ACQUIRING CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY (C OF O) IN LAGOS - PROCEDURE

GETTING CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY IN LAGOS – THE PROCEDURE

WHAT IS C OF O?

This literally means Certificate of Occupancy. It is usually issued by the State Government since all lands in the State are now vested in the Governor of the State pursuant to Section 1 of the Land Use Act 1978. The Governor now assumes the position of a trustee and therefore administers all lands in the state for the benefit of the citizens.

WHAT IS RIGHT OF OCCUPANCY?

Under the Land Use Act, the interest that individual now enjoys on his or her land is known as RIGHT OF OCCUPANCY. The right of occupancy can be categorized into 4 divisions, which are:

1.    Statutory right of occupancy expressly granted by the Governor of the State

2.    Statutory right of occupancy deemed granted by the State

3.    Customary right of occupancy expressly granted by the Local Government Council

4.    Customary right of occupancy deemed granted by the State through the Local Government Council.

It should be noted that the document which evidences the right of occupancy an individual or occupier enjoys on his or her land is known as CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY usually granted for 99, 55 years as the case may be. The C of O once granted confers Exclusive Possession on the grantee while the grantee must ensure compliance with the Terms and Conditions for such grant as explicitly stated in the Certificate. Again, by virtue of Sections 21 and 22 of the Land Use Act 1978, the grantee cannot ALIENATE his or her right of occupancy, whether statutory or customary, without the Consent of the Governor first had and obtain. Failure to secure the necessary consent of the Governor is itself punishable with imprisonment for 1 year or the payment of fine of N5,000.00.

HOW TO GET C OF O IN LAGOS STATE

The procedures for getting C of O in Lagos State under its Laws are as follows:

1. Formal Letter addressed to the Executive Secretary – Land Use and Allocation Committee, Block 13, Room 4, Lands Bureau, The Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja.
2. Completed Certificate of Occupancy Form with receipt i.e. Form LRF 1.
3. Land Information Certificate with receipt.
4. Four original Survey Plan (2 cloth and 2 paper).
5. Four Passport Photograph with white background.
6. Sketch Map of the Site Location
7. Purchase Receipt Duly Stamped.
8. Evidence of payment of Income Tax
9. Current Development Levy. (In case of Company, Two Directors Tax Clearance and Development Levy).
10. Publication Fee – N10,000.00
11. Capital Contribution Fee subject to a minimum of N30,000.00
12. Building Plan Approval if developed.
13. Copy of Tenement Rate Receipt (if occupied).

WORK FLOW FOR NON-STATE LAND CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY

• Submission of Application and Vital Information Form for Certificate of Occupancy (by Applicant).
• Compilation of applicants names for publication, Title Search for previous Registration and Site Inspection. This may take 21 days in all.
• Certificate of Occupancy Engrossment (by LUAC).
• Recommendation for execution of C of O (by E.S. LUAC, SSA LANDS & P.S. Lands)
• Execution of C of O (by His Excellency)
• Stamp Duty (by Commissioner for Stamp Duties)
• Registration of C of O (by Land Registry)
• Collection of executed and registered C of O (by Applicant or his agent). It should be noted that there are rules governing collection of C of O which are expected to be followed.

IMPORT & PURPORT OF C OF O

It is important for every property owner to have Certificate of Occupancy as evidence of right of occupancy. Some of the reasons are:

1.    It confers exclusive possession on person named therein

2.    It constitute a sound root of title during alienation

3.    It sometimes prevent property acquisition by the State Government, subject however to the overriding power of acquisition by the State Government.

4.    It is useful as collateral or security for loan

5.    It is useful for mortgage transactions

6.    It serves as a root of title

7.    It prevents multiple parties from claiming ownership on the same property

8.    It is used in resolving land disputes/ownership tussle

9.    It may be required for other official and legal purpose

For more information, contact:

Samuel Adegbola CFIP Legal Officer/Realtor, Aman Royal Partners 07032511885 | 08025350003 | adeolalaw@ymail.com | www.lawjurists.blogspot.com | www.amanroyal.com | Skype: samuel.adegbola3 | Lagos Nigeria | Solicitor

 

HOW TO OBTAIN GOVERNOR’S CONSENT (IN A NUTSHELL)

HOW TO OBTAIN GOVERNOR’S CONSENT (IN A NUTSHELL)

STATUTORY PROVISIONS ON CONSENT

The Land Use Act of 1978 puts all land in a State; town and rural area under the control of the Governor and Local Government Chairman, respectively, in trust for the people of the state.

Consequent upon this, section 22 of the Act then states that, “it shall not be lawful 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, sublease etc without the prior consent of the Governor”.

Simply put, even though a property has Certificate of Occupancy which makes the beneficiary the legal interest holder on the land for 99 years or the residue, if he decides to resell, mortgage or do anything with the property, since the land is held in trust by the state government, the Governor needs to approve the transaction.

In other words, the first person on a land is the only person or group of persons entitled to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy. Every subsequent buyer of that land must get a Governor’s consent.  There can only be one Owner of the Certificate of Occupancy on that land and it will not be replicated for another person once the land has been sold or transferred to another person.

PROCESS/WORKFLOW AT THE LANDS BUREAU, LAGOS

The process that accompanies the issuance of Governor’s consent in Lagos State is usually carried out at the Lands Bureau. The following documents are required for the purpose of obtaining Governor’s consent: Dated letter of application with addresses and phone numbers; duly completed form 1c.

The form must be dated and signed by the parties to the transaction and sworn to before a Magistrate or Notary Public; Certified true copy of grantors title document; Grantors’ tax clearance certificate /developmental levy receipt and; Grantees’ tax clearance certificate/developmental levy receipt.

Others are: Four copies of duly executed sublease, deed of assignment (with survey plans attached in each copy), mortgages or power of attorney; Chartable survey plans; Evidence of payment of charting, endorsement, and form 1c; Evidence of payment of ground rent/land use charge; Letter of confirmation of payment of capital contribution from NTDA in respect of Lekki peninsula schemes 1 and 2, Abijo GRA, Isheri North and other affected government schemes and; Building plan or photograph of the property.

ASSESSMENT, TAX AND OTHERS

After submitting the first set of deed of assignment and survey plan, internal scrutiny of the documents submitted is carried out. Thereafter, the documents are sent to the Surveyor General’s office for charting. If there are no defects in the survey plan, a clean report is sent to the Lands Bureau and a demand notice is issued to the applicant for the following fees: Consent fee – 8 percent of assessed value of the property;

Capital gains tax – 2 percent of assessed value of the property; Stamp Duty fee – 2 percent of assessed value of the property; Registration fee – 3 percent of assessed value of the property and; Current tax clearance certificates of the parties to the property transaction. If you have none, an assessment is raised immediately for you.

Finally, your application (document) is sent to any of the designated commissioners that are specifically designated for that purpose to append their signature. When this has been done, it is sent back to the applicant to do stamp duty and final registration. Your deed of assignment then becomes Governor’s Consent; it is now a registered title. It’s the registered title that is called deed.

For further advise/brief up:

07032511885

080235350003

adeolalaw@ymail.com

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