By Coach Spark Ovadje, Nigeria's National Real Estate Coach
• Application And Payment For C Of O, Building Plans To Be Done Online
• Governor Addresses Property Investors At LASRERA’s Maiden Real Estate Conference
Beginning from the first quarter of next year, all land-related transactions in Lagos State will be undertaken online, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu disclosed on Wednesday.
The plan, the Governor said, is to further accelerate the process of getting approvals on land matters and create an enduring business-driven property development market in the State.
Sanwo-Olu made the disclosure at the maiden Real Estate Marketplace Conference and Exhibitions organized by Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA), with the theme: “Unearthing real opportunities in Real Estate.”
The Governor said the State’s Department of Lands had built the required capacity for a smooth transition to the online platform, stressing that the plan was already in its final stage.
When the web-based platform is finally launched, there will be no need for applicants seeking Certificates of Occupancy (C of O), survey, and building plan approvals to physically submit paper documents for authorization. All documentation and payments will be done by applicants from the comfort of their homes.
Sanwo-Olu said the new development would bring about quick turnaround time in land transactions and boost private investors’ confidence in the provision of a homeownership model that will address deficits in housing.
He said: “We have improved on our GIS solution to accelerating land matters in Lagos. From the first quarter of next year, we will be launching an online platform on which all land transactions will be done. When the project kick-starts next year, there will be a one-stop-shop for all transactions relating to land, including the Governor’s approval on CofO, and building approval by the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development.
“We have given our commitment to this, because of the need to improve the turnaround time from when people submit their requests for approval and the time the authorization is completed. We cannot afford to disappoint private investors and applicants seeking real-time approval. We are raising our capacity so that we can respond to the requests and discharge them.”
The Governor charged residents and property developers applying for approvals to stop cutting corners and circumventing the process, stressing that sharp practices would only make it difficult for impatient applicants to get their documents approved.
Sanwo-Olu said his administration was committed to providing a mass housing scheme that would address inadequacy in housing, pointing out that the establishment of LASRERA was part of the move to re-build integrity in the housing market and gain the confidence of private developers working with the Government to realize the State’s housing need.
The Governor also harped on the need for massive regeneration of properties in the mainland part of Lagos, charging real estate investors and private developers to divert their investment to rebuilding the mainland and redistributing wealth from the business.
He said: “I need to charge the real estate investors that, everybody needs not build in Sangotedo or Ibeju Lekki. Let us go to the mainland and start the regeneration of the assets in that part of Lagos. This way, we would be redistributing wealth and creating opportunities for our citizens.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Housing, Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka, said the conference was held with an objective to bring stakeholders in the property business in contact with relevant Government agencies and address bottlenecks slowing down property transactions.
She said LASRERA was created with a mandate to bridge the gap of credibility in the property business, pointing out that the Government responded to the yearnings of industry players, having realized there were genuine real estate practitioners and property developers, as well as genuine home and property seekers who were desirous of credibility in real estate transactions in Lagos.
Benson-Awoyinka said the regulatory agency, since inception, had set processes in motion to change the negative image of property development business and check malpractices which the sector had faced in the last decades.
She said: “As a Government that is determined to bridge the housing deficit in the State, we are aware of our role in not just the provision of houses, but also create an enabling environment for the private sector working hand in hand to the desired end.
“We are making a renewed appeal to investors in the sector to team up with the State Government to create a homeownership model that will help address the deficits observed in the housing market in the State through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiative in providing mass housing for our people.”
Their conference featured exhibitions for home marketing firms, Government and private property developers.
There was also a panel of discussion in which private practitioners, heads of relevant Ministries, and agencies provided explanations on the housing market can be improved.
