A few years ago, I moved from Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, to Abuja for a new software engineering role. Like many young Nigerians on the move, I needed to find a decent place to rent. I could afford it. I had all my documents.
And I thought my ability to pay two years’ rent upfront would make me one of the most attractive tenants on any list. But property after property that caught my fancy, landlord after landlord (or their property managers), kept turning me down.
Some told me directly: “We’re not sure how you make your money.”
Others gave vague excuses. A few just ghosted.
Eventually, I found a lovely, three-bedroom listing in Maitama I really liked. Only to discover that the landlord wouldn’t even consider renting to me unless we met in person. The apartment owner was in Lagos. I was in Abuja.
So I took a flight.
After days of back-and-forth with their rep after I landed in Lagos, I finally met the landlord. We spoke. I answered the same questions I’d already answered over the phone and with his rep. This time, face-to-face, he felt comfortable enough to lease me the apartment.
As I settled in, one thought kept nagging at me:
Why is it so hard to rent in Nigeria, even when you’re a good, credible tenant?
Maybe you’re like Akan—a smart, successful Nigerian now based abroad, who owns many properties back home. Or you’re based at home. Either way, you’ve worked extra hard to build your rental property assets, and you don’t want just anyone living in them.
Because let’s be honest: renting to the wrong person in Nigeria can cost you far more than just missed rent.
You’ve probably heard stories of:
You want to avoid all that. So what do you do?
You rely on what’s available: what a tenant says, account statements, local referrals.
But how reliable are these really?
In truth, most tenant vetting in Nigeria today is surface-level. It doesn’t give you the deep assurance you need. Especially if you’re thousands of miles away like Akan, unable to look someone in the eye or ask the hard questions.
That gap, between what Nigerian landlords need to feel secure and what vetting tools actually exist, is exactly what we’re building Tenalet to close.
I realized something after my Abuja renting experience:
It’s not that landlords in Nigeria are unreasonable.
They just don’t feel safe.
You’re operating in a low-trust environment, with almost no infrastructure to back your decisions. As a result, you’re scared of renting to the wrong person. And in the absence of credible data or identity systems, you have no choice but to default to caution.
That’s what happened to me. And that’s why I started building Tenalet.
Tenalet helps property owners (or managers) like you:
And it does all this without charging you a kobo upfront.
If you're managing a property from abroad or from another city, you already know: the cost of renting to the wrong person is too high. And traditional vetting methods no longer cut it.
For example, you might be asking:
These aren’t paranoid questions.
They're real risks.
And you deserve tools that proactively reduce those risks before the lease is signed.
With Tenalet, we verify tenant identities against trusted national ID networks based on their credit history, and build a data-rich profile that helps you answer the all-important question: Can this person be trusted with your home, and will they pay, reliably?
We don’t just request job histories or send you account statements.
Tenalet assesses payment patterns and risk signals — not in a way that invades the prospective tenant’s privacy, but in a way that protects your peace of mind. You receive a minimum of 12 months’ total transactions summarized into an Income Verification Report (IVR) you can immediately use to identify the right-fit tenants at a glance.
Let’s talk about the real fear many property owners have but rarely say out loud.
It’s not just about losing rent money.
It’s about feeling exposed.
About signing over your home to someone you’ve never met. About wondering whether the documents they shared are real, or whether the person’s intentions match their words.
I’ve spoken to countless landlords who want to trust, but don’t know how.
As a property owner or manager reading this, I know you’re not just looking to rent properties. But you’re also protecting a legacy. And from where you stand, the Nigerian rental space can feel chaotic, disjointed, and vulnerable.
That’s why we built Tenalet to be more than a tool.
It’s a trust layer.
We’re building Nigeria’s rental infrastructure that has been missing for way too long, starting with the systems that help you lease with confidence.
We’ve designed Tenalet to do three things exceptionally well:
You shouldn’t have to wait weeks chasing documents or calling references. Tenants apply, we verify them, and leases get signed — often in hours, not weeks.
Using trusted ID verification systems and financial credibility signals, we flag risks early. You get clarity, not guesswork, all from one dashboard.
No more calling or begging for rent. With NIBSS e-Mandate, tenants pay on time. And with Tenalet, you can issue them legally-compliant receipts instantly.
The result?
Because the old way isn’t working. Because great tenants — like I was — are slipping through the cracks. And because the cost of getting it wrong keeps rising.
You shouldn’t have to fly across the country just to feel comfortable renting to someone.
And if you’re abroad, you definitely shouldn’t have to micromanage rentals to feel secure.
Tenalet gives you that peace of mind.
We’re currently inviting a select group of property owners (and managers) to join our Early Access program for an exclusive, first-hand experience of the solution we’ve built.
As an early user, you’ll:
I began building Tenalet because, having lived the pain on the other side, I knew there had to be a better way.
Now, we’re making that better way available to landlords across Nigeria and abroad.
Whether you’re managing one unit or an entire portfolio, Tenalet is here to help you find, vet, and rent to great tenants — faster, safer, and with full confidence.
You’ve waited long enough for this kind of infrastructure. Now, it’s here.
Let’s make renting in Nigeria make sense for everyone.
But if you’re not ready to jump in, no worries.
We’ve compiled a free guide to help you spot high-risk tenants early — even if you’re doing things manually for now.
Download the Tenant Quality Toolkit →
A practical checklist to protect your property and your peace of mind.
