6 BENEFITS OF HAVING GENUINE DOCUMENTS ON YOUR LAND AND LANDED PROPERTIES

“You no be correct Landlord if you no get correct particulars for your building”

The above captioned statement is a paid advertisement notice in the Castles Lifestyle magazine of Jan. 26 – Feb. 01, 2014 by the Ogun state government (The Ogun State Home Owners’ Charter) for all those that have existing land, buildings or houses in any part of Ogun state to process their building plan approval and Certificate of Occupancy (C of 0) at a huge discount from the government of Ogun state.

I so much got captivated with the above captioned advert notice that I decided to dedicate this post to enlighten people on the very need and benefits of having genuine documents on their land and landed properties.

Land and landed properties like other form of assets must have genuine documents to establish its true ownership status and claim. 

There are many land and landed properties (buildings/houses) without genuine documents been owned by people in most part of the country and which is a great risk for such people to claim ownership to them or be compensated when government acquires them for overriding public interests. 

In the course of my real estate professional practice, I discovered that many people are not really familiar with the kind of documents they need to have on their land and landed properties (houses, building, etc) that will legally recognized them as genuine owners or assist them to claim compensation in the event of compulsory acquisition exercise embarked upon by the government or any of its agencies.

Below are some of the many reasons I believe people do not have genuine documents on their land and landed properties:

·         Due to lack of proper awareness and adequate orientation for the people as to the reasons and benefits of having genuine documents on their land and landed properties from the government and/or its agencies

·         Lack of knowledge and insight into the various land and building laws/codes governing all matters relating to land and landed properties’ transaction, alienation, development, etc in the country

·      Various avenues and means by which land is acquired is not directly from the government or any of its agencies

·         Evasion of paying the necessary levies charged on land and landed properties to government and its agencies by owners of such land and landed properties.

Having identified the reasons why people do not have genuine documents on their land and landed properties above, kindly permit me to go further in explaining those documents I am referring to as been genuine in relation to land and landed properties’ transaction in Nigeria.

The documents that are regarded as been genuine in relation to ownership status claim of land and landed properties in Nigeria are:

·         Certificate of Occupancy (Statutory – Federal and State, Customary – Local Government)

·         Registered Deed of Assignment/Conveyance (in case of transfer of land ownership/interest)

·         Land Certificate (title document issued prior to the promulgation of Land Use Act of 1978)

·        Duly stamped and registered Land Survey Plan (Duly signed and stamped by a registered Land Surveyor and registered in the appropriate Land Survey Ministry either at the state of federal level)

·         Duly signed and stamped Building Plan Approval Permit indicating the building permit reference number on it 

A mere land purchase receipt does not establish the genuine ownership status of land and landed properties where/when such land receipt is not been perfected with the appropriate government authority or agency by the owner. 

Reference to this statement is the Land Use Act of March 28, 1978 which transfers all land within each state of the federation unto the Executive Governor of that state to be held in trust for the benefits of the citizens.

So therefore, the only direct source/means to acquire land in Nigeria is from the state government of each state of the federation except only where the Federal Government or any other holders of land has acquired such land prior to the promulgation of the Land Use Act of 1978.

The law does not recognize the so called “Omo Onile” (traditional land owners) as the custodians of land whom people should patronize to acquire land for various uses, but rather, the state or federal government and any of their agencies.

In the event where and when land is bought from the “Omo Oniles” (traditional land owners), it is very compulsory and mandatory for the purchaser of such land to still go ahead in perfecting the title documents and transaction with the state or federal government (if it’s a federal land) to make such sale become genuine and legally tenable, as it is after this is done that such a person will be given and/or issued the necessary title document (Certificate of Occupancy) to establish their ownership status.

Having perfect and genuine documents on land and landed properties has so many benefits which the owner tends to enjoy both in the short and long term.

Some of the benefits people with adequate and genuine documents on their land and landed properties will enjoy are:

1.      Means of Collateral: One of the benefits of having genuine documents on land and landed properties is for such documents to be used as a means of collateral to secure a loan from the bank or mortgage institutions whenever the owner of such land and landed property requires some financial aid to execute a particular project.

It is not only at the banks or mortgage institutions where genuine documents on land and landed properties can serve as a requirement for loan advancement, but other areas or channels which the owner of the land and landed properties deems it fit to present his/her property documents as a means of collateral.

2.  Easy Transferability/Alienation: Another benefit of having genuine documents on land and landed properties’ is that it allows for easy transferability and/or alienation of such land and landed property on the part of the purchaser and seller. This will be made possible after thorough search at the appropriate land registry as to the ownership status of the land and landed properties.

Also, it will be very beneficial in the event of transferring or alienating the land and landed properties to the heirs of the owner upon his/her demise.

3.      Adequate Compensation: Whoever has genuine documents on his/her land and landed properties stands a great chance of been adequately compensated in the event of any compulsory acquisition exercise  embarked upon by the government (State and Federal) for the overriding benefits and/or interest of the citizens of the state or country.

In the event of compulsory acquisition exercise, the appropriate government or agency involved will only compensate those people that have genuine documents on their affected land and landed properties upon presentation and scrutiny of its genuinety.

4.      Establish Ownership Status: This is also one of the greatest benefits of having genuine documents on land and landed properties as it helps the holders of such documents to establish true and ownership status on any matter relating to such claim.

Having genuine documents on land and landed properties can help to establish ownership status at the Lands Registry, Court of law during disputes, financial and mortgage institutions, etc

5.      Sense of Security: Another benefit of having genuine documents on land and landed properties’ is the sense of security that comes with it. This is so because whoever has genuine documents on their land and landed properties will greatly be at peace with themselves on all their real estate investment holdings as they are well secured.

Genuine land and landed property documents serve as an instrument of security for the guidance and protection of holders of such documents against theft, encroachment or illegal transfer/alienation of their land and landed properties without their prior knowledge or consent.

6.      Increase In Value: Genuine documents on land and landed properties is also of benefit in land and landed property appreciation as it plays a major role or factor in determining land and property values.

A Land and landed property with genuine documents and another without genuine documents in the same locality will tend to command different monetary values based on their title documents and particulars because the land and landed property with genuine documents will increase in its monetary value as compared to the other one without genuine documents.

I hope by now, you will agree with the above captioned advertisement statement which states that “You no be correct Landlord if you no get correct particulars for your building”, as not having genuine documents on land and landed properties can and/or will make owners of such real estate assets to be very vulnerable and exposed to the risk of losing their real estate investment holdings in various diverse forms.

I will gladly appreciate your comments on this post and/or any other posts from this blog site.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adeniyi Akinjiyan is a Higher National Diploma (HND) holder of Estate Management from the prestigious Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos state, Nigeria. He possesses a Professional Practice Certificate in Estate Surveying and Valuation from the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV).

He is the principal consultant of Aakient Consultants Ltd, a highly progressive and consolidated property and construction project management company, which is committed to providing the highest level of professional services in meeting clients’ real estate needs.

Feel free to contact him at: aakientconsultants@gmail.com