BY ESV. MOMOH ARUNGE JIMOH
Disputes between landlords and tenants are common in Nigeria. They may arise from non-payment of rent, interpretation or breach of tenancy agreements, failure to carry out repairs, payment of service charges, alleged unlawful termination of tenancy, recovery of premises, claims for damages, or other disagreements arising from the landlord-and-tenant relationship.Traditionally, many of these disputes are taken directly to court.
However, litigation can sometimes be time-consuming and expensive. Consequently, parties may consider alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, including negotiation, mediation and arbitration, where permitted by law.
One of such mechanisms is arbitration.
Simply put, arbitration is a method of resolving a dispute outside the ordinary court process in which the parties agree to submit an arbitrable dispute to an independent person(s), known as an arbitrator or arbitral tribunal, for determination
The essential feature of arbitration is that the arbitrator does not merely attempt to persuade the parties to settle their differences. Rather, the arbitrator considers the parties’ respective cases, evidence and arguments and, where the arbitration is properly constituted, makes a decision known as an arbitral award.
In arbitration, the arbitrator determines the dispute and makes an arbitral award in accordance with the applicable law and the parties’ arbitration agreement.
IS ARBITRATION APPLICABLE TO LANDLORDS AND TENANT DISPUTES?
The answer is yes, but with an important qualification.
Landlords and tenants may agree to refer to disputes arising from their contractual relationship to arbitration, provided that the particular dispute is legally capable of being referred to arbitration and the arbitration agreement is valid and enforceable.
An arbitration clause may be included in a tenancy or lease agreement from the beginning of the relationship. Alternatively, where a dispute has already arisen, the parties may subsequently enter into an agreement to submit the particular dispute to arbitration.
However, the existence of an arbitration clause does not automatically mean that every landlord-and-tenant dispute must be removed from the courts.This is particularly important where the dispute concerns recovery of possession of premises, statutory notices, statutory tenancy rights, or other matters governed by mandatory landlord-and-tenant legislation.
The precise position may also differ from one Nigerian jurisdiction to another because landlord-and-tenant and recovery-of-premises matters are affected by applicable federal, state or FCT legislation.
For example, the Lagos State tenancy legislation expressly recognises arbitration agreements in tenancy and lease agreements but also provides that such an agreement is not to be construed as an ouster of the jurisdiction of the court. It further provides mechanisms concerning the enforcement and registration of arbitration awards in matters covered by that legislation.
Therefore, the presence of an arbitration clause should not be treated as a licence to ignore statutory requirements for recovery of possession or other mandatory legal procedures.
HOW DOES ARBITRATION WORKS?
For arbitration to take place, there must generally be a valid agreement to arbitrate.
The tenancy or lease agreement may provide, for example, that:
“Any dispute arising out of or in connection with this tenancy agreement shall be referred to and finally determined by arbitration.”
The agreement should preferably also provide for matters such as:
the number of arbitrators;
the procedure for appointing the arbitrator or arbitrators;
the applicable arbitration rules;
the place or seat of arbitration;
the applicable law;
the procedure for presenting evidence;
the procedure for conducting the proceedings; and
the manner in which the resulting award may be enforced.
The parties may agree to have a sole arbitrator or, where appropriate, a tribunal consisting of three arbitrators.
Where three arbitrators are agreed upon, each party may nominate one arbitrator, with the procedure agreed by the parties or provided by the applicable arbitration rules determining how the presiding arbitrator is appointed.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A DISPUTE ARISES?
When a dispute arises, the party wishing to commence arbitration invokes the arbitration agreement in accordance with its terms.
The arbitrator or arbitral tribunal will then consider the issues submitted for determination.
The parties may present:
the tenancy or lease agreement;
rent receipts and payment records; notices served on either party; correspondence between the parties; photographs and other documentary evidence;
expert evidence where appropriate; and oral evidence where the applicable procedure permits it.
After considering the case presented by the parties, the arbitrator will issue an arbitral award.
Depending upon the terms of the arbitration agreement and applicable law, the award may determine matters such as liability for breach of contract, payment of money, damages and other reliefs that fall within the arbitrator’s jurisdiction.
ARBITRATION AND RECOVERY OF POSSeSION
This is perhaps the most important issue when discussing arbitration in landlord-and-tenant disputes in Nigeria.
A landlord should not assume that an arbitration clause automatically permits him or her to bypass statutory procedures for recovering possession.
In ordinary landlord-and-tenant litigation, the applicable recovery-of-premises law may require the landlord to serve particular notices before commencing proceedings for possession. Nigerian appellate decisions have repeatedly considered the importance of compliance with statutory notice requirements in recovery-of-premises proceedings.
Consequently, where the principal dispute concerns whether a tenant should be removed from possession, careful consideration must be given to:
the tenancy agreement;
the arbitration clause;
the applicable recovery-of-premises legislation;
the nature and status of the tenancy; the notices required by law; whether the particular relief sought is arbitrable; and the procedure required to enforce any resulting arbitral award.
The answer may therefore depend upon the particular facts and the applicable law in the jurisdiction where the property is situated.
An Important Nigerian Example
The practical relevance of this issue can be seen from a recent Abuja property dispute.
In 2025, proceedings were reported concerning a lease of property in Wuse 2, Abuja. The lease contained an arbitration clause. Following a dispute after the expiration of the lease, the parties proceeded to arbitration, where a sole arbitrator reportedly made an award directing the tenant, among other things, to vacate and surrender vacant possession of the property. The successful parties subsequently sought recognition and enforcement of the arbitral award by the FCT High Court.
This illustrates an important practical point: even where a landlord-and-tenant dispute has been submitted to arbitration, the court may still become relevant at the enforcement stage.
Arbitration therefore should not be presented as meaning that the courts have disappeared from the process. Rather, arbitration can determine the dispute while the courts retain statutory and supervisory roles provided by law.
It is important to emphasise that an arbitration clause does not give a landlord the right to resort to self-help.
A landlord should not, merely because an arbitration clause exists, resort to:
locking the tenant out;
removing the tenant’s belongings;
disconnecting essential services unlawfully;
demolishing or damaging the premises; or using force to obtain possession.
Where the law requires judicial or other lawful processes for recovery of possession, that process should be followed.
The Nigerian courts have repeatedly emphasised the requirement for due process in recovery-of-premises matters rather than forcible recovery by a landlord.
ADVANTAGES OF ARBITRATION IN LANDLORD AND TENANT DISPUTES
Where legally appropriate, arbitration may offer several advantages.
- Speed
Arbitration may provide a more streamlined procedure than conventional litigation, depending on the complexity of the dispute and the conduct of the parties. - Flexibility
The parties may have greater flexibility in determining the procedure to be followed. - Expertise
Parties may select an arbitrator with appropriate experience in property, construction, commercial or other relevant disputes. - Privacy
Arbitration is generally conducted privately, unlike ordinary court proceedings, which are ordinarily conducted in public. - Reduced confrontation
The arbitration process may provide a structured environment for resolving a contractual dispute without some of the adversarial features associated with conventional litigation. - Enforceability
An arbitral award is intended to have binding legal effect, subject to the applicable statutory provisions concerning recognition, enforcement and challenges to the award.
ARBITRATION CLAUSE IN A TENANCY AGREEMENT
A landlord and tenant who wish to incorporate arbitration into their contractual relationship should avoid using a vague clause.
For example, a tenancy agreement could contain a provision along the following lines:
“Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Tenancy Agreement, including any question regarding its existence, validity, interpretation, performance, breach or termination, shall, to the extent permitted by applicable Nigerian law, be referred to and finally determined by arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration and Mediation Act 2023 and any applicable arbitration rules agreed by the parties.”
Where the parties intend arbitration to cover particular remedies, the clause should be drafted carefully so that there is no uncertainty about the scope of the arbitrator’s jurisdiction.
CONCLUSION
Arbitration provides an important alternative mechanism for resolving certain landlord-and-tenant disputes in Nigeria.
It can be particularly useful where the dispute arises from contractual obligations contained in a tenancy or lease agreement and the subject matter is legally capable of being determined by arbitration.
However, arbitration should not be regarded as a universal substitute for the courts.
The validity and effectiveness of an arbitration clause depend upon the wording of the agreement, the nature of the dispute, the applicable legislation and the remedies being sought.
The safest approach is therefore not simply to ask, “Is there an arbitration clause?” but rather:
“Is this particular dispute arbitrable, what law governs the tenancy, what statutory requirements apply, and what relief can the arbitrator lawfully grant?”
That approach provides a more accurate understanding of arbitration as a dispute-resolution mechanism within the Nigerian landlord-and-tenant relationship.