Efforts to promote transparency and boost investors’ confidence in real estate are on top agenda as industry’s stakeholders are throwing their weight behind the newly passed Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA) Bill. DAYO AYEYEMI reports.
Efforts to deepen investment opportunities in the Lagos’ real estate sector received further boost at the weekend as stakeholders, including developers, estate agents and policy makers agreed to support the state government in its bid to regulate the industry for optimum performance.
The stakeholders said they were ready to support and collaborate with the government to promote transparency and secure investors’ confidence in the sector as enshrined in the newly passed Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory (LASRERA) Bill.
The practitioners, who converged on Victoria Island, Lagos, during the Stakeholders’ Engagement on LASRERA Law, last week, with the theme: “Redefining Opportunities in Real Estate –Regulations and Expectations,’’ were resolute in their decisions to join the government in ridding the industry of unprofessional practices/nefarious activities of fraudsters capable of inhibiting the sector’s growth.
Shedding light on the introduction of LASRERA Bill (The Benefits & Impact), the Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Moyo Onigbanjo, clarified that the intention of the law was not to regulate the practitioners as they already had a body in charge of regulating their activities.
The attorney general said the law has become expedient in order to curb fraudulent practices in the real estate sector and to assure investors in the sector of a fair deal as a way of promoting ease of doing business in Lagos State.
“We’re interested in securing the transactions of investors and providing necessary support for all relevant stakeholders in the real estate industry, hence the passage of the new LASRERA law by the legislative arm of the state government,” he said.
Crisis in the sector
Principal Partner Diya, Fatimilehin and Co, Mr Gboyega Fatimilehin, who doubles as Keynote Speaker, listed image problems, lack of transparency, loss of business and low investment’s potential as some of the crises in the estate agency’s business.
These, he said, in his presentation on, “Real Estate Regulation as it affects Estate Agency,” remained a source of hindrance to investment in the secto, both in terms of the local capital and foreign direct investment that are required to address the shortage of adequate’s real estate products in the market.
He pointed out that countries with existing regulatory frameworks for the real estate sector/services were better in attracting investors.
Fatimilehin stated that the framework’s regulation for the real estate industry would give room for transparent and effective functioning of the sector, while allowing regulators the financial and administrative independence to support the regulations in order to reassure investors.
“A well-regulated, fully-functioning, and transparent real estate market can be a very important factor in the growth of a nation’s economy. A market that is settled, predictable and trusted can experience high levels of growth and investment.”
Foreclosure issues
Speaking on issues surrounding foreclosure and its effect on real estate, the Guest Speaker, Mr Afolabi Balogun, who is also the Managing Partner, Libra Law, stated that most times banks were the major challenge with the foreclosure of mortgaged property due to improper documentation by the bank.
He explained that foreclosure clause and redemption of mortgage is governed by Provision of Order 55 Rule of the High Court of Lagos State Civil (Procedure) Rules 2019.
This, he said, required banks to only file originating summons and furnish the Court with substantial particulars of the debt. However, he said that most times banks were unable to do that, appealing to banks to be more diligent with this approach in order for courts to speed the process of the foreclosure in their favour.
Experts’ views
Lending their voices to the discussions during the panel session moderated by Mr Gbenga Ismail, an estate surveyor and valuer, Chairman, Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Lagos Branch, Mr Bamidele Onalaja, said the LASRERA Law was enacted to the advantage of all practitioners, assuring that more investors would have confidence in the sector.
Besides, he said that the law would lead to reduction in the nation’s housing deficit and that everybody would be happy.
Managing Director, Knight Frank & Rutley, Mr Frank Okosun, said the law, apart from regulating the sector, would help business in a very big way.
Before now, he noted that the industry was fraught with fraudulent practices, assuring that with the coming of the law, practitioners would be protected.
He advised that operators in both formal and informal segments of the sector must be captured in the law.
House prices and data
On whether valuers should be allowed to fix house prices in the market, Onalaja said that fixing of prices is good but not realistic.
“We are in a capitalist environment. Forces of demand and supply are the best, or there must be a range,” he said, urging LASRERA to create data for developers and buyers alike.
Managing Director, Landwey Investment Group, Mr Wale Ayinla, expressed mixed feelings about allowing valuers to fix house prices for developers or home builders, saying that could only be possible if data are made available.
“I am partially in agreement and not, that when you are doing your development, you need to sell in regards to valuers’ estimates. I agree that what the valuers are doing is relevant. There is need for data and must be available for record purposes,” Ayinla said.
Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Lagos Branch, Mr Ikechukwu Uwanna, said that the industry should rely on forces of demand and supply to regulate house prices rather than regulating the price.
He added that there was a need to fast-track courts to resolve issues between investors and offtakers.
Director, Lagos State Valuation Office, Mr Kunle Awolaja, said that data were essential to valuation, adding that there were other factors needed in the processes of carrying out valuation of property’s exercise.
Earlier, Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Housing, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka, said that investors and other relevant stakeholders in the built sector can now heave a sigh of relief from all forms of fraudulent practices following the recent passage of a law for real estate practitioners by the State House of Assembly.
According to her, the state government is ready to curb fraudulent activities in the real estate industry with the right laws and regulations in line with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda of making Lagos State a 21st Century Economy.
The special adviser said that while LASRERA and its stakeholders are eagerly awaiting the governor’s assent to the new law, it was necessary to further engage relevant practitioners in the industry about the content of the law and also encourage them to take ownership of it.
Besides, she said the forum also seeks ways of exploring the diverse opportunities inherent in the real estate industry, while exposing participants to the industry regulations and expectations.
“The overall intention for this stakeholders’ forum is for all participants to learn new and relevant skills that would be useful in up-scaling your businesses and developing the industry as a whole.”
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…
Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train
The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…
[ICYMI] Lekki Shootings: Why We Lied About Our Presence — General Taiwo
The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry probing the killings at Lekki Toll Gate, on Saturday resumed viewing of the 24hrs footage of the October 20, 2020 shooting of #EndSARS protesters by personnel of the Nigerian Army…
ICYMI: How We Carried Out The 1993 Nigerian Airways Hijack —Ogunderu
On Monday, October 25, 1993, in the heat of June 12 annulment agitations, four Nigerian youngsters, Richard Ajibola Ogunderu, Kabir Adenuga, Benneth Oluwadaisi and Kenny Razak-Lawal, did the unthinkable! They hijacked an Abuja-bound aircraft, the Nigerian Airways airbus A310, and diverted it to Niger Republic. How did they so it? Excerpts…
Sahabi Danladi Mahuta, a community mobiliser and APC chieftain. Mahuta spoke to select journalists at the sidelines of an Islamic conference in Abuja recently. Excerpts…
and then