The House of Representatives has introduced the FCT Rent Regulation and Tenants’ Prohibition Bill, 2026.

The bill which was introduced on the floor on Thursday, October 22, 2026 was jointly sponsored by Rep. Paul Nnamchi (APC, Enugu), with Rep. Ahmed Doro (PDP, Katsina) seeks to dismantle practices where tenants are compelled to pay multiple year upfront.

The bill proposes that landlords, estate agents, property managers or anyone acting on behalf of a landlord must not demand, receive or compel a tenant to pay more than 12 months’ rent in advance as a condition for granting, renewing or continuing a tenancy.

It also seeks to prevent landlords and agent from circumventing the proposed restriction through additional charges, compulsory service charges, artificial renewal of tenancy agreements or other arrangements designed to force tenants to pay more than a year’s rent upfront

In a related motion the House is also pushing to check arbitrary rent increases across the country, describing the trend as exploitative and detrimental to citizens’ welfare.

Lawmakers are proposing a cap of 20% on annual rent increases to protect tenants, after reports that rents in some FCT neighborhoods have jumped from N800,000 to as high as N2.5 million per annum.