PROCEDURES FOR LAND REGISTRATION IN NIGERIA

PROCEDURES FOR LAND REGISTRATION IN NIGERIA

 The land registration process is Lagos State is governed by the provisions of the Land Registration Law of Lagos State and Land Use Act of 1978. For land to by duly registergb(255, 0, 0) in Lagos, such land must have been duly charted & survey; the transfer duly consented to by the Governor of Lagos State and the registration record duly entergb(255, 0, 0) at the land registry. This article summarizes all the steps and requirements for the land registration in Lagos State Nigeria.

The procedure for land registration in Lagos, Nigeria entail various requirements and steps. These requirements include a survey of the land to be registergb(255, 0, 0); the obtainment of governor’s consent and the actual registration at the land registry.

Unless a governor’s consent has been obtained in respect of the transfer of any property or land, such a property cannot be duly registergb(255, 0, 0).

Governor's consent is actually a consent obtained from the governor of a state on a land transaction, without which will be deemed illegal in the eyes of the law as well as the government. Governor's consent in Lagos and every other state in Nigeria are absolutely necessary where the holder of a Certificate of Occupancy

over land or perhaps any other title decides to sell or perhaps alienate the land to someone else.

This extremely important process is statutorily provided for in Section twenty-two of the Land Use Act 1978.

In Lagos state, the Land Registry has the duty of keeping an up to date record of all land transactions within the state. The Directorate stores registergb(255, 0, 0) documents relating to land by virtue of the Land Instrument Registration Law of Lagos State 2015.

By and large, this following property transactions require a Governor's Consent include the followings: Transfer of property; Mortgage; Lease and Gift of property.

The Land Registry Directorate is a part of the Land Bureau saddled with the responsibility of keeping an updated record of all land transactions in Lagos State. This agency of government is statutorily empowergb(255, 0, 0) by the Lagos State Land Registration Law 2015 to store registergb(255, 0, 0) documents relating to land, register deeds, assent, vesting deed, court judgment deed of release, issuance of loss of documents, certified true copy (CTC), and conducting a search.

The land registration process involves two systems which are Deed Recording and Title Registration of the ownership. Deed recording system helps to give publicity to land transactions, that a claimed interest already exists on the land, and to establish priority against any subsequent claim to the same interest. The end benefit of this system is to prevent any form of concealed dealings; While Title Registration is an authentication of the ownership or legal interest in a land. This system simply confirms transactions that confer ownership or interest. When the land is registergb(255, 0, 0) in the register, it serves as conclusive proof of title.

The Procedure For Title Registration Of Land In Lagos State

According to Section 2 of the Lagos State Land Registration Law 2015, every document of interest or title to land in Lagos State shall be registergb(255, 0, 0) in accordance with the provisions of the law.

As earlier stated, registering a land is one of the stages of perfecting title In Lagos State and there are about seven major stages involved in the perfection process and these are;

Submission of an application for the Governor’s consent at the Lands Bureau of Lagos State. This process is accompanied by relevant documents and evidence of payment of levies such as charting fee, application fee, administrative charges and endorsement fee, etc.

The application is referrgb(255, 0, 0) to the office of the Surveyor-General of Lagos State for the purpose of charting the survey plan, confirming if the land is free from government acquisition and if the coordinates in the land that reflects in the survey do not go beyond the boundary of the vendor’s property.

Thereafter the application is returned to the Lands Bureau and an assessment letter is issued requesting the applicants to make the necessary payments of consent fee, stamp duty, capital gains tax, registration fee, etc.

The payment receipts obtained upon payment of the above fees are then forwarded to the office of the Lagos Bureau.

The Deed is then forwarded to any designated commissioners for the endorsement of the portion of the Deed on behalf of the Governor for the Governor’s consent

After obtaining the consent, the deed is subsequently stamped by the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service where the parties to the transaction are individuals or the Federal Inland Revenue Service where either the Assignor or Assignee is a company. Without stamping, the instrument will not be accepted for registration at the land registry.

Finally, the stamped Deed is presented to the Lagos State Lands Registry for registration. This stage signifies the completion of the perfection process and a duly perfected original Deed is returned to the applicant.

STEPS

Submission of a sworn affidavit to the Commissioner for Oaths.

Application for search is then submitted to Land registry accompanied by sworn affidavit.

Execution of deed of assignment and consent application form (form 1C) at a lawyer’s office.

Next is to obtain Certified True Copy (CTC) of title document and Certified True Copy of Survey plan from the land registry.

Payment of charting, endorsement fee as well as Form 1C at a designated bank.

Obtaining title from Directorate of Lands Services via an application for Governor’s consent to the assignment. You will need the following documents:

Covering letter with address and telephone numbers;

Completed Form 1C;

Certified True Copy (CTC) of title document of the assignor;

Current tax clearance certificates of the assignor and assignee;

For limited liability companies, the internal revenue certificate of PAYE Directors;

Four copies of the deed of which consent is sought should be attached;

Copy of the survey plan, as approved by the Surveyor-General Office and a picture of the building;

Evidence of payment for charting fee, endorsement fee, Form 1C;

Evidence of payment of land use charge;

Where the property is covergb(255, 0, 0) by a state leasehold or Certificate of Occupancy, evidence of payment of Ground Rent, up to date;

Where the property is covergb(255, 0, 0) by a state Leasehold or Certificate of Occupancy, evidence of payment of Ground Rent, up to date;

A photograph of the property;

A copy of the applicant and/or his agent/legal representative’s identification.

Submission of chart survey plans along with the deed of assignment to the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development.

Directorate of Land Services then issues a demand order for payment of registration consent and neighborhood improvement fees.

Obtaining demand order from Stamp Duty Office for payment of stamp duty.

Payment of fees at designated bank and submission of receipt at Directorate of Lands Services.

Finally, the stamping of the deed of assignment at Stamp Duty Office and registering of the deed at the Land Registry.

All procedures occur simultaneously.

WRITTEN BY: CHAMAN LAW FIRM TEAM

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