The Rent & Tenancy Checklist (Lagos, Abuja & Beyond)

Before you pay another naira to a landlord, read this.

In Lagos and Abuja, rent is not paid monthly — it is paid as a one- or two-year lump sum, to a person you have just met, plus roughly 30% in fees that appear at the door. This checklist walks you through every moment money changes hands, in order:

- Before you search: the real lump-sum math, the 25% line, when two years' advance is a hedge and when it is a trap

- Verifying the person collecting: the exact documents to ask for, the phone call to make in front of the agent, and how to pay so the money leaves a trail

- Inspection: flood, meter, water and night-visit checks, with tick boxes

- Fees: which are customary, which are negotiable, and which you refuse outright

- The agreement: clauses to strike, notice periods, and the caution refund wording

- Scripts: what to say word-for-word when they ask for a viewing fee, or raise your rent at renewal

- Renewals, and a section for students and first-time renters — where most tenants lose money

Includes a move-in cost worksheet and free companion calculators at naijacalc.ng.

September 2026 edition. This is a checklist, not legal advice.