6 AVENUES TO PURCHASE LAND IN NIGERIA

Acquiring or purchasing land for developmental purposes of any kind in Nigeria is a very tedious and rigorous process for anyone who does not know the appropriate channel/avenue to follow in doing so. This is due to the high level of protocols and bureaucracies that any aspiring land purchaser will inevitably go through.

Because of these factors, I have decided to write on the various avenues by which anybody (Public, Corporate or Individual) aspiring to acquire or purchase land for varying developmental purposes in Nigeria can do asuch.

The various avenues to purchase/buy land for developmental purposes in Nigeria are:

·         Government estate schemes

·         Private property development companies

·         Government’s property investment companies/agencies

·         Mortgage/financial institutions

·         Individual property investors

·         Traditional land owners (Omo-Onile)

1.      GOVERNMENT ESTATE SCHEMES

Acquiring or purchasing land for any developmental purpose from government (State and Federal) is the most authentic avenue to do asuch, as this is statutorily stipulated in the Land Use Act of 1978.

The Act vested all land lying in the territory of each state (except land vested in the Federal government or its agencies) solely in the Governor of the State, who would hold such land in trust for the people and would henceforth be responsible for allocation of land in all urban areas to individuals resident in the state and to organisations for residential, agriculture, commercial and other purposes while similar powers will with respect to non urban areas are conferred on Local Governments.

Section 1 of Act states that “Subject to the provisions of this Act, all land comprised in the territory of each State in the Federation are hereby vested in the Governor of that State and such land shall be held in trust and administered for the use and common benefit of all Nigerians in accordance with the provisions of this Act”

In adhering to the laid down laws of the Land Use Act, government (State and Federal) do acquire large expanse of land to be developed into either site and service estate schemes or built-up estate schemes which are then advertised to the general public for purchase and acquisition.

Any body that acquires or purchases land in government estate schemes will be issued a statutory right to use that land for a fixed term/period of 99years. The evidence for granting such purchaser the statutory right on the land is issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) to that successful applicant/purchaser. 

But as secured and legitimate as it looks or sounds in acquiring or purchasing land from government estate schemes, the process in doing is still a tedious one as many people who subscribed/applied to these government schemes are yet to be allocated their plots of land largely due to over-subscription and/or non availability of government estate schemes which people can readily purchase for developmental purposes.

Because of these negative factors, many people have diverge different ways in acquiring/purchasing land from other sources since government’s various estate schemes cannot cater for nor meet the high demand of people in dire need of land for different developmental purposes (most residential).  

2.      PRIVATE PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT COMPANIES

Another avenue which people can take to acquire or purchase land for developmental purpose in Nigeria is through site and service (land) estate schemes been massively embarked upon by the various private property development companies carrying out real estate development activities and business in the country.

What these private property development companies do is to acquire large expanse of land from either the traditional land owners (omo-onile), government (state and federal) or private/corporate land owners, and afterwards divide the land into lots/units/plots to be sold to the general public in the form of a site and service estate scheme or built-up estate scheme.

Anybody that is interested in acquiring/purchasing land for developmental purpose from the various private property development companies will need to apply and subscribe to such estate scheme either directly with the property development company or any of their associate marketing partners.

Payment for land in any of these private property development companies’ estate schemes is made either out-rightly, in installments or as may be prescribed by the developers of such estate schemes.

The title documents that are given to successful subscribers/purchasers of private company development estate schemes is letter of allocation of the particular lot/plot of land bought coupled with a Deed of Assignment/Conveyance bearing the purchaser’s name.

Many private property development companies forbids people in buying more than one plot of land from any of their estate schemes mainly to discourage speculative motives of some property investors.

Examples of private property development companies in Nigeria are UAPDC, HFP engineering ltd, etc

3.      GOVERNMENT PROPERTY INVESTMENT AGENCIES

Government (state and federal) have also created and established various property investment agencies/companies to cater mainly for the provision and availability of large expanse of land to the general public for acquisition/purchase but this is embarked upon from the investment perspective of the government.

Real estate is regarded as one of the best investment machine that generates adequate returns on investment through provision of streams of income for the owner. It is in this regard that government also established property investment companies/agencies to make large expanse of land available for sale to the general public so as to generate more revenues inform of income to the government.

So, government’s property investment agencies/companies is another avenue where all prospective purchasers/buyers of land for developmental purpose can go to in acquiring or purchasing the land of their choice.

Examples of government’s property investment companies/agencies in Nigeria are: LSDPC, Ibile Holdings, Ogun state property development company, etc

4.      MORTGAGE/FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS 

Yes, it is also possible for anybody looking for land to acquire or purchase for developmental purpose to get such land from any of the mortgage or financial institutions operating in Nigeria.

There are some foreclosed properties such as land and buildings which some mortgage and financial institutions always advertise for sale to the general public due to non-payment of the loan advancement granted owners of these land and landed properties which have been used as collateral for the repayment of such loan advancement.

Anybody that needs land for developmental purpose might be lucky to get a good bargain for any of this foreclosed land and landed properties as their monetary values is not always in consonance with their real Market Values.

So you can always be on the look out for the availability of foreclosed lands from mortgage and financial institutions operating in Nigeria if and when you want to acquire or purchase land for developmental purposes.

5.      INDIVIDUAL PROPERTY INVESTORS

Individual property investors refer to those investors who buy land from various sources and/or avenues mainly for speculative and investment motive to be sold back to the general public afterwards. 

They are investors who buy land so as to keep hold of it till when it appreciates in monetary value and afterwards sell such land at a higher price to anybody who may be interested in acquiring or purchasing such land from them.

So many people are now going into the act of real estate investment as they are certainly sure of making higher returns on their investment afterwards.

Also, there are some individual property investors who buy land to undergo different classes of property development (residential, commercial, leisure, etc) activities to be leased or sold to people after its completion, while there are some who just buy land to re-sell such after some time when it has appreciated in monetary value.

Acquiring or purchasing land from individual property investors is another avenue which can be relied upon by anyone looking for genuine means of getting land for developmental purpose in Nigeria.

6.      TRADITONAL LAND OWNERS (OMO-ONILE)

This is by far the most popular means by which one can acquire or purchase land as far as land acquisition for developmental purpose is concerned in Nigeria. It is the easiest avenue and the most direct means which one can acquire or purchase land in Nigeria for developmental purpose.

This is so because it is not everybody that are properly enlightened or aware as to the other various avenues where and how land can be bought/purchase for developmental purpose in Nigeria.

Also, buying land from the traditional land owners popularly called Omo-Oniles is very cheap and readily available for everyone to access as compared to the other avenues mentioned above.

Most and if not all of the various avenues I mentioned above in acquiring or purchasing land for various developmental purposes in Nigeria are through the traditional  land owners – Omo Oniles – whose family and forefathers lay claim to the ownership of land in the country. 

This has been so, long before the enactment of the Land Use Act of 1978 and even afterwards till today.

There are so many things that must be considered when buying land from the traditional land owners - Omo-Oniles - in Nigeria as whoever does not take cognizance of these things may end up falling into the wrong owners of such family land.

Be on the lookout for my next post as I will be writing on the various factors to be considered when buying land from traditional land owners – Omo Onile.

Always employ the services of the professional Estate Surveyor and Valuer to guide you through the process of acquiring or purchasing land from any of these various avenues written above as they are professionally trained in the art and science of diversified areas of Real Estate Management discipline.

I implore you to kindly share this post/article because there are so many people out there looking for this particular piece of information but can’t get or have access to it.

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

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