‎Finally Governor Set to Regulate Landlord-Tenant-Agents Relationship

‎ ‎The Ebonyi State Government has announced plans to introduce an Executive Bill that would fundamentally recalibrate landlord–tenant relations, impose statutory controls on rental pricing, and strictly cap fees charged by property agents across the state.

The proposal, which emerges amid escalating residential and commercial rents, signals an assertive intervention into a market long criticized for excess and opacity.

‎The Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Chief Ikeuwa Omebeh, disclosed the development to journalists in Abakaliki following deliberations of the State Executive Council meeting chaired by Governor Ogbonnaya Nwifuru. According to the Commissioner, the proposed legislation would render it unlawful for any house agent operating within the state to collect fees exceeding two percent of the total rent payable on a property.

‎The contemplated law is explicitly designed to dismantle what the government describes as entrenched practices of arbitrary and excessive agent charges, which it contends have aggravated the cost of living and intensified economic strain on residents particularly within the state capital.

By limiting agent commissions to a maximum threshold of 2 percent, the administration is positioning itself as a corrective force against what it characterizes as exploitative intermediation in the housing sector.

‎In a statement reflecting the Council’s resolution, Omebeh asserted that the measure is intended to compel all qualified and registered agents to operate strictly within a defined legal framework. The underlying objective, he emphasized, is to mitigate the hardship allegedly imposed by unchecked commission structures that have, in the government’s view, distorted rental values and undermined affordability.

‎Beyond the housing sector reforms, the Executive Council also approved the immediate termination of several 2-kilometre road projects scattered across communities in the state. The decision follows findings that numerous contractors either abandoned project sites after receiving mobilization funds or executed works deemed grossly substandard.

‎The Council recalled that at its sitting of 3 February 2026, it had expressed dissatisfaction with the sluggish pace and poor quality of work observed on these projects. Supervisory committees were subsequently directed to conduct site inspections and recommend decisive action against contractors failing to meet contractual obligations. ‎