LEGAL PRINCIPLE: PROPERTY LAW – Landlord and Tenant – Lease – Essential Requirements – Statement of Law
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
In Osho & Anor. v. Foreign Finance Corporation & Anor. (1991) 4 NWLR (Pt. 184) 157, 193 this court sets out requirements of valid lease as: i. words of demise; ii. complete agreement leaving no ambiguity as to its purport; iii. the identification of the parties to the agreement; iv. the premises must be clearly identified; v. commencement and the duration of the agreement.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Belgore, JSC, in Okechukwu v. Onuorah (2000) NLC-2481993(SC) at p. 3; Paras E–F.
"In Osho & Anor. v. Foreign Finance Corporation & Anor. (1991) 4 NWLR (Pt. 184) 157, 193 this court sets out requirements of valid lease as: i. words of demise; ii. complete agreement leaving no ambiguity as to its purport; iii. the identification of the parties to the agreement; iv. the premises must be clearly identified; v. commencement and the duration of the agreement."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
A valid lease requires five essential elements: (1) words of demise (intention to create landlord-tenant relationship); (2) complete, unambiguous agreement; (3) identified parties; (4) clearly identified premises; and (5) specified commencement and duration. These elements ensure certainty and enforceability. Absence of any essential element may render the lease void for uncertainty. The requirement of certainty extends to both the term’s commencement and its duration. Parties must clearly express the essential terms to create binding lease obligations.