Francis Awoyera, an Abuja homeowner, first gave Adeyemi Bankole, his tenant, a three-month notice to vacate his house, he then abruptly reduced it to seven days and promised to deduct N7,000 for every extra day he stayed there.
Bankole, a remote graphics artist, rented a bedroom flat at N1 million per year from Awoyera in November 2023. Awoyera, the landlord, was not in Nigeria at the time.
Before moving into the apartment, Bankole asked for a house lease agreement but it was not provided. The request continued for months, but Awoyera failed to send it to Bankole.
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The friction between Bankole and Awoyera started in December 2023, one month after he got the apartment.
“Around December, I noticed that whenever I buy light on the electricity meter, I would get value for only half the price. For instance, if I buy N2,000 worth of electricity, the other N1,000 would be used to offset the debt on the electricity meter,” Bankole told FIJ.
When Bankole told Awoyera that he only got to use 50% of the electricity he paid for, he promised to figure out the reason and find a solution.
“He made his investigation and he told me that the person who stayed in the house before me bypassed the light. He said it was the person who was charged the amount, and the sum that was charged was N390,000,” Bankole told FIJ.
“I asked him what the way forward was because it had already become a burden on me. He said he had contacted an Inspector of Police, and that they would track the guy so he could offset the bill.
“Since that December, he kept giving excuses, telling me that the police were still working on it. So, I stopped asking.”
In November, when Bankole wanted to renew his rent, he contacted Awoyera again to inform him about the electricity meter bill he had to offset.
Bankole told FIJ he decided to pay N750,000 of his N1 million rent.
“I told him that I had paid some part of the N390,000. I asked him if I could remove the money I had paid from the rent I was going to pay while he pays for the next one year or I should deduct the amount I had paid from my rent and also deduct the amount I would offset for the next one year pending when he can get it sorted, but he did not respond,” Bankole explained.
“I held on to the N250,000 pending when we could find the solution to the electricity issue.”
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Bankole told FIJ that when he transferred the N750,000 rent renewal fee, Awoyera told him that N1 million, not N750,000, was the amount on the signed lease agreement.
“I also told him that there was nowhere in the lease agreement that I would be offsetting any electricity bill. Then he said he was coming to Abuja in December, and that we would settle it,” Bankole said.
When Awoyera arrived at the house in December, instead of settling to resolve the electricity issue, he said he wanted to renovate the house. He then served all his tenants a three-month quit notice and promised to refund their rent.
“He told me to send my email for him to send the quit notice, and I did. That was the same email I sent to him to get the lease agreement he never sent. So, I never signed any lease agreement,” Bankole said.
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On Thursday, Awoyera said he wanted to discuss the meter issue with Bankole so he could know how much he had to refund. But Bankole said he was not around for the discussion, as he had travelled to Bida.
Returning from his journey, Bankole was welcomed by a seven-day quit notice. FIJ found this to contravene the Recovery Premises Act 1945 that governs tenancy matters in the Federal Capital Territory.
Section 8, subsection 1 (d) of the Act clarifies that a six-month notice should be served for a year tenancy period.
“He said because I withheld part of the money, I breached the lease agreement contract,” Bankole said.
“He also added in the mail that once I stay longer December 15, which was the deadline, he would deduct N7,000 for every extra day that I stay in the house.”
FIJ sent a WhatsApp message to Awoyera on Tuesday, but he did not respond. His phone line was also unreachable when FIJ called on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The post Abuja Landlord Wants to Evict Tenant With Unlawful 7-Day Quit Notice, Penalty Fees appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.