The Senate on Tuesday passed for second reading, a bill seeking to regulate rent payments in the Federal Capital Territory.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Smart Adeyemi (APC, Kogi), sought to reduce advance payment for new tenants to three months and thereafter, proceed with the monthly payment scheme.
It also sought to protect low-income earners from any form of oppression by homeowners as well as provide a safety net for landlords against erring tenants.
Adeyemi said the bill was to cushion the effect of outrageous rents on properties on residents in the FCT.
He said: “Some of the landlords have even started threatening me to do one or two things against me if I proceed with the bill and I just laughed.
“When you take up this type of job, it is between you and your God. We shouldn’t be afraid of what anybody could do to us.”
Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC, Niger) described the proposed law as a people-centred bill and urged his colleagues to support its passage.
Senators Ibrahim Gobir (Sokoto) and Bala Ibn Na’Allah (APC, Kebbi) supported the bill.
Only Senator Chimaroke Nnamani (PDP, Enugu) opposed the bill, saying rents are determined by market forces like cost of acquiring land and building materials.
