A bad tenant is one of the most expensive mistakes a landlord can make: months of unpaid rent, a unit that needs work, and a slow, costly recovery through the courts. All of it is far easier to avoid at the application stage than to fix later. Good screening is not about suspicion — it is about protecting an asset. Here is how to do it properly in Nigeria, and what the law lets you do.

What the Lagos Tenancy Law 2011 lets you ask for — and forbids

If your property is in Lagos, the Tenancy Law 2011 sets the ground rules. A few provisions matter most when you take on a tenant.

Advance rent is capped. For a new tenant, a landlord may not demand or receive more than one year's rent in advance. For a sitting tenant, the limit is six months (monthly tenancy) or one year (yearly tenancy). Under section 4, demanding — or paying — more is an offence carrying a ₦100,000 fine or three months' imprisonment. The law penalises both sides of the transaction.
Receipts are compulsory. Section 5 requires a written receipt for every payment, showing the date, both parties' names and addresses, the premises, the amount and the period covered. Skipping it is itself an offence.
No self-help eviction. You cannot lock out, threaten or forcibly eject a tenant, or cut off services, to make them leave — even one who owes you. Recovery must go through the court, and section 44 makes self-help an offence carrying up to ₦250,000 or six months' imprisonment.

Two caveats. Four areas — Apapa, Ikeja GRA, Ikoyi and Victoria Island — are expressly exempted from the 2011 Law. And tenancy is a state matter: Abuja, Rivers and other states have their own recovery-of-premises laws, and the one-year advance-rent cap is distinctive to Lagos. Do not assume it applies elsewhere.

In practice, the advance-rent cap is widely ignored — many landlords still ask for two years upfront, and prosecutions are rare. Knowing the rule still matters: it shapes what a tenant can challenge, and the direction reform is heading.

Your step-by-step screening checklist

A solid applicant file, gathered before you hand over keys, looks like this:

Government ID — typically the National Identification Number (NIN) plus a photo ID.
Proof of income — recent payslips and three to six months of bank statements, an employment letter, or CAC registration for the self-employed. Rent should sit within a share of verifiable income the tenant can sustain.
Employer verification — confirm the job independently. Call the employer on a number you find yourself, from the company's website or switchboard, not the one written on the application.
Previous-landlord reference — did they pay on time, keep the place well, and leave on good terms?
A guarantor — see below.

Local verification services now exist that will run these checks and return a report within about a day, if you would rather not do the legwork yourself.

Guarantors, done right

A guarantor promises to cover the tenant's obligations if the tenant defaults, and is secondarily liable — you pursue the tenant first, then fall back on the guarantor. For that promise to be worth anything, it must be in writing and signed, ideally as a separate deed of guarantee that names all three parties, defines exactly what is guaranteed, and sets out how and when the guarantor can be called upon. Ask that the guarantor be employed or a property owner, and that they provide ID and proof of means. A verbal assurance from "an uncle" is not security.

Red flags and rental-fraud patterns

Doctored documents. Forged payslips and edited bank statements are the most common application fraud. Watch for suspiciously round figures, maths or formatting that does not add up, mismatched fonts, or missing bank details.
References you cannot reach. Reluctance to provide a contactable previous landlord or employer is a warning in itself.
Pressure to skip checks in exchange for a large cash advance — tempting, but it can breach the section 4 cap and often masks an inability to sustain the rent.
Ownership fraud (for managers vetting listings): the "multiple-rent" scam lets one unit to several victims. Verify ownership documents — the Certificate of Occupancy, the deed of assignment — before any money changes hands. The EFCC actively investigates property fraud.

Collecting tenant data lawfully

Everything you gather to screen an applicant is personal data, and the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 applies. The practical minimum: collect only what you genuinely need, tell applicants why you are collecting it, keep it secure, and do not hold rejected applicants' files indefinitely. NIN plus a photo ID is the conventional, proportionate choice — think twice before asking for a BVN, which is a banking identifier and sits awkwardly with the Act's data-minimisation principle. Our companion guide on the NDPA covers this in full.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Tenancy law varies by state and changes over time — confirm the current rules for your property, and consult a Nigerian lawyer for anything consequential.