Ebonyi Assembly passes bill regulating rents, agent fees and scrap trade

The Ebonyi State House of Assembly has passed a bill regulating scrap trade, house rents and estate agent fees in the state, with the aim of curbing exploitation, vandalism and other harmful practices. The legislation, titled “The Ebonyi State Sale of Scraps, House Rent and Agent Fees Regulation Law, 2026”, was passed during plenary presided over by the Speaker, Mr Moses Odunwa.

The law is expected to take effect immediately if assented to by Governor Francis Nwifuru. It seeks to regulate the sale, possession, transportation and disposal of metal and electrical scraps, standardise house rents and limit excessive fees charged by estate agents.

Under the legislation, the purchase, sale, possession for sale, transportation or disposal of metal or electrical scraps would be prohibited except by licensed dealers operating in accordance with regulations made under the law. Offenders could face imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine of up to N500,000.

The legislation also provides that landlords who obtain possession of accommodation through fraud, misrepresentation or concealment of material facts would commit an offence punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment. It further limits estate agents’ fees to not more than two per cent of the gross sum involved in a property transaction.

From the commencement of the law, landlords would also be required to comply with standard rents prescribed by the governor for applicable categories of accommodation. The law requires all estate agents operating in the state capital to register with the Ministry of Capital City in a move aimed at promoting transparency and professionalism in property transactions.

Presenting the bill, the House Leader, Kingsley Ikoro, said the legislation was designed to address vandalism, environmental degradation and exploitative practices in the housing sector. “This legislation is very important to us as a people because it will help check vandalism of critical assets, environmental degradation and exploitative practices in the housing sector,” Ikoro said.

Contributing to the debate, Victor Nwoke, Aloysius Nwodo, Oluchukwu Ezeali, Friday Ogbuewu and Celestine Ogba described the legislation as timely and necessary to tackle scrap theft and arbitrary rent increases. The Speaker noted that scrap dealers had caused considerable havoc in society, adding that the implementation of the law would promote public safety and restore sanity to property transactions.

The bill was considered clause by clause by the Committee of the Whole, with lawmakers correcting identified grammatical errors before unanimously passing it. The House also adopted the state Auditor-General’s report on the consolidated financial statements of the Ebonyi Government for the year ended December 31, 2025, which it said conformed with accepted accounting principles.

The lawmakers also screened and confirmed nine nominees of the governor as coordinator and members of the management committee of Amasiri Development Centre in Afikpo Local Government Area. The screening followed the reinstatement of the development centre, which had earlier been disbanded and delisted by the Ebonyi Government.