Who Is a Tenant at Will in Nigeria? Notice, Rights and How It Ends

What a tenancy at will is

A tenancy at will exists when a person occupies premises with the owner's consent, on terms that either party can end at any time, without a fixed duration. There may or may not be rent. What defines it is the absence of a term or a period: no year, no month, no quarter that the tenancy runs by.

It is distinct from a licence. A licensee has permission to be on the premises but no tenancy at all, which is the position of, say, a caretaker occupying as part of their job or a relative staying as a favour. It is also distinct from a periodic tenancy, which runs from period to period until ended by a notice matched to that period.

Whether an occupier is a tenant at will, a periodic tenant or a licensee is a question of fact and law, decided on what was agreed and how the parties actually behaved. If anything turns on it, take advice before serving a notice.

How tenancies at will are usually created

Few landlords set out to create one. Tenancies at will usually arise in the gaps around a proper tenancy, which is why they cause trouble.

• A prospective tenant is let into possession while the agreement and rent are still being negotiated
• A buyer moves in before completion with the seller's consent
• A tenant holds over after a fixed term expires and the landlord consents but no new rent or period is agreed
• A family member or friend occupies with permission and makes occasional contributions that are not tied to any period
• An employee stays on in staff accommodation after the employment ends, with the employer's agreement

The trap: accepting rent by reference to a period

The most important practical point about a tenancy at will is how easily it stops being one. If the landlord accepts rent that is calculated by reference to a period, such as a monthly or yearly figure paid monthly or yearly, a court may find that a periodic tenancy has been created by conduct.

That matters because the notice changes. A tenant at will in Lagos is entitled to one week. A yearly tenant, where the agreement is silent, is entitled to six months. A landlord who serves a one-week notice on someone the court decides is a yearly tenant has served a defective notice, and the recovery action fails.

If you want an occupier to remain a tenant at will, say so in writing, and be careful about how any payment is described and receipted. If you have been accepting a regular yearly or monthly sum, assume the occupier may be a periodic tenant and take advice on which notice to serve.

Notice to end a tenancy at will

Under the Tenancy Law of Lagos State 2011, where there is no agreed notice period, a tenant at will is entitled to one week's notice to quit. The Recovery of Premises Act that applies in the FCT sets a week for a tenancy at will as well, and most state laws follow the same pattern. Confirm the figure for your state.

The notice to quit is not the end of it. After it expires, the landlord in Lagos must serve a further written notice of intention to recover possession, giving at least seven days, before going to court. The short first notice does not make the process any less formal.

What a tenant at will is still entitled to

A tenant at will is still a tenant. They cannot be locked out, have their utilities cut off, or have their belongings removed. The protections against self-help eviction apply to them in full, and in Lagos the offences under the 2011 Law apply regardless of how short the tenancy is.

The tenancy at will also ends automatically in some circumstances, for example on the death of either party or where the landlord sells the property. Even then, recovering possession from someone still in occupation goes through the court, not through a padlock.

Ending one cleanly

The safest approach is to establish the facts before you write anything: when the occupier went into possession, on what understanding, and what has been paid since, described how and receipted how. That record decides whether a one-week notice is enough.

• Write down the basis of occupation at the start, even for a short arrangement
• Avoid accepting regular periodic sums unless you intend a periodic tenancy
• Receipt any payment with a clear description of what it is for
• Serve the notice to quit, then the seven-day notice, and keep proof of service for both
• Take advice if the occupier claims to be a periodic tenant

How Ledge helps

Ledge records each payment against the tenancy with a date, an amount and a receipt, so the question a court asks first, what has been paid and on what basis, has a clear answer.

When it is time to end the arrangement, Ledge drafts the notice with the parties and premises filled in from the tenancy record and keeps a record of what was served and when. It does not decide the tenancy type or work out the notice period: you set the expiry date once you have confirmed what kind of tenancy you are dealing with.