Although, an oversupply of high-end property and limited access to finance have underpinned the market’s slow bounce back, prospects are looking up for the second quarter of the year.

According to a report from international brokerage, Knight Frank, the persuasive long-term investment case for Sub-Saharan Africa has drawn increased numbers of international investors to investigate opportunities within the region over recent years, albeit transactional activity has been restricted by the limited availability of investment- grade stock and the opacity of the markets outside of South Africa.

Interest in the sector remains heightened, despite the weakening of some Sub-Saharan economies over the last two years.

Two years ago, Investors’ appetite for Sub-Saharan real estate was highlighted by the announcement that the UK-based emerging markets specialist Actis had raised US$500 million for its third African property fund, Actis Africa Real Estate Fund 3.

This is the largest amount that has ever been raised for a private real estate fund focused on Sub-Saharan Africa outside South Africa, and it included a commitment from the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC).

The report revealed that Actis’ two previous funds, closed in 2006 and 2012, have been involved with some of Sub-Saharan Africa’s most modern commercial property developments, in countries such as Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania.

In recent years, Actis has exited from many of its first wave of investments, selling its interests in assets including the Accra Mall, Nairobi Business Park and Ikeja City Mall.

When Actis launched its first Sub-Saharan Africa fund over a decade ago, it was a pioneer entering a market largely untapped by global property funds.

However, its third fund will enter a significantly more crowded marketplace as a series of property investment vehicles have emerged in recent years targeting Sub-Saharan real estate.

Many of these are South African- controlled funds, albeit often registered or listed offshore in Mauritius.

A prominent example is RMB Westport, which was created in 2008 as a joint venture between Rand Merchant Bank and the Westport Property Group.

Its development projects were the Wings Office Complex in Lagos and Muxima Shopping Centre in Luanda. RMB Westport’s second fund, which has a target of raising US$450 million, has attracted commitments from both GIC and the UK investor Grosvenor.

Other real estate investment vehicles to have been launched in the last two years include a pan-African joint venture created by Growthpoint and Investec, which has the target of raising US$500 million.

Momentum Global Investment Management and Eris Property Group have also formed a joint venture, the US$250 million Momentum Africa Real Estate Fund, which has allocated capital to development projects in Ghana and Nigeria.

The Anglo-South African group Old Mutual signalled its intention to expand its African footprint by announcing a partnership with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority.

This venture aims to raise US$500 million for a real estate fund, in addition to a US$200 million agriculture investment vehicle.

A further noteworthy event was the creation of Mara Delta, a pan- African real estate fund formed from the merger of Delta Africa and Mara Diversified Property Holdings.

During 2016, Mara Delta was one of the most acquisitive buyers of real estate across the region, growing a portfolio which currently includes assets in Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique and Zambia.

An estate surveyor and valuer, Mr. Akin Olawore who doubles as the president of Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), told The Guardian that most of the commercial buildings standing today were financed and built by such investors.

“These are part of the sums that make up Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) to Nigeria, which is highest in the last five years in SSA.

“Statistics show that we have opportunities in those sectors and also have the strength of bringing in anchor tenants.

Also private equities need big assets to finance to be lucrative, a number of these assets may be bundled into REITS package to create exit for the investors to take over. “

A past Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors & Valuers (NIESV), Lagos State Branch, Mr. Stephen Jagun said that the returns are too juicy to be ignored.

“Get the right location and deliver a super product; and if possible pre-let or pre-sale to target audience. We also have the huge population to our advantage.”

For Mrs. Erejuwa Gbadebo, Chief Executive Officer, International Real Estate Partners (IREP) Nigeria, “firms like Actis and RMB Westport had helped to build the real estate sector in the first place and then helped to sustain it during the recession and in that regard, therefore, they had done more than just cause it to revive.”

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The leadership of the affected communities, in a statement yesterday in Jalingo, said they were displeased by the way and manner “various hamlets or communities in Amar District are often raided by the Tarok marauders from the neighboring Plateau State.”

Signed by the village head of Fumang, Naanmi Daniang as well as ward heads of Unguwan Paul, William Detong; Labari, Labari Dabit; Kangashaar, Boyi Longbwala; among others, the statement regretted that the peace, economy and social well-being of the people had been shattered.

It reads in part: “The happiness of the people was shattered when a band of gunmen, who we reasonably identified to be Tarok marauders from Wase local government area of Plateau State, invaded Fumang village.”

During the invasion, they said, “a large number of the inhabitants were either killed or maimed,” adding: “Their property were either destroyed or looted.

Those who survived, as made known by the monarchs, were displaced, thereby becoming refuges in their local environs.”

They went on: “It is sad that other neighbouring communities or hamlets such as Kangshaar and Damshaya were not spared by the Tarok marauders who forcefully entered hamlets and communities to loot farm produce and in some instances, women and children were abducted, raped and turned into slaves.”

Stressing that the people were currently living in a state of insecurity, they noted that the negative impact of “these attacks on the people” can only be imagined, especially now that the “farming season is fast approaching.”

The statement further reads: “We say no to the regime of insecurity. Farming activities have become impossible as the people cannot enter their village because it has been completely taken over by the Tarok marauders.”

The leaders therefore suggested that drastic measures should be put in place to halt the attackers from further invading the settlements, as “the criminal activities of these Tarok marauders may alter the territorial boundary between Taraba and Plateau states.”

They pleaded with the relevant authorities at both the state and the federal levels to “immediately deploy security personnel to dislodge the army of Tarok marauders from the aforementioned villages to enable them return and rebuild their homes.”

The community leaders also advocated for the establishment of “permanent security formation in the three affected villages to provide security for the inhabitants and prevent future attacks.”

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Fashola said this in Abuja when he inaugurated a project for emergency improvement of electricity supply called the power capacitor bank built by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at the Apo substation of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

According to him, “This morning, somebody said all the investors are leaving Nigeria. But please play the speech of the Japanese Ambassador, Sadanobu Kusaoke, to this person that not only have they (JICA) completed these projects, they are undertaking another one in Lagos and they are going to do more.

“If there was one sector in the Nigerian economy that investment appetite is high, it is the power sector, and the potential that it has is very high. I couldn’t say more eloquently than the way Kusaoke has put it.”

On the 60MVAR power capacitor bank, he noted that the facility would help improve the voltage of electricity supplied to selected locations across the country.

The minister also explained that a second power capacitor bank which would serve other locations would be located in Keffi, Nassarawa State, and will be handed over to the federal government by JICA in June this year.

He said: “We are here because we promised incremental power and to make it better. Not only have we improved the quantity of power that is available, we have also improved the quality of power that is transported and distributed.

“It is one thing to have power and another to have good quality of the power. And today, we have come to address the quality of power.”

Continuing, Fashola explained: “Some of the examples of improving services will be the roll out of projects that will help bring more people access to power. Our population has grown over the last 20 years without commensurate expansion in the services, and that is partly why there is load shedding and low voltage.”

Similarly, the Chief Representative of JICA, Nigeria Office, Katsutoshi Komori, described the projects as “emergency improvement facilities.”

Komori added that improving core infrastructure in the power sector was one of the priority areas of the agency’s programmes in Nigeria.

He said: “It is my pleasure to be here today to celebrate the inauguration and handover of ‘the project for emergency improvement of electricity supply facilities in Abuja.’ In Nigeria, the high ratio of reactive power, together with insufficient capacity of facilities, interferes with the quality of electricity supply.

“For instance, areas like the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Nasarawa State have particularly high population growth rate and are some distance away from power generation facilities, consequently, suffer from voltage drops and power loss. To address this challenge, JICA provided a grant for the procurement and installation of power capacitor and related equipment at Apo and Keffi substations.”

In his remarks, the Managing Director of the TCN, Mr. Usman Mohammed, said the 60MVAR power capacitor bank situated in the Apo transmission substation was necessitated by the ongoing transmission rehabilitation and reinforcement of power infrastructure in Nigeria by the TCN to improve its wheeling capacity at the interface level with electricity distribution companies.

Usman explained that the facility would improve the voltage of the power supply in Abuja, Nasarawa and Benue States.

It was also learnt that the grant agreement for the Apo and Keffi power capacitor bank projects was signed between the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning and JICA, with the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing as a witness on February 11, 2016, while the contract was awarded to an EPC contractor in July 2016 at the cost of $12.1 million.

The post Nigeria’s Power Sector Still Attractive to International Investors, Fashola Claims appeared first on 9japroperty.

• Requirements- Before buying any land, identify what your requirements are and what you are looking for. You can start with some important questions such as your purpose of buying the land, how you will use it and what are your plans, what is your budget and does all of your costs including the cost of the land, the whole building procedure, legal proceedings etc come under your budget, and whether you are planning to re-sale the project.

• Right Plot- There are normally two types of lands, one on which any permanent structure was once built or is still there which has become dangerous and which can be redeveloped. And the other type of land which is completely untouched and undeveloped like forests, lands in the countryside etc. You have to choose which type you will go for based on your plans and requirements.

• Means of Buying- The first option is to go for an estate agent but you can also do your own research of whether there are any lands open for sale. Apart from agents, you can also get to know of suitable lands in auctions. However, auctions are conducted very quickly and so there is no time left to do any research on the land. Often companies providing utility like electricity, water, gas put extra lands for sale. You can also search for lands in the local authority as they sometimes possess lands which they want to sell.

• Things to know before making a purchase- To be on the safer side gather proper information regarding the following: Whether all the legal titles have been cleared off the property; if a reserved land is being sold in the name of ‘on-sale’ land; history of the agent; the documents you will need to proceed with the buying.

With keeping the above-information in mind you can make a step towards buying your dream land. However, the key is to do a lot of research before making any kind of big investment.

The post How to Buy Land in the Right Way appeared first on 9japroperty.

Generally, the Land Use Act (1978) specifically vests the ownership of all lands in Nigeria in the Governor of the respective states. The same Act also requires that any person who wants to alienate or transfer his land must obtain Governor’s consent to make the transaction valid in accordance with the Land Use Act. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the purchase or transfer of property in Lagos state has been greatly hindered by the activities of Land grabbers, otherwise known as the Omo Onile.

The practice of land grabbing entails the use of force, threats or violence to take possession or prevent a purchaser from acquiring legitimate interest and possession of property unless certain conditions are fulfilled. The said conditions are usually in the form of excessive levies or fines. Failure to adhere to the demands of the land grabbers in most cases result to the destruction any development on the land, or prevention of the land owner from taking possession.

In a bid to curb the unscrupulous activities of the Land grabbers in Lagos State, the Lagos State government recently signed into Law, a Law to prohibit forceful entry and illegal occupation of landed properties, as well as violent and fraudulent conducts in relation to landed properties in Lagos State. This new Law, known as the Lagos State Property Protection Law 2016 protects the proprietary rights of Land and Property owners in Lagos State and also criminalizes actions of forceful and unlawful entry or occupation of premises. Some of the key provisions the widely applauded Law are provided below:

Section 2 of the Law prohibits the use of force, threats or self-help to take over any landed property, or engage in any act inconsistent with the proprietary right of the owner. Additionally, persons who have used force to take over the property of another and remains in possession after the commencement of the Law shall be held to have committed an offence and liable to ten (10) years imprisonment.

Under Section 3 any person who without lawful authority, for himself or another, uses or threatens violence for the purpose of securing entry into any landed property commits an offence, notwithstanding whether the person using or threatening the use of force has a right over that property. Any offender under this section is liable to imprisonment for a term of 10 (ten) years.

Section 4 provides that any person who occupies a property as an encroacher and fails to leave the property upon a request by the owner, commits an offence punishable upon conviction with a fine not exceeding five million Naira or 5 (five) years’ imprisonment, or both. More importantly, Section 8 criminalizes any offer by any person to sell a property for which he has no lawful title or the requisite authority to sell. The same section also prohibits the sale or offer for sale of land that has been previously sold, without a court judgment repudiating the earlier sale. Any person found guilty of this offence is liable to pay a fine prescribed under the Law, or imprisonment or both, and the property resold to another shall revert to the lawful owner. Additionally, this section prohibits the sale of family land without the consent of the family head and other accredited members of the family; and the sale of government land or property without the consent or authority of the State.

Whilst the above represents only a fraction of the Law, it is important to note that this Law applies to the whole of Lagos State, unlike most Lagos State Property Laws limited to specific parts of the State.

The Lagos State Property Protection Law has been widely applauded as it has the potential to boost property transactions in Lagos State. However, it is pertinent to state that the essence of this Law will be defeated if the Lagos state government fails to proactively enforce it. An example that comes to mind is the Lagos Tenancy Law of 2011 which, amongst other things, prohibits landlords from demanding from a new or sitting tenant rent in excess of one year. Till date, the said Tenancy Law is openly and widely flouted and there has not been any reported case of prosecution and conviction of offenders under the Law. That said, in view of the promising nature of this Law, efforts must be made to ensure that the Law is enforced, the offenders are duly prosecuted, as this will greatly encourage real estate investment in Nigeria.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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Many people do not know that there are some statutory laws that have been enacted and established by both the state and federal government to regulate, guide and govern all forms of land and landed properties’ transactions in Nigeria which could make such transaction illegal or even lead to forfeiture whenever the parties to the transaction do not adhere to the provisions of such statutory laws as been laid down or stipulated.

Land and landed properties are static in nature and because they are immovable, hence the Latin maxim “Quicquid plantatur solo solo cedit” (meaning; whatever is affixed on the land belongs to the land).

Land and landed properties’ transactions (ownership, sales, acquisition, lease, mortgage, alienation, assignment/conveyance, sublease) are a contractual relationship between two or more persons for exchange and release of interest they have on land and landed property in consideration for a compensation which is usually of monetary value in nature.

For the protection of all parties involved in any or all of the above mentioned transactions as well as making such transactions legal and tenable in any court of law, the government (state and federal) of the federation has enacted some statutory laws to guide, govern and protect all persons who find themselves embarking on any of these land and landed properties’ transactions in Nigeria.

There are so many reasons why government enacts statutory laws to govern and guide land and landed property transactions in Nigeria. Some of which are:

• To help generate additional revenue for government
• To add up to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the economy
• To endeavour government carry out one its constitutional statutory function of protecting lives and properties
• To protect land/property investors and owners against fraud
• To have a detailed record of all land and property transactions in the country
• To assist government in planning towards adequate provision of infrastructural facilities in the country

The first part of the statutory laws governing land/property transactions in Nigeria which I will write on are:

1. Land Use Act
2. Land Instruments Registration Laws
3. Registration of Titles Acts
4. Rent Control and Recovery of Premises Acts
5. Tenancy Law of Lagos state
6. Tenement Rate Laws
7. Land Use Charge Law of Lagos state

1. LAND USE (1978) ACT CAP L5 LFN 2004

This is the foremost and most widely recognized statutory law guiding, regulating and governing all matters relating to land/property ownership and transactions in Nigeria.

It was promulgated on March 29^th, 1978 by the then Military head of state; Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo.

The Act vested all land compromised 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.

The major objectives of the Act among other things are:

• To create a uniform land management and administration system by absorbing the various land tenure laws in each state of the federation by promulgating a single land law
• To make everybody have equal rights and access to land throughout the federation
• To curb land speculation activities in the country
• To break up the traditional land holding system by making land readily available for everybody irrespective of their ethnic background or religious beliefs

The Act made the governor of each state of the federation to be the chief custodian of land within the territory of that state for the common benefit of all Nigerians.

The major sections that relate to matters regarding land/property ownership and transactions in Nigeria are: Sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 15, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26.

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”

What this implies is the vesting of land management and administration on the governor of each state of the federation who is seen as the only statutorily recognized person to allocate land to whosoever requires it for different purposes.

In so doing, a form of landlord-tenant relationship was created by the promulgation of the Act as the governor is seen in law as the landlord and every other persons that needs/wants land for varying uses as tenants.

Section 5 (1) (a) (b) of the Act states that “It shall be lawful for the Governor in respect of land, whether or not in an urban areas-

• to grant statutory rights of occupancy to any person for all purposes
• to grant easements appurtenant to statutory rights occupancy”

What the Act grants an holder of land be it an urban or non-urban land in Nigeria is just a mere right to use the land for a predetermined period/term (99years) after which such land will automatically revert back to the governor at its effluxion except such holder of land renews his/her right of occupancy at its expiration.

Section 8 of the Act states that “Statutory right of occupancy granted under the provisions of section 5 (1)  (a) of this Act shall be for a definite  term and may be granted subject to the terms of any contract which may be made by the Governor and the holder not being inconsistent with the provisions of this Act”

Evidence of the governor granting a statutory or customary (depending on the scenario as spelt out in Section 2 (2) (a) and Section 3) right of occupancy is the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy to the holder of such right of occupancy.

Section 9 (1) of the Act states that “It shall be lawful for the governor-

• when granting a statutory right of occupancy to any person or
• when any person is in occupation of land under customary right of occupancy and applied in the prescribed manner; or
• when any person is entitled to a statutory right of occupancy, to issue a certificate under his hand in evidence of such right of occupancy”

Section 9 (2) states that “Such certificate shall be termed a certificate of occupancy and there shall be paid therefore by the person in whose name it is issued, such fee (if any) as may be prescribed”

The Act also grants a holder of a statutory right of occupancy the exclusive right and possession of all the improvements on such land as well as the right to alienate, mortgage, sub-lease, transfer, and assign any improvements he/she enjoys on the land subject to the consent of the governor to make such transaction legitimate.

Section 15 (a) (b) states that “During the term of a statutory right of occupancy, the holder-

• shall have the sole right to and absolute possession of all the improvements on the land
• may, subject to the prior consent of the Governor, transfer, assign or mortgage any improvements on the land which have been effected pursuant to the terms and conditions of the certificate of occupancy relating to the land”

The Act does not permit or give any holder of a statutory right of occupancy the exclusive power to embark on any form of transaction on the land he/she has been granted a right of occupancy without the consent of the governor, but where such transaction is undergone and completed, it will be regarded as null and void except as otherwise stated in Sections 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 of the same Act.

Section 26 of the Act states that “Any transaction or any instrument which purports to confer on or vest in any person any interest or right over land other than in accordance with the provisions of this Act shall be null and void”

2. LAND INSTRUMENT REGISTRATION LAWS

The law was enacted to regulate registration of instruments that are executed prior to and after the establishment of the Act in Nigeria. Registrable instrument includes an estate contract, a deed of appointment or discharge of trustee containing expressly or impliedly a vesting declaration affecting any land.

The law seeks to guarantee genuine land title documents that have been investigated and registered by the Registrar of Titles in each state of the federation.

Land registration Act 1924 of Nigeria defined “registrable instrument as a document affecting land whereby one party called the grantor confers, transfers, limits, charges or extinguishes in favor of another party called the grantee any right or title to the interest in land and includes a certificate of purchase, a power of Attorney under which any instrument may be excluded but does not include a will”

Therefore, it is generally agreed that a registrable instrument is a document, which transfers or creates a right, title or interest in land to or in favour of the grantee. But a will is expressly excluded from the ambit of registrable instruments. Consequently, a sales receipt, purchase receipt is not a registrable instrument if it is a mere acknowledgment of sales or payment and does not confer or transfer interest in land.

What this simply means it that it is compulsory and mandatory for any holder of an interest in land who wishes to transfer same to another person to have registered such document at the appropriate land registry office been established by government as it will greatly help purchasers of such land in determining if the owner/seller has the genuine land title document to sell the property and all encumbrances that are attached to the land.

To authenticate the transfer of title in any land transaction, the law requires the holder of such title to apply for the governor’s consent to the Deed of Assignment which is been executed by both the seller and buyer in such scenario.

After approval of the governor’s consent, the Deed of Assignment document will then be stamped at the Stamp Duties office and thereafter registered at the Lands Registry office.

To hasten the registration of instruments in Nigeria, the law established in each state of the federation a Land Registry with the appointment of a Land Registrar charged with the responsibilities of registering documents affecting land transactions and keeping same in the book of instruments register.

This law has been re-enacted in most states of the federation.

3. REGISTRATION OF TITLES ACT

Registration of Titles Act of 1935 now referred to Registration of Titles Law of Lagos State Cap R.4 of 2003 was introduced to correct the inadequacies in the registration of instrument Act of 1924 now known as the Registration of Instrument Laws in various states.

The basic principle of the Registration of Titles law is that ownership of title to land is based on the fact of registration, that is, it operates to register dealings and transactions over titles in land when such titles have been registered.

The object of the law is to substitute a single established title guaranteed by the state for the traditional title which must be separately investigated before purchase. And, must be proved by several documents of title each time the title is in issue. Transactions in respect of registered land such as leases, creation of charges, and transfer of interest in land are also required to be registered.

The law further encouraged all those involved in any land transaction to investigate the genuniety of the title documents of the land at the appropriate land registry where there exists a copy of the registered title document of the land before embarking on concluding the deal.

4. RENT CONTROL AND RECOVERY OF PREMISES ACTS

The Rent Control and Recovery of Premises Act is enacted in each states of the federation to guide and regulate all matters relating Landlord-Tenant relationship in any residential property lease transactions.

The main purpose for the enactment of this law was to restrict the common law rights of a landlord with the intent of regulating the recovery and restraining unlawful eviction of the tenant from the landlord’s premises.

The law spells out the proper procedure which a landlord can/should take in recovering possession of his residential property from the tenant after expiration of the rent period. These procedures are primarily spelt out so as to protect the tenant against that of the landlord.

The procedures for the recovery of residential leased premises by the landlord as spelt out in Rent Control and Recovery of Premises Acts in Nigeria are:

• The landlord must give a Notice to quit to the tenant
• The landlord must give Notice of Owner’s intention to recover possession of the rented premises to the tenant
• The landlord must apply for a Writ of Possession at the appropriate court of law
• The landlord must obtain an Order of Possession from the appropriate court of law

The grounds for which the landlord can rely on in obtaining an order of possession from the court of law to recover possession of his/her rented premises from the tenant are:

• Arrears of rent
• Breach of any covenant or agreement by the tenant
• Where the property is required for personal use by the landlord
• The premises is been used for illegal or immoral purposes by the tenant
• The premises has been abandoned by the tenant
• The premises is unsafe and unsound as to constitute a danger to human life or property
• The tenant or any person residing or lodging with him being his sub-tenant constitutes by conduct, an act of nuisance or induces a breach of the tenancy agreement

5. TENANCY LAW 2011 OF LAGOS STATE

As the name implies, the Tenancy Law 2011 is a Law of the Lagos state House of Assembly enacted to “regulate rights and obligations under tenancy agreements and their relationship between the Landlord and the Tenant including the procedure for the recovery of premises and for connected purposes”

This law is basically enacted by the Lagos state government in other to regulate and guide all matters relating to residential properties’ lease transactions between the landlord and tenant in some parts of the state excluding Apapa, Ikeja GRA, Ikoyi and Victoria Island.

The law automatically fixed all residential properties’ lease transactions to that of yearly tenancy for new tenants as well as regards it as unlawful for any existing yearly tenant occupying a residential apartment in the state to pay more than a year rent to the landlord.

Section 4 (1) of the Law states that “It shall be unlawful for a landlord or his agent to demand or receive from a sitting tenant rent in excess of six (6) months from a monthly tenant and one (1) year from a yearly tenant in respect of any premises without prejudice to the nature of tenancy held at the commencement of the tenancy

(2) It shall be unlawful for a sitting tenant to offer or pay rent in excess of one (1) year for a yearly tenant and six (6) months for a monthly tenant in respect of any premises

(3) It shall be unlawful for a landlord or his agent to demand or receive from a new or would be tenant rent in excess of one (1) year in respect any premises”

Some of the reasons for the enactment of the law are as follows:

• To regulate the tenancy period which the landlord or his/her agent should demand rental money from a new tenant (i.e 1 year rent as against the popular demand of 2years rent)
• To stipulate how much rent money a new tenant should pay the landlord
• Mandate landlords to issue a rent payment receipt to a tenant in respect of such payment made by the tenant. The receipt to be issued by the landlord to the tenant must include the names of both the landlord and tenant, full description of the rented property, amount of rent paid and period for which the rent relates.
• Mandates landlord and tenant to always prepare a tenancy agreement which will spell out the rights and obligations of both parties on the rented property by employing the services of a professional and paying same in the preparation of the tenancy agreement
• Spell out ways and conditions by which a landlord can evict a tenant from his/her property as well as recover full possession of same
• Encourage all parties involved any form of tenancy disputes to seek redress in a competent court of law or Alternative Dispute Resolution centre

6. TENEMENT RATE LAWS OF NIGERIA

Tenement or property rating is a form of tax levied on landed properties by local government authorities in Nigeria to raise additional revenues required for specific developmental projects within such local government area.

The law is enacted to impose tax on built up landed properties in Nigeria which is collected at the local government level on owners of such built-up properties.

The premise for enacting of the law is to levy property owners towards contributing to raising additional funds for infrastructural development projects been embarked upon by the local government authority where such built-up property is situated.

Every state in Nigeria has their own tenement rate laws at the local government level applicable to built-up hereditaments.

7. LAND USE CHARGE LAW 2001 OF LAGOS STATE

The Land Use Charge law of Lagos state is synonymous to the tenement rate laws that are exists in every state in Nigeria, but just that it abolished all other taxes such as tenement rates, ground rents and neighbourhood improvement charges levied on land and landed properties in Lagos state to create a single property tax law.

The main purpose for the enactment of the Land Use Charge law by the Lagos state government on all land and landed properties in the state is to enable the government generate additional revenues needed to carry out continuous infrastructural development projects as well as improve the existing ones to cater for the growing population of people in the state.

Through the enactment of the Land Use Charge Law (LUCL) of Lagos state, all rates and charges which were initially imposed on land and landed properties seized to be effective as there now exists a single property tax law called Land Use Charge imposed on all land and landed properties in Lagos state.

“The responsibility for payment of the Land Use Charge resides primarily with the property owner; however, there is provision in the law establishing the charge, for payment to be made by the occupier who is then empowered to look to reimbursement of the charge from the property owner.”

………..to be continued

The post 15 STATUTORY LAWS GOVERNING LAND/PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS IN NIGERIA appeared first on 9japroperty.

Obviously, we cannot consider all of these property laws here. But some important and critical ones are worth mentioning to keep you well informed so you can make the right choices, make the right investment, and make money. It also ensures you don’t make the sort of mistakes that can cost you your real estate investment in the long run.

It is important to note that this is not a legal site and so the laws will be explained in simple terms so the average person can understand them.

The first law that comes to mind is the most popular of them all, “the land use act”.

The land use act essentially states that all land in Nigeria belongs to the government. And that the government only lease the land to individuals or corporate bodies as appropriate for a period of 99 years.

This means that when the government issues a certificate of occupancy or C of O to you for a property purchased, the C of O is only for a period of 99 years. What happens after 99 years?

That question is still the subject of great debate among Nigerians. As it is, the first set of C of O were issued sometime in 1976 when the land use act came into effect. Let’s see what happens when the first set of certificate of occupancy issued by the government expires.

This real estate law is often responsible for the question by potential real estate buyers, “what is the quality of the title on the property?” By that they mean how old is the C of O?

A new C of O has a life of 99 years before the government withdraws it or demand renewal. A property that has a C of O that is 30 years old has a life of only 69 years left.

Some people don’t consider this when considering buying homes for sale in Lagos Nigeria whereas some try to negotiate a lower sale price based on the life of the C of O. This is entirely up to you.

Another real estate law or property law to consider is “the right of way”.

This basically states that “the government has right of way” . . . the right to create roads as appropriate for economic development.

The government has a master plan for every area of Lagos Nigeria. In the same vein, every other state of the federation, as well as the federal government, have master plan for different locations in the country. Each location has provision for road and utilities like pipe borne water, telephone lines, underground waterway, high tension power line, oil pipeline route etc

If you build residential real estate or commercial property on any of these government development areas, the government will eventually pull down your property.

It will be very sad to lose your property, built with hard earned money, because you failed to investigate the ownership of a property as appropriate with the Lagos state government.

A third real estate law or Lagos property law to bear in mind is what I call the “distance to government road rule”.

In effect, this law states that each property owner should leave a distance of at least 30 metres between the walls of his property fence and the road. (Some say its 50 metres. Please confirm from your real estate attorney ).

If you don’t obey the distance to road rule, nothing may happen immediately. The government is usually slow in reacting to such violations.

However, when the government decides to expand the road, your fence will be taken down without apology if you have violated the “distance to road” rule.

Know some more property laws?

The post Real Estate Law Lagos Nigeria – Nigeria Property Laws Explained appeared first on 9japroperty.

1. Expensive, cumbersome and complicated land tenure and transfer of legal title in land procedures.

1. Expensive cost of funds with high interest rates for construction and mortgages in comparison to the long term rentals expected by an investor in the real estate market.

1. Rent control legalisation for the mass residential rental market.

1. High rate of Tenants default in paying their rentals on schedule due in some cases to diminishing purchasing power.

1. Technical, cumbersome and expensive recovery of possession of premises legislations.

The effort of the Federal Government of Nigeria to address this problem by proposing a Rent Control legalisation has met with criticism as a result of the failure of the supply side of the real estate market and also, the failure of prior and subsisting Rent Control legislations and home ownership schemes to address the problems of minimum housing in Nigeria.

This Alert would provide up-to-date legal information on the last two factors of rent control and recovery of possession of premises which have and continue to challenge and inhibit investments in the real estate market.

Rent Control Law

Rent Control is a residual matter under the 1999 Constitution. As a result, most of the States in Nigeria have their individual Rent Control Laws which for the most part have similar provisions as the Rent Control Law of Lagos State.

In Lagos State of Nigeria, the applicable Law is the Lagos State Rent Control & Recovery of Residential Premises Law, 1997 (\”Lagos Rent Control Law\”).

The Lagos Rent Control Law is intended to mandatorily regulate the rentals that can be charged for residential apartments in certain areas of Lagos State whose residences were at the time of the enactment of this Law not charging annual rental value in excess of N250,000 (Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira).

This Law prescribes the standard rent for each type of residential accommodation in different locations of the State with the caveat that the standard rent shall only be subject to upward review of not more than 20% every three years or at such other duration as the Governor of Lagos State may prescribe.

The Lagos Rent Control Law makes it unlawful for the Landlord or his agent or the Tenant to demand or pay rent in excess of the standard rent. It is also unlawful for a Landlord to demand or receive the prescribed standard rent for a period in excess of six months from an incoming/new Tenant. Equally unlawful is the action of a sitting Tenant offering to and paying the standard rent in excess of a period of three months in respect of any type of residential accommodation to which the Lagos Rent Control Law applies.

Any person who receives or pays rent in excess of the standard rent that is prescribed by Law is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of N50,000.00 (Fifty Thousand Naira) or to a term of six months imprisonment.

Agency & Legal Fees

The Lagos Rent Control Law requires that Solicitors and estate agents must not charge more than 5% as Solicitors fees for preparing Tenancy Agreements and 5% as agency fees respectively. Where a higher percentage of fees is charged and received, it shall be unlawful. The penalty on conviction for this unlawful charge is a term of imprisonment for two years.

Recovery of Possession of Premises

Cases of abuses by Landlords in unlawfully evicting their Tenants necessitated the Rent Control & Recovery of Residential Premises Law of Lagos State, like prior legislations before it, to seek to protect all tenancies to which this Law applies.

The protection afforded tenancies by this Law is not intended to deprive a land owner of the fruits of his or her or its investment in real estate.

The protection only requires that a Tenant should only loose his tenancy after due recovery procedure and processes are complied with by the Landlord.

Where there is a default by a Tenant in respect of any aspect of his Tenancy and the Landlord intends to terminate the Tenancy and have possession of his property revert to him the Landlord, a proper notice to quit must be personally served on the Tenant. This is the first and most technical of the procedures for recovering possession of premises.

The length of notice to be given to a Tenant to quit is usually determined by the tenure of the tenancy where no express unequivocal provision is made in a written Tenancy Agreement to such effect. Thus, where the Tenant pays his rent on a weekly basis, a week\’s notice to quit would be valid.

Similarly, where the rental is paid monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly, a month, quarter or half yearly notice as appropriate would be valid to determine the Tenancy.

It is mandatory that the notice to quit must be issued and served personally on the Tenant. It is also mandatory that the notice to quit must be served to expire at the anniversary or expiration of the Tenancy.

Thus, a notice to quit in respect of a tenancy that begins in January of a particular year and expires in December of the same year must be served on the Tenant on or before the end of June of that year so that from 1st July to the end of December of the same year, the mandatory six months notice would have been properly served on the Tenant. This was the holding of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the matter of African Petroleum v. Owodunni (1991) 11-12 SC 56 @ 71 lines 5-15.

The inability of most Landlords to comply with the technical requirement of serving the statutory notice to quit to expire at the same time with the tenancy drew the displeasure of the Supreme Court in the above cited case where for twelve (12) years, the Respondent Tenant could not be evicted because the notice of eviction was not properly served by the Landlord on the Tenant.

The view of some Solicitors that a tenancy for a fixed term does not require a notice to quit but only a notice of the owner\’s intention to recover possession of his premises is too risky a position to implement should the matter be placed before a court of law for adjudication.

Unlawful Eviction or Recovery of Premises

The frustration with applying the legal process to evict an unwilling Tenant has lead to many Landlords attempting other unlawful procedures to evict such an unwilling Tenant whose tenancy has been properly determined in accordance with the Rent Control & Recovery Premises Law.

The Lagos State Rent Control & Recovery of Residential Premises Law prohibits any form of demolition, alteration, modification, harassment or molestation of a Tenant where the principal objective is the forceful ejection of the Tenant. Contravention of this provision by the Landlord or his agents or privies is an offence which on conviction attracts a fine of N20,000.00 (Twenty Thousand Naira) to N50,000.00 (Fifty Thousand Naira) and a term of imprisonment of three months.

Business Premises

Up-market residences, that are not listed in the schedule of the Lagos Rent Control Law, with business premises are regulated by the Recovery of Premises Law No. 9 of 1976 (\”Recovery of Premises Law\”).

The provisions of the 1976 Recovery of Premises Law are very similar to those of the 1997 Rent Control Law with the distinct difference being that business premises do not have a mandatory chap on what the land owner can charge as periodic rentals. Up market residences and business premises also have a higher rental collection history as opposed to downtown residences. Investors would therefore do well to ensure that all the provisions in relation to recovery of possession of premises are adhered to whenever the situation arises.

Lagos Mediation Centre

The Lagos State Government has established a Citizens Mediation Centre where disputes including those of Landlord and Tenant disputes are resolved through mediation. Where mediation fails or any of the parties refuses to submit to mediation, the parties would be advised by the Centre to seek redress in Court.

Conclusion

The provisions of the rent control and recovery of premises laws in Nigeria have been held more in disobedience than in obedience for many years as a result of the scarcity of new apartments or the maintenance of existing apartments.

The attempt to regulate rental values for properties in Nigeria has reduced the interest to invest in real estate in Nigeria. Research also shows that rent control schemes in other parts of the world that are not indexed against market forces of demand and supply usually do not maintain the minimum acceptable human standards for good housing.

The Nigerian government must review the land tenure system in Nigeria such that the original owners of so-called communal land and private sector investors are able to collectively work towards meeting the developmental goals set for the people of Nigeria.

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However it must be noted that inasmuch the property reverts to the Landlord, there is still a laid down procedure for recovering this property from the Tenant. The Landlord may, not on his own, and without employing statutorily provided means, evict the Tenant from the property. Indeed it has been alleged by some quarters that the laws for recovery of premises tend to be more protective of the Tenant, than the Landlord; however it important to note that an eviction that is in compliance with the statutorily employed means will not prevent an employer from repossessing his property.

Before a Landlord can recover possession of his premises from a Tenant, the tenancy must first be determined. Termination of tenancy may be through any of the following ways:

Notice to quit

This is a statutory requirement for termination of all forms of periodic tenancies. It will also be used where even though the tenancy is for a certain term, the Agreement provides that it be issued. It must contain the description of the premises, its location, the commencement and expiration of the Tenancy. The length of this notice and its content is dependent on the length of the tenancy in question.Section 13(1)Tenancy Law 2011 of Lagos State, whichprovides for the length of notice as follows:

a) Tenant-at-will:one week notice.

b) Monthly tenant: one month notice.

c) Quarterly tenant: three months notice.

d) Half yearly tenant: three months notice.

e) Yearly tenant: Six months notice (half a year).

A notice to quite may be issued either by the landlord or by his solicitor or agent, who must be authorized in writing. The length of the notice to quit should be such that it will expire on the eve of the anniversary of the tenancy. As soon as the term of the tenancy has been determined by a notice to quit, and the Tenant fails to hand over possession, the Landlord or his agent may then issue a 7-day notice of the Owner’s intention to recover possession.

Notice of Owner’s Intention to Recover Possession

This is a 7-day notice to the Tenant, of the Landlord’s intention to proceed to recover possession on a date not less than seven days from the date of the notice. This notice must state the grounds and particulars of the claim. Where the Tenant is arrears of rent for six (6) months in the case of a monthly tenancy, or for one year in the case of a quarterly or half-yearly tenancy, the tenancy shall lapse and the Court shall make an order for possession and arrears of rent upon proof of the arrears by the Landlord.

Effluxion or expiration of term granted (for fixed tenancies)

Where the tenancy is for a fixed or certain period, it determines automatically at the expiration of the term, and no formal steps are needed to put it to an end. Where the Landlord intends to proceed to Court to recover possession, he shall then issue a seven-day notice as described above. Please note however that where the Agreement stipulates that a notice shall be given then it must be issued,providedthat it is not less than the statutory prescribed time.

Please note that the notices must be served personally on the Tenant, or delivered to an adult at the premises. Where the Tenant cannot be found, it may also be delivered to the premises by courier where the Tenant cannot be found, provided that the courier supplies proof of delivery.

Institution of proceedings to recover possession

Where the notice issued to the Tenant has expired, and the Tenant has failed to surrender possession, the Landlord my file a claim for recovery of possession at either the Magistrate Court or the High Court closest to the premises. The Landlord must prove grounds such as arrears of rent, breach of any covenants of the Agreement, that the premises is being used for immoral or illegal purposes, the premises has been abandoned, the premises is unsafe and dangerous or that the conduct of the Tenant or a person living with him constitutes intolerable nuisance. The Landlord can also recover possession on the grounds that the premises is required by the Landlord for personal use or that the premises requires substantial repair. The Landlord may not need to prove any of the above where the requisite notices were properly issued, and the content and length of notice are in line with statutory requirements.

Frustration

This is usually provided for under the force majeure clause. The doctrine of frustration provides that, where after a contract has been entered into, and for some reason, it subsequently becomes impossible for one party to perform their obligations, due to supervening events beyond his control, then the contract has been frustrated. The consequence is that the parties are discharged from the performance of their contract. The Supreme Court in Araka v Mornier Construction Co. (Nig) Ltd has held that the doctrine of frustration may in certain circumstances apply to leases. In that case, the period of the lease coincided with the Nigerian Civil War, and the government ordered that all expatriates leave the area. At the end of the war, the Landlord claimed rent for the period, and the Tenant contended that the government order frustrated the tenancy. The Supreme Court held that the tenancy was frustrated by the war and the Landlord was not entitled to the rent claimed.

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