The Lagos State governor Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has assured operators in the real estate sector of the state that he was ready to work with them to address issues of housing deficit in the state, with a view to creating an environment where housing will be easily accessed by residents of the state at affordable rate.
The governor said his target is to get to a situation where residents of the state would not have to pay their rents on annual basis, were when the rent is due their blood pressure increases because they have no hope of raising the money.
Sanwo-Olu who spoke at the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA), Policy Roundtable Dialogue with the theme: ‘International Best Practice on Real Estate Regulations,’ in Victoria Island, Lagos, said that partnership and good relationship between the state government and stakeholders in the real estate sector will help the people to live in a more conducive environment.
While charging real estate practitioners and investors to work with the Government to create a home ownership model that will help her address the deficits observed in housing market in the state, the governor raised concerns over the huge gap observed in the provision of mass housing to large number of residents, describing the situation as unacceptable.
He said the state government was ready to bridge the gap by partnering the private sector and working with stakeholders to ensure people have access to viable home services.
While also challenging operators in the sector to work out modalities on how to migrate from annual rent payments by residents to monthly, Sanwo-Olu said his administration had started to identify big players in the real estate sector that can partner with the government to raise housing stock in the State, assuring that the state government was ready to provide enabling environment for the investors to put their finances in creation of viable housing market for residents.
He said: “Public Private Partnership is one of the options we are exploring to realise our objectives of providing viable housing scheme for our citizens. We are at the edge of identifying real big players in the real estate sector to see how well we can leapfrog housing stock in our state.
“The government is ready to provide enabling environment and remove the bottlenecks that may impede this opportunity.
“The housing stock deficit that we have in Lagos is not acceptable, but we all know the government cannot provide everything. We certainly need to explore opportunities in private investment to ensure we realise our objective. Real estate business has the potential of contributing 25 per cent growth to the state’s economy and we cannot let this opportunity pass by.”
The governor said that because it was clear that there was no proper data concerning the real estate operators in the state, the LASRERA Registration Portal was set up to address the challenge.
“This platform will also ensure that we curb bad behaviours either on the landlord side or the tenant side.
“We have deficit, and even the small one we have are not properly done. People are losing money, people are not being sincere,” he said.
In her welcome address, the Special Adviser to the State Governor on Housing, Mrs Toke Benson–Awoyinka said at the event which brought top industry players in the real estate sector in the state and the full complement of the state executive council, the state Assembly and judiciary, represented by the state Chief Judge, Hon Justice Kazeem Alogba, was aims to help in sanitizing the industry and creating transparency around the financial dealings in the sector.
Adding that the LASRERA Registration Portal contains the databank of registered practitioners in the real estate sector and that the agency’s regulatory role was to make it easy for potential customers wanting to either buy or sell property to do so from Licensed Real Estate Practitioners/ Property Developers without any fear.
The Special Adviser called on stakeholders to make the portal more robust, such that it would serve as a platform that would facilitate foreign investment to the state.
She said that according to statistics, there were over 15 million Nigerians living in the diaspora and who would want to invest in Nigeria Real Estate market.
“This huge number portends great prospect for the real estate sector, and as such, no efforts should be spared in making the industry attractive and of international standard to these prospective clients.
“Apart from this, we need to allay the fears of international investors who are interested in purchasing properties in Nigeria, especially in Lagos State, but have not been forthcoming due to perceived fraudulent practices in the sector.
“It is our belief that with the level of commitment that has been displayed by the present administration in the state in the Real Estate Sector, more investors would be attracted and the Property Market strengthened to improve best practices in terms of services rendered by the practitioners.
“The reason for always emphasising registration with the Real Estate Practitioners/Property Developers is to provide protection for citizens from imposters, fraudsters.
“It is also to reduce sharp practices associated with some unauthorised individuals, who are not registered members of any association in Lagos State or Nigeria,” she said.u
