Rent Control: Abia House Differs with Otti, Moves to Regulate House Rent to Protect Tenants- Bill abolishes “unreasonable” hike in rent; fixes agent fee at five percent.

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

The Abia State House of Assembly is poised to enact a law that would curb the skyrocketing house rent in the state and save tenants from the excesses of landlords and house agents.

A bill tagged The Abia State Landlords and Tenants Bill, 2025 is now undergoing the process of becoming law in the legislature. The state lawmakers are said to be favourably disposed to accelerate the passage into law of the Bill, which is for the Regulations of Tenancy and Landlords Relationship and other Matters Incidental thereto.

The move to regulate house rents through legislation appears to have put the lawmakers in disagreement with Governor Alex Otti, who has publicly declared his opposition to rent control by government.

Otti had on September 25, 2025 during his monthly media chat, foreclosed the possibility of controlling the high cost of house rents in the state, saying that “moral suasion” was a better alternative.

He argued that cost of accommodation was a function of demand and supply hence as more people need houses and are willing to pay for the available ones the cost would keep shooting up.

“I don’t believe in so much control (of house rent). If we wield the big stick, you’ll create a black market,” the Abia governor said, adding that “we have to tackle the problem from the root cause”, which is housing deficit.

He said that he would “break the oligopoly” of house owners by making houses available to Abia people through the housing projects of the State Ministry of Housing. Otti further stated that he would rather appeal to the conscience of landlords and house agents to moderate rents so that people could pay without stress.
But the eighth Abia House has chosen a drastic approach to tame the house rent monster in the state, where a three-bedroom flat has climbed to above a million Naira per annum.
Last Tuesday, Hon. Mandela Obasi, who represents Ohafia North State Constituency presented a Bill before the House seeking to save Abia tenants from shylock landlords.
The Bill noted that housing has  become a major challenge for many people living in the urban areas of Abia thereby putting pressure and suffering on people.
“Unfair Rent increment has become a pressing challenge where landlords increase rent at unreasonable rates,” the sponsors of the Bill said, adding that there was need to put a control mechanism.
The Bill stated that the housing challenges in Abia “is worrisome as the existing laws creates lacuna for abuse of tenancy agreements and unreasonable increment of rents which has put many into undue suffering”.
“Over 90 percent of Abians are tenants and many living under global poverty level. House rents is a big challenge. This Bill is a big step toward fairness, transparency, and modern housing regulation in Abia.
“The Abia State Landlords and Tenants Bill 2025 is not only pro-tenant as it also offers protection to property owners and assistance to recover properties from “bad tenants”.
The Bills also seeks to regulate the activities of house and properties agents by abolishing some of their extortionist tendencies and criminalising some of their activities.
It seek to regulate the operations of agents, saying that “all agents must register with the Ministry of Housing Abia State, adding that “collecting rents from multiple tenants for one property is now a criminal offence and punishable”.
The Bill pegs agent fee at maximum of five percent while “it shall be unlawful for landlords to demand rent in excess of six (6) months or tenants to pay rents in excess of six (6) months. It provides for fines or jail term in case of violations.
On the issue of agreement fees/professional fees, the Bill states that “it shall be the duty of the party who engages the services of a professional in respect of the tenancy agreement to pay the fees for such professional services”.
In his comments on the Abia State Landlords and Tenants Bill, the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Emeruwa, who is one of the co-sponsors, praised Hon Obasi for the people-oriented Bill.
According to him, the Bill “promotes modern housing regulations to spur development,” adding that housing problem has become a huge challenge that must be surmounted to ameliorate the sufferings of the masses.