You find a ₦2,000,000 flat in Lagos — and discover you need about ₦3,000,000 to move in. Agency fee, legal fee, agreement fee, caution fee: stacked one on top of the other. Here is what the law actually says, what you must pay, and what you can firmly refuse.
No tenancy statute in Nigeria fixes a percentage for agency or legal fees for most tenants. The Lagos Tenancy Law of 2011 — the most cited tenancy law in the country — does not cap them. That surprises people, because the market behaves as if the percentages were written in stone.
The practical meaning: fees are part of your contract, and contracts can be negotiated. The famous "10% + 10%" is market custom, not legislation.
The Lagos State Government's position is that agency fees in the state should not exceed 10% of annual rent. That is a benchmark officials repeat — useful in a negotiation, not a command backed by penalties under the current law.
Position as at September 2026. Laws change — confirm the current position of the Lagos Tenancy Law and the Tenancy and Recovery of Premises Bill before relying on any figure.
| Charge | What it is | Must you pay? |
|---|---|---|
| Agency / commission fee | Payment to the agent who sourced the property | Negotiable — Lagos benchmark: not more than 10% of annual rent |
| Legal / agreement fee | Drafting and preparing the tenancy agreement | Negotiable — commonly quoted at 5–10%; you may supply your own agreement |
| Caution fee / deposit | Security against damage — your money, held in security | Negotiable, and refundable at the end of the tenancy |
| Inspection fee | Supposedly for showing you the house | Red flag — small or none; never pay much before viewing |
| Registration form | A form to "join the list" of viewers | Refuse — a classic viewing-fee scam pattern |
The Lagos State Tenancy and Recovery of Premises Bill proposes the biggest fee reform in a generation:
Status: still before the House of Assembly — not passed, not signed. Until it is, the 2011 law governs. Do not quote the bill as law in a negotiation; do quote it as direction of travel.
Earlier regulations in 2015 and 2022 also tried to cap fees — agents largely ignored them. A law is only as strong as its enforcement.
Here is the question almost nobody asks: who hired the agent?
If the landlord instructed the agent to find a tenant, the commission is naturally the landlord's cost of doing business. Many landlords push it to the tenant anyway — and tenants pay, because the market is brutal and the demand feels endless.
You are allowed to raise it. Politely: "The agent was engaged by the landlord — I expected the commission to be on that side. I can take the legal fee." The worst answer is no. The proposed bill agrees in principle: the fee is to be agreed with the party who actually engaged the agent.
Most agents and landlords would rather close with a paying tenant today than hold out over half a fee.
LASRERA has recovered hundreds of millions of naira from fraudulent estate practitioners — reports are taken, and recovery is real. If an agent collects your money and vanishes: receipts, messages and bank records in hand, report to LASRERA in Lagos, and to the police where fraud is suspected.
When a dispute starts, whoever holds the paper wins.
Build them free: rent receipts and a standard Nigerian tenancy agreement — DocOga generates both on your phone in about two minutes.
Generate a fee receipt — freeFree to start. No signup. No card.
Yes — an agent who finds you a home has earned a commission, and a lawyer who drafts the agreement has earned a fee. But no tenancy statute fixes the percentage for most tenants: the amount is a contract, and contracts can be negotiated.
The market often demands 10% agency plus another 10% styled as legal or agreement. The state government's benchmark is 10% for agency. The proposed bill wants 5% — but it is not law yet.
Yes. You may supply your own tenancy agreement — DocOga generates a standard Nigerian one free. Some landlords insist on "their" agreement; offering to share the legal fee, or supplying your own draft, is a legitimate negotiation position.
The party who engaged the agent should pay. Where the landlord hired the agent, the commission is naturally the landlord's cost — many push it to tenants because the market absorbs it. You may raise this; the proposed Lagos bill adopts the same principle.
Gather receipts, chats and bank records. In Lagos, report to LASRERA — it has recovered hundreds of millions of naira from fraudulent practitioners. Where fraud is suspected, report to the police. Payments to personal accounts with no receipt make recovery harder — never skip the receipt.
No. As of September 2026 the Tenancy and Recovery of Premises Bill had not been passed. The 2011 Tenancy Law governs, and it does not cap agency fees.
Not automatically. Renewal of the same tenancy — same house, same parties — does not require a fresh search or a fresh agreement from the agent's side. Cap this in writing at the start: renewal attracts no new agency commission.
A small inspection fee exists in practice, but large viewing charges are the classic fraud pattern — agents parading many victims through houses they do not control. Pay little or nothing before viewing, and receipt whatever you pay.
Caution fees — full guide Tenancy agreement — full guide Tenant rights — full guide
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