How Much Notice Must a Landlord Give a Tenant in Nigeria?
General information for landlords, tenants and property managers, not legal advice.
Direct answer: Where the tenancy agreement does not say otherwise, the usual notice to quit is 6 months for a yearly tenancy, 1 month for a monthly tenancy, 3 months for a quarterly or half-yearly tenancy and 1 week for a tenancy at will. After the notice to quit runs out, a landlord generally must also give 7 days notice of the intention to recover possession before going to court. Rules differ by state, so confirm with a lawyer.
Two Different Notices
People often mix up two notices. A notice to quit ends the tenancy: it tells the tenant the tenancy will end on a specific date. A notice of owner's intention to recover possession comes after that, and tells the tenant the landlord intends to apply to court to get the premises back. Under the Lagos State Tenancy Law 2011 and the Recovery of Premises law that applies in Abuja, recovering a property through the courts follows this order: notice to quit, then the seven day notice, then a court application if the tenant still has not left. Taking the property back by force, changing locks or removing belongings is not a substitute, and can expose a landlord to legal trouble.
General Notice Periods
Where a tenancy agreement does not set its own notice period, the general position under the Lagos State Tenancy Law 2011 is 6 months for a yearly tenancy, 1 month for a monthly tenancy, 3 months for a quarterly or half-yearly tenancy and 1 week for a tenancy at will. Similar periods are widely applied elsewhere in Nigeria, including in Abuja, where the notice also has to end on the day before the anniversary of the tenancy to be valid. You can read the Lagos law itself on the Lagos State Ministry of Justice website, and a law firm overview of the wider framework on Omaplex.
What Varies by State
Nigeria does not have one national tenancy law. Each state can make its own, and the Federal Capital Territory has its own rules. Lagos has a detailed Tenancy Law from 2011, which also limits how much rent a landlord can demand in advance from a sitting tenant, up to six months for a monthly tenant and one year for a yearly tenant. Other states rely on older laws or on the general rules of tenancy law. Some states apply the same six month notice for yearly tenants, but details such as how the notice is served differ. Always check the current rule for the state where the property is.
Why Records Decide These Cases
A notice only helps a landlord if they can prove when it was served and what it said. A tenant who disputes a payment or a date is helped by the same thing in reverse. For both sides the useful records are the tenancy agreement, the rent and lease dates, every payment with the period it covers, and copies of every notice. Keeping them in one place, with dates, means the timeline is clear before anyone needs it.
What Domby Helps With, and What It Does Not
Domby keeps the dates and payments organised: each tenant has their rent or lease start and end dates, a full payment history with receipts, and alerts before the end date, so you know when a tenancy is coming up for renewal or ending. The Notices feature sends announcements to tenants in the app and by email, which is useful for everyday communication.
It is not a substitute for a formal notice to quit or a notice of intention to recover possession. Those are legal documents with their own requirements about form and service, and a lawyer should prepare or check them. Use Domby to know the dates and to keep the record, and use a lawyer for the notice itself.
FAQ
Where the agreement does not say otherwise, six months is the general position for a yearly tenancy, for example under the Lagos State Tenancy Law 2011. The agreement can set a different period, and the rules can differ by state, so check the law and the agreement for your property.
It is a notice of the landlord's intention to apply to court to recover possession. It comes after the notice to quit has expired, and if the tenant still has not left when the seven days end, the landlord can apply to the court.
In Lagos the Tenancy Law 2011 makes it unlawful to demand or receive more than one year in advance from a sitting yearly tenant, and six months from a sitting monthly tenant. Practice and rules elsewhere differ, so check the law in your state.
No. Domby notices are announcements to tenants. A notice to quit and the notice of intention to recover possession are legal documents with formal requirements, and a lawyer should prepare or review them.
Not exactly. Nigeria has no single national tenancy law, and each state and the Federal Capital Territory has its own rules. The general periods above are widely used, but confirm the rule for the state where the property is.
Related guides
See how landlords end a lease agreement, how to create a tenancy agreement and how to track lease start and end dates. See also how landlords renew a lease, how tenants keep track of their rent, a tenant's rights in Nigeria, and what fees and deposits a landlord can charge. Browse all landlord guides.
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