Lagos govt extends amnesty for owners of buildings without approval

The Lagos State Government has extended by three months the provision of amnesty for owners and developers of existing buildings without planning approvals in the state.

The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Oluyinka Olumide, disclosed this. said that considering the high rate of applications since the beginning of the amnesty programme, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu had approved the extension of the programme by another three months, starting from August 1, to the end of October 2024, to allow more people to benefit from it.

The Lagos State Government had in April announced the provision of an amnesty period of 90 days, from May 2 to July 30, 2024 to allow owners and developers of existing developments to obtain planning permits without payment of statutory penal fees, which erecting buildings without approvals would have attracted.

In addition to the waiver of penal fees, the programme also comes with a discount for payments completed within 10 working days during the amnesty period.

In the same vein, the  Lagos State Government, through the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), has also granted a four-week extension for the collection and submission of an Expression of  Interest form for interested consultants in the Certified Accreditors Programme (CAP) by one month.

This was disclosed by the General Manager of LASBCA, Gbolahan Oki, an architect, while reviewing the responses from interested applicants in the new scheme.

Oki noted that the extension was aimed at giving more professionals in the built environment the opportunity to participate in the significant initiative.

He reiterated that the CAP programme, a public-private synergy, is aimed at leveraging the peculiar expertise and experience of private sector professionals to further accelerate LASBCA’s effectiveness towards optimum service delivery.

The certified accreditors, among other responsibilities, are expected to carry out screening of drawings and stage inspection services for all structures in various categories as well as monitoring activities for compliance with the Lagos State Building Control Regulation.

The general manager called on Interested professionals in the built industry registered with relevant professional bodies in Nigeria with the requisite qualifications/requirements to obtain the Expression of Interest form at LASBCA Headquarters in Ikeja.

The initial collection period, scheduled from the 3rd of June to the 12th of  July 2024 has now been extended to the 15th of August, 2024 on payment of a non-refundable sum of N250,000.00 payable to the Lagos State Government Revenue.

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