INTRODUCTION
Eviction of tenants from a rental property is a tightly regulated legal process in Nigeria. At the heart of this legality lies the notice to quit and notice of owner’s intention to apply to court to recover possession. They arenot a mere formality or courtesy letters to a reluctant tenant. They constitute the statutory gateway to lawful recovery of premises in the various states of the federation. The courts have repeatedly made it clear that where a notice to quit is defective, premature, improperly served, or entirely omitted, every step taken thereafter, no matter how compelling the landlord’s case, collapses like a house built on sand. The issue of a validly served notice to quit was the crux of the conflict between the landlord and tenant in Ndubuisi v. Shobande (2025) 20 NWLR (Pt. 2022) 163. This legal dispute which spanned a period 17 years started from a Lagos Magistrate Court in 2008 and terminated at the Supreme Court in 2025, with both the landlord and tenant expending resources in litigating their case.
This article emphasises the importance of statutory notices in tenancy matters and examines the legal standards for a valid notice to quit and notice of owner’s intention to apply to court to recover possession.
Types of Tenancies and the Applicable Statutory Notices
The tenancy laws have laid down the procedure for eviction of tenants from rental premises. The process includes service of a notice which period can be determined by the Parties in the tenancy agreement or, in the absence of such express agreement, is automatically determined by the provision of the tenancy law. When determined by law, the length of the notice usually depends on the nature/type of tenancy. Thus, unless a different notice period is agreed by the parties, the following statutory notice periods will apply to the various types of tenancies in accordance with Section 13 of the Tenancy Law of Lagos 2011:
- Weekly tenancy/ tenancy-at-will is to be terminated by a seven (7) days’ quit notice;
- Monthly tenancy is to be terminated by one (1) month’s notice to quit;
- Quarterly tenancy is to be determined by a three (3) months’ notice to quit;
- Half yearly tenancy is to be determined by a three (3) months’ notice to quit; and
- Yearly tenancy is to be determined by a six (6) months’ notice to quit.
By virtue of section 13(5) of the Tenancy Law, where the tenancy is for a fixed-term and has expired by effluxion of time, a notice to quit becomes unnecessary.
The next step in the eviction process is the service of a seven (7) days notice of the owner’s intention to apply to court to recover possession. This is required before filing an action either at the magistrate court or at the High Court court to recover possession.
It is worthy of note that the limit of monetary jurisdiction of the Magistrate Court of Lagos is N10,000,000 (ten million naira). Therefore, recovery matters where the rental value of the premises is above N10,000,000 can only be entertained by the High Court of Lagos State.
A misunderstanding and/or misapplication by either the landlord or tenant of the law regarding notices can adversely affect their case. The case of Ndubuisi v. Shobande (supra) presents a good illustration of this point and is instructive for both landlords and tenants. The facts of this case are that the landlord, in a bid to evict the tenant from the rental property which the tenant occupied on a yearly tenancy, issued a Notice to Quit and sought to serve the tenant with the said notice. It was however the case that the tenant was not at home when the notice was to be served on him, so he authorised his secretary through the phone to sign for and receive the notice on his behalf. When the landlord instituted an action before the Magistrate Court of Lagos State against the tenant for the recovery of possession of the rental property, the tenant challenged the competence of the action on the simple ground that the notice to quit was not validly served on him by the Landlord and that failure to comply with the requirements of the law on the service of a valid notice to quit was fatal to the case
The Court of Appeal had no difficulty holding that the service on the tenant’s secretary on the instruction of the tenant himself constituted personal service within the meaning of the law. The Court further stated that it would have been a different result had the tenant insisted that he must be served personally or if the secretary had signed for and collected the notice without the authorisation of the tenant.[1]
The Supreme Court’s decision in Odutola v Papersack (Nig.) Ltd. (2006) 18 NWLR (Pt. 1012) 470 already laid down the foundational importance of inherently valid notices, i.e., statutory notice that are validly issued and fulfil the contractual or statutory notice periods. In that case, the apex court held that the issuance of a 6 months’ notice to quit to terminate a tenancy-at-will was valid (even though superfluous), therefore entitling the landlord to recover possession. While this case emphasises the length of period for valid notices, the case of Ndubuisi v. Shobande accentuates the mode of service that would be accorded validity by law. Thus, for a statutory notice to be valid, it must: (1) be validly issued; (2) meet the required notice period; and (3) be properly served on the tenant.
Authority to Issue Statutory Notices.
Having underscored the importance of ensuring that the length of statutory notices meet the statutory requirement, landlords evicting tenants from their property must equally ensure that the statutory notice is issued by a person who has the authority to do so. Failure to fulfil this requirement can result to an objection to the validity of the notice in court.
Under the Tenancy Law of Lagos State 2011, the following categories of persons are imbued with authority to issue statutory notices:
- The landlord (as in Form TL2 of the Tenancy Law);
- Landlord’s authorised agents (as in Form TL3 of the Tenancy Law);
- Landlord’s authorised solicitor for that purpose (as in Form TL3 of the Tenancy Law)
It follows, therefore, that a notice to quit or a notice of owner’s intention to apply to court to recover possessionmust be signed by the landlord or his authorised agent/solicitor.
However, in the case of a solicitor or an agent acting on behalf of the Landlord, the agent or solicitor must have been duly authorised by the landlord before the notice to quit or notice to apply to court to recover possession is issued by the agent or solicitor. For an agent, a letter of authority would suffice. For a solicitor, a letter of instruction would clothe him with the requisite authority to act on behalf of the landlord in respect of the property. The importance of a letter of instruction or authority finds expression in the Court of Appeal’s decision in Coker v. Adetayo (1992) 6 NWLR (Pt. 249) 612 where the Court, per Ubaezonu, J.C.A. stated thus:
“The law is that any such letter of instruction to the solicitor must be issued before the Notice to Quit is issued by the Solicitor otherwise the solicitor has no authority to act. Any notice to quit or notice of intention to apply to recover possession issued by any such solicitor before the letter of instruction is null and void and of no effect.”
Mode of Service of Statutory Notices
While the Tenancy Law is not exhaustive in the manner of service of statutory notices, service must howeverbe done in such a manner that it can be established to the satisfaction of the Court that the person to be served will have knowledge of the served notice. Section 18 of the Tenancy Law of Lagos provides for the following modes of service of notices for residential premises:
- Service on the tenant personally; The Court of Appeal in Ndubuisi v. Shobande (supra) held that service on the tenant’s secretary on the instruction of the tenant constituted personal service.
- Delivery to any adult residing at the apartment to be recovered;
- Service by courier where the tenant cannot be found: by delivering same at the apartment sought to be recovered and the courier shall provide proof of delivery; or
- By affixing the notice on a prominent part of the apartment to be recovered and providing corroborative proof of service e.g., photographs.
With respect to service of statutory notices on commercial/business premises, it is reasonably expected that corporate bodies (e.g., companies) occupy business premises. Section 104 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (“CAMA”) 2020 provides that documents other than court processes may be served on a company by leaving it at the registered office or head office of the company or sending it by post to that address.
It is however worthy of note that tenancy matters fall under the residual legislative list thus bringing it within the exclusive reserve of the state legislature. Therefore, any provision in the Tenancy Law 2011 which prescribes mode of service of statutory notices on business premises occupied by corporate bodies takes precedence over any other enactment, including CAMA 2020. Section 19 of the Tenancy Law 2011 provides that service of Notices on commercial/business premises shall be by:
- Delivery to a person at the business premises sought to be recovered.
- Affixing the notice on a prominent part of the premises sought to be recovered and providing corroborative proof of service e.g., photographs.
Time of Service of Statutory Notices:
A notice to quit and a notice of owner’s intention to apply to court to recover possession may be served on anyday of the week and at any hour. As long as the notices can be effectively served and acknowledged (or, in the least, with the chance of being received by the tenant) such a notice would be deemed validly served. What is paramount is to show proof that the notice was served.
It is however worthy of note that if a statutory notice is served on a weekend or public holiday, the number of days will start counting from the next working day which is not a Sunday or public holiday. This is in accordance with section 15 of the Interpretation Act LFN 2004.
CONCLUSION:
Eviction of tenants from rental premises is often painted as a blunt exercise of ownership rights, but in Lagos State (and, indeed, virtually all states of the federation) that is not the case. Eviction is a tightly regulated legal process where housing security and property rights intersect. Every year, landlords with perfectly valid reasons to recover possession (chronic rent default, breach of covenants, personal use of the premises, etc.) find themselves stalled, sanctioned, or outrightly defeated in court, not because their reasons were unjustified, but because their process was flawed. In the law of landlord and tenant, legality not necessity is what justifies eviction. Landlords must therefore ensure that the eviction process, which entails the issuance and service of statutory notices, is fully compliant with the law. Failure to do so can lead to a prolonged litigation between the landlord and tenant as was the case in Ndubuisi v. Shobande.
[1] (2013) LPELR-22770 (CA)
**********************************************************************************
About KORIAT & CO.
We are a commercial law firm in Nigeria with network of lawyers and consultants in Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda. The above article is not legal advice and does not automatically make our readers our clients unless they specifically instruct us to act or represent them in any way.
We assist local and foreign clients to process company registration and business licences in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda.
Please contact Koriat & Co. through admin@koriatlaw.com or 09067842241 if you require additional information about or assistance in respect of the eviction of a tenant from a rented property.
