Should The Tenant Who Is Served A Quit Notice Still Pay The Landlord?
Taiwo Ayandeyi
The question always arises in many quarters, should a tenant pay rent even after being served a quit notice? Surprisingly, a lot of people have this wrong notion that a quit notice automatically means no more payment to the Landlord. The position of the law in Nigeria however requires a tenant to pay for even a day not covered by a subsisting rent. This is what is known in law as MESNE PROFIT. Mesne profit simply means the profit which a landlord can recover from a tenant whose tenancy has ended but who still resides in the property till the date he gives up possession.
There are two main scenarios to consider in order to determine if a tenant who is served a quit notice is expected to pay mesne profit or not.
The first scenario is when the quit notice is served while the rent paid by the tenant is still subsisting. So, let’s say Mr. Kekere is a yearly tenant who has paid his rent to cover January to December 2017 and the law states that a yearly tenant must be given 6 months quit notice. Mr. Wada, who is the landlord, in compliance with the law serves Mr. Kekere a quit notice from 1st of July to 31st December 2017. If Mr. Kekere vacates the property by 31st of December, he is not required to pay any money since his rent was still subsisting when he was served the quit notice.
The second scenario is when the quit notice is served after the expiration of the tenant’s rent. So let’s say this time around, Mr. Kekere was served a quit notice from 31st of December 2017 to 30th of June 2018,even though his rent expires that same December 2017.The period between January to June 2018 which is not covered by the 2017 rent and any other extended period as a result of a court proceeding to eject Mr. Kekere must be paid for by Mr. Kekere.It simply means, Mr. Wada can recover mesne profit from Mr. Kekere for any period he is still in possession after the expiration of the quit notice until he moves out.
The law will not allow a tenant stay in another person’s property for even a day without paying for it .The tenant is still obligated to pay even during period of court proceedings and during the period the court grants judgment ordering the tenant to vacate the property.
In reality however, it is very difficult for a landlord to recover mesne profit because in most cases the tenant would have vacated the premises to a location unknown to the landlord before the court delivers judgment or the landlord is more concerned with recovering his property from the tenant than recovering any mesne profit.
So, should a tenant pay a landlord for a period not covered by a subsisting rent even after being served a quit notice? The answer is a big YES!
