Ask any estate treasurer and you'll hear the same story. Most households pay, some pay late, and a few don't pay at all. Then the diesel runs out, the guards ask about their salary, and the committee starts looking for tougher ways to get the money in.
This article looks at what Nigerian estates commonly do to get dues paid, what people online say about whether it works, and where the legal risks are.
Start here: get dues in writing
Before any tactic, check what your residents have actually signed. In the court case described below, the court held that nobody can be forced to join a residents' association, so membership alone is a weak basis for compulsory dues. Estates are on much firmer ground when the duty to pay is in a signed document:
- Owners and landlords: a deed of mutual covenant, or a clause in the sale agreement or sub-lease, committing them to pay the service charge and follow the estate's rules.
- Tenants: a clause in every tenancy agreement that brings in the estate's rules and dues. Landlords attach it when they let.
- Everyone: by-laws passed at a general meeting and shared in writing, saying what the charges cover and what happens when someone doesn't pay.
Lawyers writing on Mondaq recommend exactly this: every new buyer or tenant signs a contract that includes the service charge. A signed agreement doesn't make every tactic below lawful, but it makes the lawful ones, such as agreed late fees and a claim in court, much easier to use. Ask a lawyer to draft or check the wording for your estate. To start from a draft, see our owner and landlord service charge agreement and tenant service charge clause templates, which include a fixed term and exit clauses.
The question underneath: do residents have to pay?
In 2020 the Federal High Court in Lagos ruled in Megawatts Nigeria Ltd v Registered Trustees of Gbagada Phase II Residents' Association that nobody can be forced to join a residents' association, relying on section 40 of the Constitution on freedom of association. Read the report on TheNigeriaLawyer. Since then some residents treat dues as optional, and posts like this one on Nairaland tell readers it is illegal to force anyone to pay association dues.
Not every lawyer agrees. Writing on Mondaq in June 2025, lawyers at Balogun Harold argue the case was wrongly decided and that everyone who benefits from shared services such as security and road maintenance should pay a fair share, member or not. They suggest courts ask four things: are the charges applied fairly to everyone, are the services real, do the dues follow a published framework, and are the amounts reasonable. Read the Mondaq article.
Either way, the practical lesson is the same: an estate where every owner and tenant has signed up to the service charge is in a far better position than one that relies on association membership alone.
1. Gate checks, stickers and access cards
Most gated estates already control entry with car stickers or access cards, and many Nigerians back strict gates. When a video of a guard refusing entry to an SUV without an estate sticker went viral in November 2025 (the driver turned out to own the estate), most commenters on Nairaland said the guard was simply doing his job. Some estates go a step further and tie stickers, cards or visitor clearance to being up to date with dues.
- What's reported: Nairametrics found that some Lagos estates stop residents who owe from moving out until the balance is settled. Read the Nairametrics report. In the Megawatts case, the company said estate security blocked its trucks to pressure it into paying. The court ruled for the company, although the reports don't show a finding on that point.
- The legal risk: keeping someone from their own home is the riskiest tactic on this list. Under Lagos tenancy law, a landlord who threatens a tenant or tries to remove them by force without a court order commits an offence (LawPadi's summary puts the penalty at up to N250,000 or six months in prison). The 2025 Lagos tenancy bill, still a draft when Premium Times covered it in November 2025, would go further and name blocking access and cutting water or electricity. Those rules are aimed at landlords, but a committee that locks out a resident is standing on similar ground.
- A softer version some estates use: residents always get in, but extras such as replacement cards, extra stickers or pre-cleared visitors wait until dues are settled. Check that your covenant allows it.
2. Naming defaulters on WhatsApp or the notice board
Posting a list of who owes is quick and cheap, and plenty of committees swear by it. It is also where estates most often get themselves into trouble.
- Defamation: if a figure is wrong or disputed, the post can be libel. A TheNigeriaLawyer analysis of debt shaming puts it plainly: "being owed money is not a defence to libel." Read the analysis.
- Data protection: the same analysis explains that the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 requires personal data to be used fairly and only for the purpose it was collected for. A balance on the estate ledger wasn't collected so it could be shown to the whole estate.
- A middle ground some committees use: share totals only, such as "86 of 120 homes are up to date this month", and contact the households that owe privately.
3. Cutting shared services
Where the estate runs the generator, borehole or refuse service, switching off a house that hasn't paid is tempting. A Lekki property manager told Nairametrics that their management disconnects electricity for residents who don't pay. Read the Nairametrics report.
- The legal risk: cutting utilities to force payment is exactly the kind of self-help the 2025 Lagos bill names. Even under the current law, if a tenant is pushed out this way, the landlord and the estate may be exposed.
- Where it can be easier to defend: a service a resident buys separately and in advance, such as prepaid electricity units, is different from cutting someone off. Your covenant should spell this out.
4. Fines, interest and lost privileges
- Late fees hold up best when they are written into the covenant, sub-lease or approved by-laws before the debt arises. Surprise fines are easy to challenge.
- Suspending AGM voting rights, or barring people who owe from standing for the EXCO, is common in association constitutions. It affects membership, not anyone's home.
- Legal action, starting with a demand letter and then a claim in court, remains the lawful route to recover a debt. It is slow, but it holds up.
5. What tends to work without the risk
Non-payment usually has a reason behind it: a lost job, a dispute about service quality, or not trusting the committee. BusinessDay reported serious friction in serviced estates when residents' incomes fell (read it here), and one resident interviewed by Nairametrics said there's "no accountability on how the money is spent."
- Show where the money goes. People pay more readily when they can see the spending.
- Make the amount clear and paying easy: one bill per household, with a reference.
- Accept part payments and agree payment plans with people who are struggling.
- Reward paying early, for example by letting residents pay a year ahead, or with a small discount if your by-laws allow it.
- Remind people privately, regularly and politely.
How BreeUp helps
BreeUp is built for the lawful, private side of getting dues in.
- Every household gets its own bills and receipts, and residents pay online by bank transfer or card, straight into the estate's own account.
- Copy-ready WhatsApp reminders for each household, so follow-ups go to the person who owes, not the whole group. Automatic WhatsApp, SMS and email reminders are available as add-ons.
- Residents can pay months ahead, and part payments are recorded against the bill.
- A spending log, treasurer's statements and meeting minutes residents can see, plus an optional second approver for payouts, so residents can see their money is handled properly.
- With the visitor passes add-on, an estate can let guards on duty check whether a home is up to date. The guard sees only "up to date" or "owes", never amounts. It's off until the estate turns it on. Use it to prompt a reminder, never to keep anyone from their home.
Putting dues into your by-laws is the best first step. Start from our estate by-laws template, then set your estate up on BreeUp.
