to a lack of privacy and a feeling of being under constant surveillance.
Self Entitlement
Most land landlords in Lagos who pick an offence if their tenants fail to greet them while they meet when it’s not deliberate from the part of the tenant. They are essily offended and feel they are being disrespected. Some landlords exhibit an entitlement mentality, expecting tenants to be subservient and always available to them, which can be uncomfortable and disruptive.
Exploitation
This factor is one of the main reasons some people dont want to live with landlords.
Some tenants worry about landlords exploiting them through unfair rent increases, unreasonable demands, or attempts to take advantage of their lack of knowledge about tenancy laws.
A situation where people in the house need to contribute a certain amount maybe for utility bill, some landlords won’t pay and expect their tenants to pay even when if the primary beneficiary of the bill happens to be the landlord.
Sharing utility bills
utility bills include electricity bill and water bill but waste bill is loosely included as well. First advice is to be skeptical of rental properties where utility bills are shared. It is a recipe for future disagreements that could lead anywhere. Preferably opt for properties where flat or homes have prepaid meter for power and water bill, if any. Waste bill are often fixed even if it is shared and can easily be calculated.
Another reason why some don’t want landlords to live with them is because they may have something they are hiding.
For instance: Some single ladies now rent husbands for Lagos Landlords to rent a house and in order to maintain their lies, they seek for houses where landlords don’t live with them.
As a result of the current trend, young ladies have now resorted to renting husbands just to be able to rent a house in Lagos.
But the challenges is that if the landlord now lives in the same compound.
Strange as it may sound, this is the case of many single ladies who have become tired of getting rejections from landlords in Lagos.
Past Negative Experiences
Word-of-mouth about landlords’ negative behaviours can spread, making tenants wary of living in properties where the landlord is nearby.
Cultural Differences is aNother point
A situation wbere a Yoruba is demanding what is contrary to rhe belief of a Hausa man where he is being told or asked to always prostrate while greeting can be frustrating. In some cases, cultural differences between landlords and tenants can lead to misunderstandings and friction.
