WHAT IS SERVICE TENANCY
Service Tenancy is the type of tenancy that comes into effect when an employer provides accommodation for an employee to live in during employment whether he pays rent or not. That is, it is a type of tenancy that arises as a result of employment from the employer to the employee.
The court in Oduye V. Nigeria Airways Limited defined a “Service Tenant’’ as a person who occupies any premises as a contractual tenant during his employment.
Examples of service tenants:
- Lecturers living in school quarters.
- Doctors living in quarters provided by the hospital.
- Teachers in a boarding school.
A common feature of service tenancies that often excludes them from statutory protection is the existence of a low rent or the absence of rent altogether.
SERVICE TENANTS AND STATUTORY NOTICES
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For example, Section 13(1) of Tenancy Law 2011 of Lagos State, provides for the length of notice as follows:
- Tenant-at-will: one week notice.
- Monthly tenant: one month notice.
- Quarterly tenant: three months’ notice.
- Half yearly tenant: three months notice.
- Yearly tenant: Six months notice (half a year).
Unlike these types of tenancies, a service tenancy is tied with the duration of the employment meaning that it is dependent on the express terms of the service tenancy, the right to occupy will either cease automatically on termination of employment, without the need for any notice to quit, or a notice to quit may be required if provided for under the tenancy agreement which may be subsumed in the employment agreement.
According to to Nnaemeka-Agu, J.C.A. as he then “The first point that must be decided is whether the tenancy had been determined. It is necessary to note that this was not an ordinary type of tenancy as between a landlord and a tenant as such. It was a tenancy in consideration of the appellant’s employment as a Nursing Sister, the tenancy being merely subservient to, and necessary for the said employment. As the employment had been terminated, the tenancy is automatically terminated.”
The argument has always been that if any sum is deducted from the salary of the occupier concerning his occupation of the premises, then he is entitled to a statutory notice.
If the service tenant can prove that there is some consideration in the form of reduced wages then, he can successfully claim for a statutory notice and he can do this by referring to wage rates for employees in similar employment who are not staying in accommodations provided by their employers.
CONCLUSION
The argument on if a service tenant is entitled to a statutory notice will continue to maraud our courts because unlike in other jurisdictions like the UK and US where they have Tenancy laws covering service tenants here in Nigeria we have no such law. This can be laid to rest when our Tenancy laws are amended to reflect provisions specially capturing service tenancy.
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This post first appeared on LAND ISSUES THAT CAN GET YOU INTO BIG TROUBLE PT 2, please read the originial post: here
