Guide
What a move-in total includes
Rent, caution deposit, service charge, agency fee, legal fee and agreement fee: what each line means, who it goes to, and how to add them up before you pay.
This guide is in English for now.
Why the rent is not the price
In most Nigerian cities the rent is only part of what you pay to move in. On top of it come fees for the agent and the lawyer, a refundable deposit, and often a service charge. Together they can add a large share to the first payment, and landlords often want more than one year of rent at the start.
The move-in total is the whole amount you have to find before you get the keys. Knowing it before you inspect saves you from travelling to a place you cannot afford.
The move-in total is the whole amount you have to find before you get the keys.
The lines, one by one
- Rent: the amount for the period of the tenancy, usually a year in Lagos and Abuja. If the landlord asks for two years up front, the first payment includes two years of rent.
- Caution deposit: money held against damage or unpaid bills and meant to come back when you leave, less anything properly deducted. Ask in writing how and when it is returned.
- Service charge: the cost of shared services such as security staff, cleaning of common areas, a generator or water. Ask what it covers and how often it is charged.
- Agency fee: what the agent charges for finding the tenant. It is usually a share of one year's rent.
- Legal fee: what the lawyer charges for preparing the tenancy agreement. Also usually a share of one year's rent.
- Agreement fee: a separate charge some listings add for drawing up or stamping the agreement. Ask what it pays for if it appears beside a legal fee.
Is there a limit on the fees?
The published rule in Lagos
Vallo prints one published rule beside Lagos listings: an agency fee of at most 10% of a year's rent and a legal fee of at most 10%, from the Lagos State Tenancy Law 2011. Vallo does not cap anybody's fee; it prints the listing's own fees beside the rule so you can compare. Laws are amended, so ask a lawyer before you rely on any figure in a dispute.
For other states Vallo prints no rule, because it has none it can cite. Fees are agreed between you and the agent or landlord, so ask for every figure in writing before you pay.
How to add it up
Add one period of rent to every fee and the deposit, then add the rent for each further year the landlord wants up front. The move-in calculator at vallospaces.com/move-in-cost does exactly this with the figures you type. It prints nothing as typical; the only rule it offers is the one above, labelled as a maximum.
On Vallo
The lister states the move-in total themselves. Where they did not, the listing shows the sum of the parts they named and says it is a sum, not a quote.
Questions to ask before you pay
- Is this the whole amount, or will anything else be asked for at signing?
- How many years of rent do you want at the start?
- When and how is the caution deposit returned?
- What does the service charge cover, and when is it next due?
- Who receives each payment, and will I get a receipt for each one?
Sources
- Lagos State Tenancy Law 2011, as cited in Vallo's published fee rules. Confirm with a lawyer.
Next step
Work out a move-in total