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CAN A TENANT GET A REFUND OF RENT WHERE HE UNILATERALLY SURRENDERS TENANCY?

Answer: The position of the law is; where a tenant surrenders tenancy on his own volition, he is not entitled to a refund of rent paid, whether or not the tenancy agreement has been signed and still subsist. HOWEVER, if the landlord lets out the premises to a third party, the tenant is entitled to a refund of the period of his existing tenancy period.

This was stated in the celebrated Supreme Court case of “MRS. AISHA ABDURAHMAN & ANOR V. MRS. SHADE THOMAS (2019) 12 NWLR (PT.1685) 107 AT 129 – 130, paras G – A, where Aka’ah JSC stated that:*
"In a tenancy contract, there is no refund of rent after payment. If the tenant surrenders before the contract is executed, the landlord may return the amount gained which was let out during the subsistence of the tenancy which was surrendered. Apart from that, a tenant is not entitled to refund of rent."

The court further stated that:
“In a landlord and tenant relationship, there is no provision for refund of rents if a tenant unilaterally surrenders the premises after the contract has been executed. Where such a situation occurs, the usual practice is that the tenant will be entitled to receive repayment of rent of the unexpired term from the date the premises is re-let before the expiration of the tenancy. See: *Nigerian Construction and Holding Company Ltd v. Owoyele (1988) 4 NWLR (Pt. 90) 588 at 603."*

Finally, the Court said that:
"It is unreasonable for a tenant to expect full refund of the rent after possession of the premises for some months and deciding to terminate the tenancy simply because he has secured an alternative accommodation. It does not make sense to accommodate such proposition. It is feasible to entertain such claim only if the Landlord is guilty of frustrating the contract”

DOCUMENTS YOU MUST KNOW BEFORE BUYING A LAND OR BUILDING.

1. SURVEY PLAN. This is the land document that shows the boundary measurements of a parcel of land to give an accurate measurement and description of the land. A survey plan is a very important land document because it is with this document that you can be able know everything about the land. With this same document you can be able to search if the land you are planning to buy is free or not. Surveyors are the people who handles survey issues, they are been regulated by the office of the surveyor General of the state where the land is located. In the case of Zoning restrictions, A survey plan will help u to know if the land is for agricultural, residential, industrial or commercial purpose.

2. EXCISION: Before now the traditional families have so much power when it comes to anything concerning land, they own and determine which land will be sold and which will not be sold. Because of this super power they have on lands, they refuse to sell lands to individuals who need it outrightly, but gives it out to them under tenancy system which made them to still have full control over that land. This very system made it difficult for any one who wants to buy land to get one.
This, coupled with other reasons finally gave birth to the proclamation of the " THE LAND USE DEGREE" NOW called ("ACT" on the 28th of march 1978 that vested all lands in every state of the federation under the control of the state Governors. Land use Act made it possible for Governor who is now the owner of all lands in the state to actually have the power to acquire more lands compulsorily for its own public purpose to provide amenities for greater good of the citizens.
Fortunately, the government still recognises that indigenes of different sections of the country have a right to existence...... a right to the land of their birth. Hence , it is customary for a state government to code a portion of land to the original owners (natives) of the area.
So Excision simply means taking a part from a whole land and that part excised will be recorded and documented in a official government gazette of the state. In other words , not having an excision means the land could be seized by the government anytime without compensation even if you bought it legitimately.

3. GAZETTE: A Gazette is a very powerful instrument that the community owns and can replace a certificate of occupancy to grant tittle to the villagers. A community owning a gazette as a land document can only sell lands to an individual within those lands that has been excised to them. The community or family head of that land has the right to sign your documents if you purchase lands within those excised acres or hectares of land.
At this point if the government based on any or some reasons best known to them decides to revoke or acquire your land, you will be entitled to compensation as long as it's within the excised lands given to the community.

TO BE CONTINUED IN OUR NEXT EDITION.

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DETERMINATION OF TENANCY.

A Tenancy is determined by the effluxion of time. The period from which Rent was paid to when it expired. For instance, Mr. Ako rents a duplex from Mr, Otuk for one year, from 1st January 2016 to 31st December 2016. At the expiration of the said one year, the tenancy is determined. Hence, from 1st of January 2017, the tenancy is deemed expired/determined.

WHEN IS A NOTICE TO QUIT NECESSARY?

Service of a notice to quit is not always a condition precedent for recovery of premises( A notice to quit is only necessary for the determination of a tenancy, where the tenancy has not been determined.

WHEN IS A NOTICE TO QUIT IRRELEVANT?

Where a tenant is in arrears of rent for a specific period provided by statute, a notice to quit becomes irrelevant. This particularly in respect of periodic tenancies. Once a yearly tenant does not pay his or her rent as at when it becomes due for payment, the tenancy is automatically converted to a tenancy at Will, which requires only the service of 7 days notice of owners intention to recover possession. Some lawyers had put up an argument that periodic tenancies must be determined by a notice to quit and that non payment of rent does not change the nature of the tenancy.

More on this topic is contained in our monthly lecture bulletin.

KNOW YOUR RIGHT, MY RIGHT IS MY RIGHT AND IS MY RIGHT.

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