The Ebonyi House of Assembly has passed a bill into law regulating scrap trade, house rents and estate agent fees to curb exploitation and vandalism.
The legislation, which was passed during plenary presided over by the Speaker, Mr Moses Odunwa, is cited as the Ebonyi State Sale of Scraps, House Rent and Agent Fees Regulation Law, 2026.
The law, deemed to have commenced immediately, if assented to by the Gov. Francis Nwifuru sought to regulate the sale, possession, transportation and disposal of metal and electrical scraps, standardise house rents and curb excessive agent fees.
It prohibits the purchase, sale, possession for sale, transportation or disposal of metal or electrical scraps except by licensed dealers operating in accordance with regulations made under the law.
According to the law, offenders risk imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine of up to N500,000.
The legislation also stipulates that landlords who obtained possession of accommodation through fraud, misrepresentation or concealment of material facts commit an offence punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment.
It further limits agents’ fees to not more than two per cent of the gross sum of a property transaction.
From the commencement of the law, landlords are required to comply with standard rents prescribed by the governor for applicable categories of accommodation.
The law also requires all estate agents operating in the state capital to register with the Ministry of Capital City to promote transparency and professionalism in property transactions.
Presenting the bill, the House Leader, Kingsley Ikoro, said the legislation was designed to check vandalism, environmental degradation and exploitative practices in the housing sector.
“This law 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 address scrap theft and arbitrary rent increases.
Odunwa said scrap dealers had caused considerable havoc in society, adding that 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 members correcting identified grammatical errors before unanimously passing it.
The House also adopted the Auditor-General’s report on the consolidated financial statements of the Ebonyi Government for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, which it said conformed with accepted accounting principles.
The lawmakers screened and confirmed nine nominees of Nwifuru as coordinator and members of the management committee of Amasiri Development Centre in Afikpo Local Government Area.
The screening follows the reinstatement of the development centre, which had earlier been disbanded and delisted by Ebonyi Government. ENDS//
