How to Write an Eviction Notice in Nigeria: Free Templates

Getting a property back from a tenant takes two notices you write yourself. The first one decides how long the rest takes.

There's no single eviction notice in Nigerian law. There are two, and you write both. A notice to quit ends the tenancy. If your tenant stays on after it runs out, seven days' notice tells them you're going to court. Only the court can order them out.

The first notice sets the clock. For a yearly tenant it's six months, unless your tenancy agreement says otherwise, and courts expect it to end on the last day of a year of the tenancy. Serve it a day late and the tenancy runs another full year. Lagos is more flexible.

Each state has its own law. Abuja has the Recovery of Premises Act, and the other state laws we read, such as Kogi's, follow the same model. Lagos has the Tenancy Law 2011, which differs in places. This guide uses Abuja and Lagos as its examples. If your property is outside Abuja and Lagos, start from the Abuja column and check your own state's law before you serve.

Both templates are further down.

Key takeaways

Evicting a tenant usually takes two notices, and you, your agent or your lawyer write and sign both. The court comes in only after they've run out.
A yearly tenant gets six months' notice to quit, unless your agreement sets a different period.
A yearly tenant's notice must end on the last day of a year of the tenancy. Lagos lets it end later.
A fixed term that has ended needs no notice to quit. You go straight to the seven days' notice.
The seven days' notice gives your tenant seven clear days, not counting the day you serve it.
Neither notice lets you remove your tenant yourself.

The two notices, and which law applies

Notice	What it does	Abuja	Lagos
Notice to quit	Ends the tenancy on a set date	Form B, C or D	Form TL2 or TL3
Notice of owner's intention to apply to recover possession, or seven days' notice	Tells a tenant who has stayed on that you'll apply to court	Form E	Form TL4

Other states number their forms differently, so use the names in your state's law.

Neither notice lets you remove your tenant yourself. That takes a court order.

Which law applies depends on where the property is:

Abuja: the Recovery of Premises Act.
Lagos: the Tenancy Law 2011. It doesn't apply in Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Apapa or Ikeja GRA (s.1(3)). Ask a lawyer before you serve notice on a property there.
Every other state: its own recovery of premises law.

How much notice to give

Your tenancy	Abuja (s.8)	Lagos (s.13)
Weekly, or at will	A week	A week, for a tenant at will
Monthly	A month	A month
Quarterly	3 months (a quarter)	3 months
Yearly	6 months (half a year)	6 months
Fixed term that has ended	None (s.7)	None (s.13(5))

Lagos also sets three months for a tenant who pays every six months. These periods apply when your tenancy agreement says nothing about notice. If it sets its own, that applies instead.

The law works out the kind of tenancy from how often rent is paid or demanded, unless there's evidence otherwise.

Fixed term or yearly? An agreement for one set period, such as "1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027", is a fixed term. Once your tenant stays past the end date and you take rent for a new year, it usually becomes a yearly tenancy. Not sure which you have? Serve the six months' notice. The longer notice is safe either way.

Arrears don't shorten the notice. A tenant who owes rent still gets the full period, unless your agreement lets you end the tenancy for non-payment. Ask a lawyer if yours does. Lagos has two more exceptions: a monthly tenancy ends once the tenant is six months in arrears, and a quarterly or half-yearly one once they're a year in arrears (s.13(2) and (3)).

Choosing the quit date

Two rules set the date your tenant must leave.

It must be at least the full notice period after you serve. A notice that falls short has no effect.
A yearly tenant's notice must end on the last day of a year of the tenancy. That rule comes from the courts, not the Acts. Lagos is the exception: there it can end on or after the end of the current year (s.13(4)), except in the four exempt areas.

Here's a yearly tenant whose rent year runs from 1 July to 30 June. The current year ends on 30 June 2027.

	Abuja	Lagos
Serve the notice to quit by	Early December 2026	Early December 2026
Quit date	30 June 2027	30 June 2027
Served late, on 15 February 2027	30 June 2028 at the earliest	15 August 2027 at the earliest

Leave a few weeks' margin. Served on 31 December, the notice gives only 181 days, which a court could find short of half a year.

Abuja's forms, and those of the states that follow it, add words after the quit date: "or at the expiration of your tenancy which shall expire next after the end of six months from the service of this notice". If your date turns out to be wrong, those words point to the next date that works. Our template keeps them. Lagos's forms don't, so in Lagos you can leave them out.

What to include in a notice to quit

Your tenant's full name, as it appears on the tenancy agreement. Name every tenant on it. If the tenant is a company, use its registered name.
The property. Say whether it's a house, flat or room, and give the full address, including the town or district.
The kind of tenancy, such as "yearly tenant".
The quit date, followed by the words above.
The date of the notice, which should be the day you serve it. It appears at the top and after "Dated". Use the same date in both.
Your signature. If you manage the property for the owner, sign as their agent and name them. Keep the owner's written authority on file.

You don't need to give a reason. The statutory forms have no line for one.

Keep the notice to one message. Put arrears, a rent offer or anything else in a separate letter, so nothing in the notice reads as an offer to renew.

Notice to quit template

Copy the notice below and replace everything in brackets. The wording follows Abuja's forms.

[Your name or company name]
[Your address]
[Phone number] · [Email address]

[Date]

[Tenant's full name]
[Property address, including flat or unit number]

Dear [Tenant's name],

Notice to quit

I give you notice to quit and deliver up possession of the [house, flat or room] and premises, with the appurtenances, situate at [property address], [town or district], [state], which you hold of me as [yearly, quarterly or monthly] tenant, on [quit date], or at the expiration of your tenancy which shall expire next after the end of [six months, three months or one month] from the service of this notice.

Dated [date].

Yours sincerely,

[Signature]
[Your name]
Landlord

The wording is the statute's. "Appurtenances" means anything let with the property, such as a garage or boys' quarters. "Hold of me" means you rent it from me.

If you sign for the owner, start the notice with: "I, [your name], as agent for [owner's name], your landlord, and on their behalf, give you notice to quit…" Change "which you hold of me" to "which you hold of them", and sign as "Agent for [owner's name]".

What to include in the seven days' notice

Serve this once the notice to quit has run out, or once a fixed term has ended, and your tenant is still in the property. You, your agent or your lawyer sign it.

In Lagos, the Law cites Form TL5 for a fixed term (s.13(5)) but doesn't include one. This template follows TL4, which the Law lets you adapt (s.23).

Count seven clear days. The forms give your tenant "seven clear days from the service of this notice". Don't count the day you serve it. If the tenancy ended on 30 June and you serve on 1 July, the clear days run from 2 to 8 July, so the earliest application date you can put in the notice is 9 July. Name a later one to be safe.

Name the court you'll apply to. That's usually the magistrates' or district court for the area the property is in. A high rent can put the claim in the High Court, so ask a lawyer if you're not sure.

State your grounds. Lagos requires the notice to state "the grounds and particulars of the claim" (s.16). Elsewhere it does no harm. Your grounds are the facts you'll prove at court: how the tenancy ended, that your tenant hasn't left, and any rent still owed, to the naira. Keep each tenant's invoices and receipts in one place →

In Lagos, name the ground the court can act on: arrears of rent, a breach of your agreement, or needing the property for your own use (s.25).

Rent owed up to the end of the tenancy is arrears. For the time after, you claim mesne profits: a charge, usually at the rent's rate, for staying on.

Seven days' notice template

[Your name or company name]
[Your address]
[Phone number] · [Email address]

[Date]

[Tenant's full name]
[Property address, including flat or unit number]

Dear [Tenant's name],

Notice of owner's intention to apply to recover possession

I, [your name], [the owner, or agent for (owner's name), the owner], give you notice that unless peaceable possession of [short description, for example "Flat 3"] at [property address], which you held under a [yearly tenancy, or tenancy for a fixed term,] that [expired, or was determined by notice to quit served on (date),] on [date the tenancy ended], and which you now hold over, is given to me on or before the expiration of seven clear days from the service of this notice, I shall on [application date] apply to the [name of court] at [place] to recover possession of the premises and to eject any person from them.

Grounds and particulars of claim

Your tenancy ended on [date] [by the notice to quit served on you on (date)].
You have not given up possession of the premises.
[Arrears of rent of ₦(amount) up to (date the tenancy ended).]
[Mesne profits at ₦(amount) a (month or year) from (date) until possession is given up.]

Dated [date].

Yours sincerely,

[Signature]
[Your name]
[Owner, or Agent for (owner's name)]

"Determined" means ended. "Hold over" means stay on after the tenancy has ended.

How to serve both notices

The court will ask how you served each notice, so serve them in a way you can prove.

Hand it to your tenant in person. This is the safest way everywhere.
If your tenant can't be found and you can't get in to hand it over, fix the notice somewhere conspicuous on the property, and keep proof that you did.
In Lagos, you can also give it to an adult who lives at the property. If your tenant can't be found, a courier can deliver it to the property, with proof of delivery (s.18). Shops and offices follow s.19.

Keep a copy of each notice with a note of the date, how it was served and who served it. If you fixed it to the door, photograph it there. Your claim at court attaches a copy of the seven days' notice and says how you served it.

Send a copy by email or WhatsApp too, but don't rely on it alone.

Collect rent with Roofteller

Your seven days' notice states the rent owed to the naira, and the court will ask you to prove it.

Roofteller's Rent Collection puts each invoice and its due date in your tenant's portal, where they pay. Every bill paid in full gets a receipt, and rent lands in its own account, so each property's record of what was billed and paid is in one place.

Final thoughts

Work out the kind of tenancy and your state's rules first. Together they decide the notice period and the quit date. Serve each notice in a way you can prove, and if your tenant stays on, give seven clear days and go to court.

FAQ

What is an eviction notice called in Nigeria?

It's two notices. A notice to quit ends the tenancy. A notice of owner's intention to apply to recover possession, usually called seven days' notice, follows if your tenant stays on.

How long is a quit notice in Nigeria?

Six months for a yearly tenant, a quarter for a quarterly tenant, a month for a monthly tenant and a week for a weekly tenant or one at will. Your tenancy agreement can set a different period.

Does a fixed term tenant need a notice to quit?

No. Once a fixed term ends, you serve seven days' notice of your intention to recover possession.

Can I serve a quit notice by WhatsApp?

Send a copy that way if you like, but serve the notice in person, or fix it to the property if you can't find your tenant or get in.

Can I evict a tenant without going to court?

No. Only a court order lets you take the property back. Locking your tenant out or forcing them to leave exposes you to a claim, and in Lagos it's an offence, with a fine of up to ₦250,000 or up to six months in prison (s.44).

What happens after the seven days?

If your tenant is still there, you file a claim at the court for the area the property is in. If the court orders possession, a court officer enforces it.

Does taking rent after a notice to quit cancel it?

Probably not, but say in writing that you're not withdrawing the notice. Our guide to partial rent payment explains why.