Housing expert: How delays in land title processing hamper Nigeria’s real estate market

Lai Omotola, group managing director of CFL Group, has proffered solutions to challenges affecting the real estate sector in Nigeria.

Omotola spoke during a recent media parley on the state of the nation’s economy, in Lagos.

He highlighted the challenges in the country’s real estate market to include lack of funding, logistics problems, undue interference of police in land ownership tussles and delays in land title processing.

He said processing of land titles in Lagos takes about six months to two years which, according to him, hinders development.

Omotola urged the government to automate the registration process and update information in the land register.

“Real estate in Lagos has been on the increase despite setbacks. As you all know construction remains the fastest way of getting out of recession because of the large value chain to the economy towards creating jobs,” he said.

“The business also has its challenges, and one of them comes with the continuous delay in the registration of title and ownership of title such that you can never say when you will have a clear title.

“The issue of ownership and disputes in ownership of land is on the increase in Lagos and also spread to other states.

“Our view is this problem can be solved through the use of land information in the office of the surveyor-general, but again the land information is inadequate because it only tells you whether the government has an interest in the land or not.

“Our view is that it is best to expand the information to include the actual owner or the family that owns the area. This will go a long way in curbing unhealthy practices.”

Speaking on sources of project finance, Omotola said banks and other financial institutions shy away from funding the real estate sector due to the uncertainty in the business environment.

“You secure funding from the bank, and you are unable to move to the site for month, or during construction, you encounter land disputes. These are the factors affecting bank funding,” he said.

The infrastructure company boss lamented that most police stations are inundated with land ownership disputes despite the directive of the inspector-general that police cannot determine land ownership matters.

“The judiciary is the final arbiter in a land dispute and sometimes may take a long time. In recent times, however, we have seen the judiciary dispense land matters with speed, and this should be encouraged,” he added.

“Meanwhile, it is noteworthy that despite all challenges in the year 2021, we completed our prime Triangle Business Place at Lekki and have also commenced construction of the Alade market after 11 years.”