The fact that shelter remains one of the basic needs of man cannot by any strech of imagination be over emphasized.
It provides the resting or relaxation needs of man as well as the necessary privacy or confidentiality platform for his residential or official needs.
Indeed, the daily increase in commercial activities, migration of persons in search of greener pastures apart from search for comfortable residential accommodation, have tremendously accounted for the upsurge in needs for shelter, particularly in the cities.
Everybody needs a shelter but not all can own a house or become landlord at the same time.
Even a landlord may become a tenant for instance, if he relocates for any reason, to another part of the world or even within his country where he has no personal house.
Infact, adequate housing for all has for long become a wishful thinking in many countries, including Nigeria, and may remain so for a long time to come.
With this gross inadequacy in housing, tenants more often than not, have to contend with myriads of problems, ranging from disagreement over rent increase and failure of landlord to refund money spent by the tenant for the repair of the landlord’s premises.
Our focus today is when it is lawful or mandatory for the landlord to refund lawful expenses incurred by his tenant for the repairs of the rented premises.
It must be borne in mind that tenancy is a contract between the landlord and the tenant and like every other forms of contract, it is regulated by law.
All the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja have their various laws on tenancy matters, which are similar in many respects.
These laws clearly outline the rights and liabilities of landlords and tenants, respectively, which if adhered to would have made the relationship between the two contracting parties seamless and free from frequent disputes.
An agreement, preferably in writing, is also very important in regulating the contract of tenancy.
With regards to refund for tenant’s expenses on repair of landlord’s premises, it is not all expenses in this regard that the tenant is entitled to being refunded.
For the landlord to be legally bound to make payments to tenants in form of refund for repair of premises, the tenant must have, prior to carrying out such repairs, sought and obtained a written consent of the landlord. See for instance, sections 1,2 and 15 of the Recovery of Premises Act and relevant provisions of recovery of premises laws of other states of the federation.
A written tenancy agreement authorizing a tenant to carry out repairs with a promise to be compensated by the landlord, either by deducting same from the rent or reimbursement, could serve same purpose as the requirement of landlord’s written consent.
Failure by tenant to obtain a written consent of the landlord before embarking on repairs is therefore fatal to any claim for compensation by the tenant.
The court cannot in such circumstance compel a landlord to compensate or reimburse the tenants’ condition precedent for court to act in favour of the tenant is virtually non -existent and as the courts have long ago held you cannot put something on nothing because it will collapse and indeed crash. See Mcfoy v UAC.
It is, therefore, advisable that a tenant at all times should first obtain the written consent of the landlord before committing himself to any repairs that are legally the responsibilities of the landlord.
Some tenants in the mistaken belief of carrying out repairs may even alter the structure of the premises without landlord’s premises
As a matter of law, such tenant runs the risk of incurring liability as the landlord may sue the tenant for committing waste.
Wisdom, therefore, dictates that before a tenant will be entitled to repayment for expenses incurred for repairs that are legally the responsibility of the landlord, there should at all material times be an agreement manifesting in landlord’s written consent to the tenant.
This will reduce the litany of court cases and needless acrimony between many landlords and tenants and resort to self-help by parties in resolving disputes.
Where the landlord neglects, fails or refuses to pay back to the tenant expenses on repairs, despite granting consent prior to the expenses, he could be sued by the tenant for recovery of the expenses.
It should, however, be noted that this right of the tenant to be compensated applies only when the structures repaired are the ones that the landlord is legally bound to effect and not minor repairs like the replacement of door keys, which, for instance, is the duty of the tenant.
Some tenancy agreements outline which repairs (usually minor ones) to be effected by the tenant and others (major) works to be carried out by the landlords.
Where landlord neglects, fails or refuse to carry out repairs, thereby making the premises not fit for habitation, the tenant may approach court for remedy.
Tenants who are in doubt as to which repairs they are legally bound to effect without compensation from the landlord and the one they must be compensated for by the land should always consult a lawyer for proper advice and action.
The law is always there to help in ensuring that a tenant that is entitled to compensation for repair of landlord’s premises is not short-changed or made to suffer injustice for there is always a remedy in law for a wrong Hence, ‘ubi jus ibi remedium’.
