Everything nobody tells you about living in Lagos

Free, independent guides to Nigerian bureaucracy, housing, money and daily life. Written for anyone making Lagos home — people arriving from abroad, people arriving from other states, and Lagosians who have simply never had a reason to read the Tenancy Law before.

Lagos State, by local government area. Choose one to open it on the map. Explore the map →

Explore Lagos

Things to play with, not just read.

Start here

The things that block everything else. Until these are done, you cannot open a bank account, sign a lease or get paid properly.

Coming up

All dates ➞

Public holidays. Eid and Maulud are declared by the Sultan of Sokoto on sighting the moon, so the dates shown for them can be a day out.

Work it out

All 8 calculators ➞

The same figures as the guides, worked out on your own device. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.

The numbers, today

Every figure on this site comes from one dated file, so a guide can never quietly go stale. How that works ➞

What How much Where it bites
Minimum wage ₦70,000 A month, since the 2024 Act
Tax-free income ₦800,000/year About ₦66,666.67 a month
Pension off your payslip 8% Your employer adds another 10%
VAT 7.5% No levies stacked on top
Legal maximum rent advance 12 months Landlords routinely ask for 24

Browse everything

Moving to Lagos

Guides for the first weeks - a NIN, a bank account, a phone number that works and somewhere to sleep.

  1. How to move to Lagos
    1. Visas and arriving
    2. Your first week checklist
    3. SIM cards and internet
    4. Weather and seasons
  2. Lagos neighbourhoods
  3. Yoruba and Pidgin
  4. Food in Lagos
  5. Things to do in Lagos
  6. Scams in Lagos
  7. Dealing with the police
  8. Emergency numbers
12 guides ➞

Housing

What a Lagos landlord will ask for, what the Tenancy Law actually allows, and what moving in really costs.

  1. The rent advance
    1. How to find a place in Lagos
    2. Lagos neighbourhoods
    3. Tenancy agreements
  2. Finding a tradesperson
  3. Hiring help at home
  4. Buying land in Lagos
7 guides ➞

Money and tax

Your bank account, personal income tax under the new Act, your pension, and who you actually pay.

  1. Opening a bank account
  2. Income tax and the LIRS
    1. Your pension and your RSA
3 guides ➞

Work and business

Finding a job, the NYSC year, what the Labour Act gives you and who it leaves out, and how to register a business of your own.

  1. Finding a job in Lagos
    1. NYSC
  2. Your rights as an employee
  3. Registering a business
4 guides ➞

Identity and paperwork

The NIN, and the documents that depend on it - which is nearly all of them.

  1. Your NIN and NIMC
    1. Nigerian passport
    2. Police character certificate
  2. Nigerian citizenship
  3. Birth certificate
  4. Swearing an affidavit
    1. Change of name
    2. Replacing lost documents
8 guides ➞

Family and school

Getting married, having a baby, registering the birth, and choosing a school - and why the kind of marriage you choose matters later.

  1. Getting married
    1. Change of name
  2. Having a baby
    1. Birth certificate
  3. Schools in Lagos
5 guides ➞

Health

Doctors, hospitals and pharmacies, malaria, health insurance - which is compulsory in Lagos - and what to do in an emergency.

  1. Seeing a doctor in Lagos
    1. Malaria
  2. Health insurance and Ilera Eko
3 guides ➞

Getting around

Danfo, keke, BRT, the Blue Line, and why the answer is usually "leave earlier".

  1. Getting around Lagos
    1. Driver's licence
2 guides ➞

Power, water and the calendar

Your DisCo, your band, the generator you will end up buying, where your water really comes from, and the days the city closes.

  1. Electricity in Lagos
  2. Water in Lagos
  3. Waste and recycling
  4. Public holidays
4 guides ➞

Calculators

Take-home pay, tax and the true cost of a loan, worked out with the same figures the guides use. Everything runs in your browser.

  1. Salary calculator
  2. Rent advance calculator
  3. Pension calculator
  4. VAT calculator
  5. Withholding tax calculator
  6. Loan repayment calculator
  7. Import duty calculator
  8. Vehicle import duty calculator
8 guides ➞