By Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Chieftain, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, has expressed mixed feelings over Nigeria’s Senate’s monthly rent proposal bill.
Stonix News reports that the Senate has passed, for Second Reading, a bill seeking to regulate rent payments in Nigeria.
The proposed legislation, sponsored by Senator Smart Adeyemi (APC, Kogi), specifically seeks to stop yearly advance payment of rents and compel house owners to collect rent monthly in arrears
Onuesoke described the proposed Bill as a welcomed development, as it will ameliorate the hardship faced by the downtrodden.
Addressing newsmen on Thursday in Delta State, the former governorhip aspirant, however, observed that the execution of the bill, once passed into law, might hit the brickwall or create a lot of confusion between landlords and tenants.
He said that with the present economic crunch in the country, it would be better to pay monthly rent as there are some people who cannot afford to feed let alone paying annual rent.
He, therefore, described the annual payment of monthly rent, vis a vis other countries, as a ‘cash-out mentality,’ noting that the annual rental collection is unjust and illegal anywhere in the world.
“To me, it is a ‘cash-out mentality’ for landlords to ask for a year’s rent from their tenants.
“Everywhere across the globe, house rent is paid monthly. Your rent should be tied to your income.
“When you get your income, you pay your rent and other bills. Waiting for a year to give your landlord the bulk sum is not the best,” he posited.
The business mogul also pointed out that if passed into law, the bill could hardly work particularly in Nigeria where people are struggling with few houses.
“I am afraid the Bill, if passed into law, cannot work particularly in a society where many are struggling with few houses. It lacks simple economic principle,” he stated.
The PDP stalwart foresees a state of confusion and conflicts should the Bill be passed into law, just as he queried how soon could a prospective tenant, who paid one month rent and moved in and did not pay the second month be evicted?
“A lot of tenants will start gaming the system if the Bill is passed into law. People in desperate need of accommodation will pay any amount and tenure demanded by house owners while the ones insisting on one month suffer.
“In US, you can evict a non-paying tenant within 30 days and the eviction goes into their records. No credit monitoring system in Nigeria like what they have in the US,” he noted.
Onuesoke, therefore, suggested that for the Bill to achieve its purpose, government has to provide enough housing units or encourage mortgage and estate development, make accommodation abundant and cheap.
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