Lagos lifts embargo on planning permit issuance to completed buildings
Lagos—Worried by the spate of building collapses, Lagos State Government, yesterday, told property owners that it would accept applications for planning permits on buildings already being occupied as against former practices.
The government added that the processing of building permits would henceforth be done within ten days after submission of application.
The State’s Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Wasiu Anifowoshe, who disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Lagos, said that the state government would not demolish houses but sensitize residents on the need to have title documents on their properties.
He said:”People shouldn’t be discouraged; they should come and apply for their building planning permit. That is the only reliable way to go. Apart from the fact that it is the only document recognized by the government to notify us that your building exists, a planning permit can also serve as a verifiable document that you can tender in banks for your building.”
Anifowoshe said that efforts are ongoing to expedite processing of the title documents for property owners in the state.
The commissioner, who decried low application rate in the state, in spite of the growing population and building development, said most residents build without approval and permits.
Earlier, in the interview, the General Manager, Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority, Remi Oni-Omisan lamented low level of compliance with building plans application in the state.
He added:”Making Lagos a more enviable city in Nigeria and of course globally is our collective responsibility. Population influx should not have a negative impact on the Development Plan and so there is a collective responsibility to strictly adhere to planning laws and regulations of the state.”
The General Manager tasked residents to urgently submit their planning permit for their existing buildings and those under construction, describing that as the only legacies they could leave for their children.
