The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has again, advocated the payment of rents in arrears, as against what is obtainable in the country.
The minister, who appealed to homeowners\landlords across the nation to be considerate, said most workers who earn salary regularly and can even afford to pay rent, do not receive their salaries in advance, but in arrears.
Fashola spoke in Abuja recently at the Real Estate Roundtable and Exhibition programme.
The minister, who spoke on the theme: “Innovative Housing Finance Model as a Catalyst for Home Ownership”, recommended that there should be a Landlord-TenantEmployer’s relations.
The relationship, according to him, would allow the landlord reach an agreement with the tenant’s employer to ensure the rent is deducted on a monthly basis from the tenant’s salary.
“If you ask me to go and bring in advance, one year’s rent, to what I’m going to earn monthly in arrears, how feasible is that? “Even my salary as a minister is paid at the end of every month, not even at the beginning, then you, landlord, are now asking me to bring next year’s salary, and we’re complaining that there’s corruption? “I tried to intervene as Governor, passing the resolution to our own Council in Lagos then, but the outcome was not peaceful, because there were landlords in our midst,” he said.
Fashola, who expressed his displeasure with the practice of advance payment, clarified that all the developed economies people compare Nigeria to, do not collect “one year’s rent in advance.
“Those who get paid weekly, pay their rents weekly, those who get paid monthly, pay monthly rents,” he stated, adding that the masses, unlike the well to do in society, cannot afford to pay in advance.
“The critical mass of Nigerians, I believe this meeting is about, the taxi drivers, market men and women earn their money daily and not even sure of making any revenue for that day, meanwhile, landlords expect advance payments”.
he said.
