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Real Estate & Environment
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Ogun govt plans Abeokuta City Centre DAYO AYEYEMI
I
f plans by the Ogun State Government see the light of the day, Abeokuta will be the delight of everybody including foreigners. The state government is already collaborating with a Malaysian consulting firm Urbanisma, to come up with a world class master plan for Abeokuta City Centre which would be first of its kind in Nigeria and in Africa. Disclosing this to jour nalists, the state Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Daniel Adejobi, said the city centre would be a source of affection that would attract local and foreign investors. Adejobi further pointed out that different business units such as shopping mall, hotels and relaxation centre would be situated under separated buildings. He said, “The plan would be of 60-storey building and the project CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26 In a recent interview, the Managing Director, UPDC Plc, Mr. Hakeem Ogunniran, said land titling has remained the greatest problem faced by the players in the real estate sector, lamenting that the current legal framework did not guarantee title to land at any time in the transaction chain. He explained further that in the absence of an indefeasible title to land, developers, financiers, buyers and investors are exposed to high risks. The situation, he said was worsen by the provisions of the Land Use Act relating to the Certificate of Occupancy. He also decried the consent provision of the Land Use Act, saying, “Laudable as the provision may be for town planning purposes, various state governments, in the unmitigated drive for revenue, lay ambush for applicants for consent to collect numerous fees ranging from consent to stamping, registration, taxes and levies. “In some cases, the consolidated perfection cost may be as high as over 20 per cent of the capital value of the property.” He said the permitting and approval processes were largely ambiguous and the rules were ever changing, pointing out that with multiple regulatory bodies involved in the processes, they became complex. Recently, in demonstration of its resolve to fast-track the processing of building plan applications, the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority cleared a backlog of 581 building plan applications within five days. The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Toyin Ayinde, who made the disclosure, said this had shown that it is possible to process building plan approvals within a short time. Ayinde enjoined members of the public to submit their plans for approval through the appropriate channels and refrain from seeking short cuts, as the
First overhead bridge in Abeokuta. Inset: Amosun
would be handled by professionals in such a way that the outcome would attract indigenes abroad to come home, as this would increase
the standard of living of the people.” He further disclosed that the centre would be described as a modern
city centre inside an ancient city which would be situated along Prison Way, Ibara, Abeokuta, down to the old government secretariat.
Cumbersome approval, titling processes stunt real estate growth
Ayinde
Afolayan, Redan President
GOVERNMENT SHOULD MAKE ACCESS TO HOUSING EASY BY ENSURING THAT THE MORTGAGE SYSTEM IS REVITALISED. IT
SHOULD ALSO INVEST IN INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT TO REVAMP REAL ESTATE SECTOR ministry was now better positioned to speedily process building plan applications. He said obtaining planning approval before the commencement of construction was critical to quality of life in terms of urban planning and development, and the ability of the government to easily provide services in wellplanned areas with approved buildings. Also recently, built environment professionals decried the delay in processing building plans approval by the La-
gos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development. They described the delay as the greatest obstacle to urban development in the state. The professionals, who brainstormed at the 2013 edition of Lagos Architects’ Forum maintained that delays in approving building plans had adversely affected the delivery of projects to clients. The Chairman, Practice Committee of the Nigerian Institute of Architects,
Mr. David Majekodunmi, who moderated the “Roundtable on Global Best Practices in Planning and Building Approval Processes,’’ session posited that the delay in processing building plans and charges demanded by the state government have slowed down development of built environment in the state. Narrating a personal sordid experience with the approving ministry, Majekodunmi said it took him about two years to process a building plan. He further alleged that the charges demanded by the ministry are usually higher than the cost of a plot of land in some cases. Buttressing this allegation, Majekodunmi said one of his clients who owns a property on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, was charged N2 million for processing his building plan. According to him, in some cases, the property in question could be an inheritance from the family which cost might not be up to the charges being demanded by the planning authorities in the state. He therefore called on the state government to put in place a process whereby approval of building plans is fast tracked for timely delivery of building projects. “The certificate of occupancy (C of O) is a document usually issued by state governments in Nigeria to individuals and organisations confirming that they have right to a particular piece of land. “A Certificate of Occupancy is an important document you must have at hand to be able to claim compensation whenever government wants to claim an area for development purpose. The C of O can also used as collateral for obtaining bank loan. When it comes to land and property transactions, most property buyers will normally ask for the C of O document to determine if the land or property is genuine or not. As important as the Certificate of Occupancy document is, you will be surprise that most property and land owners in Nigeria don’t have it”, he said.