Buying or Leasing Property in Lagos and the Real Estate Law generally in Nigeria play a vital role on rules regulating human habitation, commercial, residential leases & development and business since land or property is one of the most important factors of production and the effects on people and businesses are enormous in real estate and property sector of Nigeria economy.
The law that primarily govern Land purchase in Nigeria are Statutes, Common Law, Case Law, Customary Law and Land use Act of 1978, with other amended laws in each State of Nigeria.
IMPORTANT LEGAL QUESTIONS A LAND BUYER MUST ASK
Lagos Property
After being satisfied with all the questions and demands above, the Attorney can go ahead to conduct a legal search on the property.
If the Attorney is satisfied with the result of the land title investigation, he will accordingly give a legal advice to the buyer to purchase the land or property or not.
The next step will be for the buyer to instruct a Licensed Land Surveyor to prepare a Survey Plan for the property in the name of the new buyer.
Note, the registered Survey Plan must show (a) Location and address (b) Size of the land in Square Meters, (c) Shape of the land and all the registered Beacons numbers on the Survey with Surveyor’s General Signature and Record copy duly lodged at Surveyor’s General office either in State or Federal Level.
EXECUTION OF AGREEMENT (signing of agreement)
All Parties and Witnesses named in the Agreement must sign. Note, the Assignee (buyer) will hand over the purchase price either in exchange of bank draft or transfer which must be done simultaneously on the same day of signing of the documents
The Assignor will hand-over all the original documents to the Assignee upon confirmation of payment.
IKEJA Property & other areas of Lagos state
All of the above are applicable for Ikeja as well. There is no Gazetted and Excision Land in Ikeja; it must be a Registered Conveyance, Certificate of Occupancy, Deed of Agreement and Purchase Receipt with other relevant documents.
LEKKI LAND or PROPERTY
The same requirements for Ikeja & other areas of Lagos also applicable. The only difference is that Lekki is the only place where you have Gazetted and Excision Lands.
Gazette: Meaning publication of land released to Customary Family Land Owners.
Excision: The titled document given to Customary land owners after released of their formerly acquired land by the Government.
Power of attorney: Is the legal power you give to somebody to act on your behalf in official capacity.
NOTE: A lawyer must be involved in all the transaction on the property to guide and protect you.
HOW TO LAWFULLY REGISTER YOUR LAND OR PROPERTY DOCUMENT
For Real estate law in Nigeria and Lagos in particular, in order to legally register your land or property as prescribed by law, the following processes and document are required to have a lawful land title in respect for the following documents:
Required Documents to Process all the Above
If there is an existing Certificate of Occupancy, the document to be given to you after registration is called (Governor’s Consent). However, if there was no existing Certificate of Occupancy, you can apply for one.
The Following Documents Will Be Required to Register a New Purchased Land from Federal or State Governments
In conclusion, since there is no area of law practice in Nigeria that is frequently more litigated or involved disputes, and going by the recent research of cases in Courts relating to land or property around the country, and particularly in a place like commercial city of Lagos with 22 million population, therefore, it is legally advisable for clients to consult the best lawyers & leading law firms located in Lagos State, Nigeria for proper legal guidance in order to avoid disputes in respect of purchase of land and Property in Nigeria.
In other words, it is pertinent that the client must have a perfect & lawful title to guarantee one’s peace of mind, good tenancy and secured real Estate Asset to raise loan for business or other clients best interest relating to real estate & properties in Nigeria.
For further information on the best and choicest property, land, real estate law advice in Lagos, Nigeria generally on all aspects of land, real estate and property matters in Lagos state, including professional help of very good & top best property, Real estate attorney, Land lawyers & Solicitors in Lekki properties, Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lagos and Nigeria generally for major assistance on top & best real estate law services in Lagos, Nigeria. You can contact our law firm for more education on the issue and topic above.