A tenancy agreement is not just signed and filed away. It is a dutiable document, and the law expects it to be stamped within a set window.
The two rates
A longer lease is stamped at 3%. A shorter lease, such as a typical annual tenancy, is stamped at the lower rate of 0.78% instead. Ask the stamp duty office to confirm which of the two rates fits your own agreement before you pay.
The exact line between a long and a short lease was not something we could confirm precisely. Most ordinary yearly tenancies are likely to sit under the shorter-lease rate. Check with an adviser if your lease runs for an unusual term.
Who pays it
The tenant pays. The Act names the lessee as the party liable for this duty, not the landlord. Many agents build the amount into the fees collected at the start of a tenancy, so a tenant should ask exactly what a quoted figure already covers.
The exemption for a lower-value lease
A lease with an annual value below ₦10 million is not chargeable at all, under the section of the Act that sets this rule.
A different part of the same Act appears to name a lower figure for what looks like the same exemption. That has not been resolved. If your lease value sits close to either figure, confirm the current position with an adviser rather than assume either way.
The 30-day stamping deadline
Once signed, a tenancy agreement should be stamped within 30 days of signing. This is the same deadline that applies to most other dutiable documents, not a special rule for leases.
What an unstamped agreement cannot do for you
Not admissible as evidence, except in criminal proceedings. That matters if a tenancy dispute reaches court. The agreement itself may not be usable to prove what both sides agreed.
Our piece on unstamped documents covers the penalty for late stamping and what to do about an old, unstamped agreement.
A quick example
A tenant signing a one-year tenancy at ₦15 million a year, for example, above the exemption threshold, would pay stamp duty at the shorter-lease rate, 0.78%, within 30 days of signing.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the landlord pays. The tenant is the one named as liable.
- Skipping stamping because the agreement is a standard template. A standard template is still a dutiable document.
- Missing the 30-day window and hoping it goes unnoticed. An old, unstamped agreement remains a live problem until it is stamped.
WHT on the rent itself is a separate matter from this duty. Read about WHT on rent for that side of a tenancy, and browse the hub on the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), formerly FIRS, and Rev360 for more. Check the current rate any time on the government fees tool.