Ogun out to rebuild, protect investors through homeowners’ charter

Ogun State government is currently on a mission to rebuild its economy and also protect those who have invested in property in the state by helping them regularize their title documents through a strategic initiative called homeowners’ charter programme.

Ogun is one of the South West states that enjoys proximity advantage more than anyone else because of its closeness to Lagos—Nigeria’s economic capital and commercial nerve centre.

By its sheer size, Lagos has been adjudged a mega-city whose large population and bustling industrial and commercial activities are hardly contained within its small land mass hence the spill over to Ogun which, to some residents of Lagos, is just a walking distance.

Many industries that had been producing in Lagos have relocated their factories to Ogun, leaving only their administrative department behind, while many erstwhile residents of Lagos have bought or built their homes in Ogun and commute to their offices and businesses in Lagos from there.

To say therefore, that Ogun, like Lagos, is today a land of opportunities, by virtue of its location, is to emphasise the obvious which explains analysts’ view that the state’s economy is growing even as its internally generate revenue (IGR) has improved considerably in the past couple of years.

However, beneath this good news are some challenges and drawbacks notably in the area of property acquisition and development in the state much of which do not follow any known order or regulation.

In its determination to build a state of the future with some level of economic independence leveraging its natural resources and endowments, the Ibikunle Amosu-led administration in the state has set out on a mission to rebuild the state, beginning with the harnessing of its land resources.

This ‘Mission to Rebuild’ has given birth to what the state government calls ‘Homeowners Charter Programme’—an initiative that aims to allow homeowners to regularise the legal status and documentation of their properties, at the same time providing government with enumeration data for medium term planning for critical infrastructure such as roads, schools, hospitals and other facilities.

Under the programme, owners of properties built without the required approvals or illegally built on state government land will be given opportunity to obtain building plan approval, Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O) or other title documents and, to facilitate the process and enable as many residents as possible to benefitfrom it , all penalties and fines that would have been meted out to defaulters have been waived, documentation requirements relaxed, and fees discounted.

Officials of the state Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development explain that this initiative became necessary following a Geographic Information System ( GIS) Satellite mapping of the state showing a significant number of unrecorded properties such that thousands of houses in the state have no building plan approval, C-of-O or other recognized title documents.

Many properties were illegally built on government acquired lands and the result of all this is that homeowners have difficulties using their properties as collateral; they cannot sell the properties due to lack of documentation, and even where they find buyers, most of the properties are undervalued because of lack of C-of-O.

Apart from this resolve to help property owners, the state is also on the mission to attract investors, lamenting however, that lack of documentation is preventing its property market from developing as expected and there is no accurate data on the actual number of residents in most areas for proper planning.

Government encourages every property owner in the state to key into this programme, explaining that documentation confirms their true status as home owners; enables them to enjoy significant discount and, in the process, obtain proper legal titles—C of-O, Deed of Sublease—and building plan approval.

“The value of the property will be enhanced and become more marketable as buyers can confidently buy when they know that title documentation is available; property with correct legal status and documents can be used as collateral for bank loans and other business transactions; disputes over ownership will be minimized in the event of death as heirs are sure of a valid inheritance; property related fraud and problems would be reduced, and residential areas will benefit from the state government’s urban renewal policy through effective planning for facilities”, the state assured.

The statement however, warned that properties built under PHCN high tension cable, within the right of way of NNPC pipeline, built on flood plains, substandard or defective properties, property subject to legal dispute etc are not eligible for participation in the programme.

For those that would be regularizing their titles, government requires them to present all documents relevant to the ownership of the property including purchase agreements, deed of gift or sublease, receipts, survey etc, adding that they should make initial deposit of N5,000 only, payable with the submission of the completed application form.

The final bill, they say, will depend on property size and the area in which it is located, pointing out that the typical family bungalow ( four-bedroom bungalowon a single plot of land) will pay just N95,000 instead of the normal price of N430,000, representing 78 percent discount.

On a special consideration, those who have built on government acquired lands are being offered an opportunity to formally purchase the land at a discounted rate and, depending on where the property is located, the price of the land will be computed by either Ogun State Property and Investment Corporation (OPIC), Ogun State Housing Corporation or Ogun State Bureau of Lands Survey.

The state government notes that this charter is an extremely generous offer to enable homeowners to regularise their status, adding that it is a once-in-a-lifetime offer, hence it strongly advises homeowners take full advantage of it.

“Using our GIS satellite image system, we will track those properties that have not been regularized. Such properties will be liable to appropriate sanctions which are not limited to fines and Legal actions, but also, in extreme cases, demolition”, the government stressed.