HOW TO OWN A FREE HOME UNDER LAGOS HOUSING SCHEME

It feels good to force you here in order to get you informed. Free home indeed! Hehehe. By the heading, I meant you can buy into any of the schemes without having to pay fees to any intermediary or agent.

Lagos State Government has repeatedly emphasized its commitment to ensure residents of the state have shelter, particularly a place they can call their own. The government through the Ministry of Housing officially launched the Rent-To-Own and Rental Housing Policies on Thursday, December 8, 2016.

The development was officially announced by the State Commissioner for Housing, Hon. Gbolahan Lawal

SUPREME COURT OF NIGERIA GIVES REASONS FOR AFFIRMING MANDATORY USE OF NBA STAMP & SEAL ON LEGAL DOCUMENTS

On Friday November 14, 2015, the Supreme Court of Nigeria gave reasons for its decision made on October 27, 2015 to allow the cross-appeal in Appeal No. SC/722/15 All Progressives Congress (APC) V. General Bello Sarkin Yaki. The Court’s decision arose out of the 2nd Cross-Appellant’s Cross appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal, Sokoto Division which summarily dismissed the 2nd Cross-Appellant’s preliminary objection challenging the competence of the Appellants’ Notice of Appeal for failure to bear the stamp/seal of the legal practitioner who signed it as stipulated by Rule 10(1) of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2007.

Credit - abrahamthompsonsandco.com 

In the lead judgment of the Court delivered by Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta JSC, the court held that such a process even though signed and filed is not null and void or incompetent like the case of a court process so signed in the name of corporation or association (even of lawyers). The court held that such a document even though signed and filed is not proper in law for the reason that the condition precedent for its proper signing and filing has not been met. The court also held that such a document is ‘akin to a legal document or process filed at the expiration of the time allowed by the rules or extended by the court’.

Particularly the court per Ngwuta JSC, held that ‘in such cases the filing of the process can be regularised by extension

WORK ENVIRONMENT OF A REAL ESTATE BROKER OR SALES AGENT

Real estate brokers and sales agents are self-employed. Most of the rest worked in the real estate industry in brokerage offices, leasing offices, and other real estate establishments.

Workplace size can range from a one-person business to a large firm with numerous branch offices. Many brokers have franchise agreements with national or regional real estate companies. Under this arrangement, the broker pays a fee to be affiliated with a widely known real estate organization.

Credit - bls.gov 

REAL ESTATE BROKER versus SALES AGENT

Real estate brokers and sales agents help clients buy, sell, and rent properties. Although brokers and agents do similar work, brokers are licensed to manage their own real estate businesses. Sales agents must work with a real estate broker.

Duties

Real estate brokers and sales agents typically do the following:

• Solicit potential clients to buy, sell, and rent properties
• Advise clients on prices, mortgages, market conditions, and related information
• Compare properties to determine a competitive market price
• Generate lists of properties for sale, including details such as location and features
• Promote properties through advertisements, open houses, and listing services
• Take prospective buyers or renters to see properties
• Present purchase offers to sellers for consideration
• Mediate negotiations between buyer and seller
• Ensure that all terms of purchase contracts are met
• Prepare documents, such as loyalty contracts, purchase agreements, and deeds through their lawyers 

FIVE EASY WAYS TO HANDLE LAND USE CHARGE MATTERS IN LAGOS, NIGERIA

When it comes to Land Use Charge (LUC) matters in Lagos Nigeria, many people are not smiling. If you have ever had an enforcement team of the Lands Use Charge Company pay you a visit on non compliance with the land Use Charge Act before, then you probably know what I am talking about.

Every year, bills are generated by the Lands Records Company (LRC) of Lagos (the outsources agency of the Lagos State Government with the sole mandate to discharge and apply the 2001 Land Use charge law of Lagos) based on the assessments done for every property in Lagos Nigeria and circulated to all property owners in Lagos. This is usually done between January and February of every year.

Once you have your bill, your next course of action should include one or some of the following:

‎NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL LAND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY DECREE OF 1992

National Agricultural Land Development Authority Decree of 1992:

• - Established in the Presidency the National Agricultural Land Development Authority. The management of the Authority shall be vested in a Governing Board. The objectives of the Authority shall be to: provide strategic public support for land development; promote and support optimum utilization of the country’s rural land resources for accelerated production of food and fibre; encourage and support economic-size farm holdings and promote consolidation of scattered fragment holdings; encourage the evolution of economic-size rural settlements; provide gainful employment opportunities for rural people, raise rural incomes and improve on the general living standards in rural areas; expand productive capacity in agriculture and regain export capability in traditional and non-traditional crops.

For each Local Government Area of a state and the Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, a Local Government Project Implementation Advisory Panel is established under the control of the Authority

THE IMPACT OF A FLEXIBLE FOREX MARKET ON REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

‎ Housing has been considered as one of the most important basic needs of man. Hence, real estate development has overtime become a huge business globally. In Nigeria, the investment in real estate development has grown over the years, as Nigerians have conceived the importance and dignity of having a place to be called their 'homes'. According to a recent Report on real estates, high net worth individuals invest 25 per cent of their assets in real estates, compared to 18 per cent or less in equities and other instruments.

According to another report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the real estate sector grew by 5.9% and contributed 8.37% to the gross domestic products (GDP) in the 4th quarter of 2014 alone, and the whole sector was valued at USD$9.16billion in that same year. The sector experienced significant growth in 2015 having a sector value of USD$11.36billion, and is expected to grow further, with a projected value at USD$13.65billion in the year 2016.

WHY ANTI LAND GRABBING LAW WILL WORK IN LAGOS STATE

Deputy Majority Leader,Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr. Olumuyiwa Jimoh, who is representing Apapa II, speaks to Vanguard on the newly enacted law criminalising land grabbing in the state.

What is the significance of the land grabbing law?

The land grabbing law is important in so many ways. Hitherto, there was a law that addressed the issue of land grabbing but not directly the way this particular law has done. We had Lagos State Criminal Procedure Law, which is general but considering that Lagos is a megacity and the rate of demand for land and property, we needed to address the problem. We discovered that there is a cartel, which has become so sophisticated in grabbing other peoples’ lands. That is what prompted the House to pass the law addressing directly the issue of land grabbing in Lagos and the law was well accepted by the people because it addresses the fundamental issues. There have been series of controversies between land owners or buyers or people invading another person’s land and with this law, it means that if you get land adequately receipted and documented, it will be difficult for anybody to confiscate your land because the issue of land grabbing has always been there from creation. Though there was a law that addressed the issue, but that very law was too general because it addresses all other criminal matters in totality. But this very law was specific on land grabbing, that is why it is an offence to invade other peoples’ land in Lagos.

LAND USE ACT (DECREE) OF 1978

Land Use Act [Decree] of 1978, Chapter 202 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria:
- Addresses four important issues arising from the former land tenure systems in the country: the problem of lack of uniformity in the laws governing land use and ownership; the issue of uncontrolled speculation in urban land; the question of access to land rights by Nigerians on an equal legal basis; and the issue of fragmentation of rural lands arising from the application of traditional principles of inheritance and/or population growth and the consequent pressure on land.

- It approaches these issues via three related strategies: the vesting of proprietary rights in land in the State; the granting of usufructuary rights in land to individuals; and the use of an administrative system rather than market forces in the allocation of rights inland.

COMMON DISPUTES AND ESSENTIAL PROVISIONS IN A CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT IN NIGERIA

A Construction Contract ("the Contract") like every other contract spells out the terms upon which the parties bind themselves before, during and after a construction work ("the work"). For the work to meet the expectation of the Employer and for the Contractor to satisfactorily deliver the work, certain provisions must be included in the Contract to define the positions of the parties. This will not only enable the work to be completed within the stipulated period, it will also prevent unnecessary conflicts, waste of time and resources of the parties. Some of the provisions are discussed below.

LEGAL AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COMPULSORY ACQUISITION OF LAND IN NIGERIA

Every citizen of Nigeria is empowered to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in Nigeria.¹However, this right to own immovable property like every other right is not absolute but subject to certain qualifications. All land comprised in the territory of each state in Nigeria are 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.²The right of every Nigerian to own land in any part of the country is therefore subject to the interests of the Governor and it shall be unlawful for the holder of a statutory right of occupancy granted by the Governor to alienate his right of occupancy or any part thereof by assignment, mortgage, transfer of possession, sublease or otherwise without the consent of the Governor first had and obtained.³For every transaction creating an interest in land, the consent of the Governor must be first had and obtained.

The Governor may also revoke a right of occupancy for overriding public interest. What then can be classified as overriding public interest?The answer to this question can be viewed from two perspectives namely, in the case of astatutory right of occupancyor acustomary right of occupancy. Overriding public interest in the case of a statutory right of occupancy means the requirement of the land by the Government of the State or by a Local Government in the State. In either case, for public purposes within the State, or the requirement of the land by the Government of the Federation for public purposes of the Federation; the requirement of the land for farming purposes or for the laying of oil pipelines or for any purpose connected therewith.⁵On the other hand, overriding public interest in the case of a customary right of occupancy means the requirement of the land by the Government of the State or by a Local Government in the State, in either case for public purposes within the State, or the requirement of the land by the Government of the Federation for public purposes of the Federation; the requirement of the land for mining purposes or for the laying of oil pipelines or for any related purpose. The major difference between a statutory right of occupancy and a customary right of occupancy is that the former relates to lands in urban areas while the latter relates to lands in rural areas. Other grounds for compulsory acquisition include the requirement of the land for the extraction of building materials and the alienation by the occupier by sale, assignment, mortgage, transfer of possession, sub-lease, bequest or otherwise of the right of occupancy without the requisite consent or approval.⁶The acquiring authority is required to state one or a combination of the public purposes for which the Land was being acquired in his notice to the holder of a right of occupancy to enable the holder or occupier to challenge the acquisition. InOlatunji v. Military Governor of Oyo State⁷the Court of Appeal, per Salami JCA (as he then was) held as follows:

⁴

TRADITIONAL AUTHORITIES AND CUSTOMARY INSTITUTIONS

Chiefs, clan heads, lineage heads, family heads, indigenous communities and landowning families acting through their representatives govern land in customary areas. Through them, customary land is held in trust for future generations.

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ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY POST EXECUTION OF A WILL

Perchstone & Graeys states that one of the foremost desires of most property owners is to be able to decide the manner in which their real and personal property will be disposed upon their passing. To achieve this people are advised to prepare a Will as early as possible; while they are both physically and mentally able to. By so doing they are afforded the opportunity of achieving a positive demonstration of their succession wishes. Where the property owner has made a Will, his Executors need only obtain a grant ofprobate; legally authorizing them to distribute the testator's property and give effect to carry out his other wishes relevant to his estate.

Oftentimes after a testator has prepared his Will however, what he goes on to do, deliberately or otherwise, is to accumulate more wealth; properties and other items of value.

DISCREPANCIES / GAPS BETWEEN STATUTORY AND CUSTOMARY LAWS

Although the Married Women’s Property Act of 1882 gives women married under statutory law the right to acquire, hold or dispose of property and the Matrimonial Causes Act provides that they have a share of family property in the event of divorce on equity grounds, women are unable to enforce property rights in a court of law because of ignorance of such rights, lack of financial security and the fear of antagonizing their in-laws.

Women married under customary law do not have equal rights in matters of marriage, dissolution, inheritance and right of property.

Women can own land if they buy, inherit or are given it by their husbands; however, they lose the right to farm lands upon divorce.

Although statutory laws exist to outlaw some of the many discriminatory customary and religious practices, such as female genital mutilation or purdah, in practice, enforcement is negligible.

Although women might inherit property from their deceased husband through statutory law, in most cases, property is distributed among the husband’s dependants in accordance with the customary law applicable to him before he died.

FEDERAL MORTGAGE BANK OF NIGERIA (FMBN)

The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) was established in 1956, known then as the Nigerian Building Society (NBS), a joint venture of the Commonwealth Development Corporation and the Federal and Eastern Governments of Nigeria.

Following the introduction of the Indigenisation Policy, the Federal Government, by Indigenisation Act 1973, undertook 100 percent ownership acquisition of the NBS and consequently renamed it the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).

The Bank operates as an effective vehicle for increasing the mobilisation of long-term funds, lending volume and expansion of mortgage lending services to all segments of the Nigerian population.

JOINT OWNERSHIP IN CONTEXT OF MARRIAGE

In the course of marriage, it is common for couples to jointly acquire property as their matrimonial home. They may do so in their individual names or by using both of their names (for example, Mr. & Mrs X). However, in the unfortunate event that the marriage falls apart, some of the disputes that arise with regards to properties usually revolve around who is entitled to keep or dispose of the properties acquired during marriage. This month's edition of the Private Client Update (PCU) will consider some issues surrounding entitlement to landed property jointly acquired and owned in the course of marriage and what happens when the marriage falls apart.

In other to appreciate this piece, it is important to understand what Joint ownership entails. Joint ownership as the name implies is a form of ownership of the same property by two or more persons, in this case, a husband and wife. Under joint ownership, a husband and wife share equal ownership of the property and have the equal undivided right to keep or dispose of the property.

RIGHT TO INHERITANCE

In most parts of Nigeria, female children are still discriminated against on issues of inheritance. With the decision in Mojekwu v. Mojekwu, in which the Court of Appeal declared the ‘oli-ekpe’ custom of Nnewi which permits the son or the brother of a deceased person to inherit his property to the exclusion of his female children as discriminatory, it was expected that discrimination against women and the girl child on the issue of inheritance would end. This is definitely not the reality, probably because the decision has not gained nationwide popularity and poverty prevents women from going to court to assert their rights.

MARRIAGE, SEPARATION, DIVORCE AND WOMEN’S PROPERTY RIGHTS

Credit - natural-justice.blogspot.com 

Although Article 7 of the Protocol to the Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa provides for both parties of a marriage to enjoy equal rights within and after the marriage, in issues of custody and access to an equitable share of the joint property deriving from the marriage, this is not the case. Three forms of marriages are recognized in Nigeria – Customary, Islamic and Marriage under the Act. The reality of women married under Customary and Islamic law has not yet been affected by the protocol. A woman married under customary law is entitled to be provided with a home by her husband as long as the marriage subsists. She is also entitled to use her husband’s property but cannot dispose of it as her own. The right to be provided with a house by her husband terminates upon divorce. Upon divorce, a woman married under customary law has no claim over a house jointly owned by her husband. Her position is not helped by the

SUPREME COURT RULES IGBO GIRLS CAN INHERIT PROPERTY

The Supreme Court recently delivered a landmark judgment that will alter the domination, subjugation, discrimination and humiliation suffered by women in Igboland from time immemorial. In the judgment, the apex court voided the Igbo law and custom, which forbids daughters from inheriting their late fathers’ estate. The Court declared that the tradition is discriminatory and conflicts with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution.

The court held that the practice conflicted with Sections 42(1)(a) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the fundamental freedom from discrimination granted every Nigerian. The judgment was on appeal marked: SC.22/2014 filed by Mrs. Lois Chituru Ukeje (the wife of the late Lazarus Ogbonna Ukeji) and their son, Enyinnaya Lazarus Ukeje, against Mrs. Gladys Ada Ukeje, the deceased’s daughter.