DIFFICULTIES IN GETTING TITLE DOCUMENTS IS THE BANE OF ILLEGAL STRUCTURES

ESV Friday Otuma

The recent shocking revelation by the Lagos State Government is that a whopping 80% of Lekki buildings have no government approval. According to the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Oluyinka Oluyide, most buildings within the Ibeju Lekki axis were not approved by the state government.

The disturbing statistics revealed by the Lagos State Government are shocking and a threat to urban, regional, and economic development within the state. Where you have up to 80% of erected buildings within an area without government approval, this is a clear indication that most of the buildings have been erected contrary to the building plans and standards.

This scenario is not only applicable to Lagos state or the Lekki axis of the Nigerian fastest growing state but also in most Nigerian developed and developing cities.  The growing population, urbanization, and massive real-estate developments across Nigerian cities have forced most real estate developers in Nigeria to embark on development without government approvals otherwise known as title documents.

From an insider’s point of view, I make bold to say that in Nigeria today, the pursuit of title documents at all levels of government is not only time-consuming but a set of herculean tasks that seems unending in some cases.  In many states in Nigeria, getting approved title documents from the government is quite difficult. The bureaucratic processes and the delays are quite unfriendly for all cadres of investors seeking to develop properties with the approved title document from the government.

To reduce the level of buildings without government titles that are on the increase across Nigeria, the government should unbundle the processes of giving land title documents that are domiciled in government houses. The waiting processes can be made seamless when the relevant government agencies that are saddled with the responsibilities of issuing title documents are made to operate in line with the best international standards as obtainable in most developed countries of the world today.

The need for a paradigm shift is urgent and necessary. As Nigeria keeps trying to bridge the growing housing deficits, building approvals across Nigeria should be easy to avoid stalling real estate developmental projects.

Of course, the dangers of building without the approved government titles have so many negative effects on stakeholders in the built environment, and the society as a whole.  Some building collapses in Nigeria today were occasioned by poorly delivered housing projects that were not approved by the government and supervised by professionals.
Over the years, accumulated capital has been lost to building destructions and collapses due to a lack of title documents.  The most worrisome is the fact that many lives are lost to building collapses.

Regional and urban planning processes have been distorted in many sub-urban cities in Nigeria. The challenges that come with the delays in getting title documents are just too much for the entire process not to be harmonized for the effectiveness and speedy delivery of projects across Nigeria. 

 ESV Friday Otuma, a Registered Estate Surveyor and Valuer, Writes from Warri, Delta State.