Lagos Regulatory Authority vows to uphold new Real Estate law
By Luqmon Balogun, Lagos
The Lagos Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority, LASRERA, is set to begin the enforcement of its newly signed Law.
The law aimed at holding Property Developers, individuals and organisations in Real Estate Business accountable.
According to the Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Housing, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka the law would also curb those with the intentions to defraud accommodation seekers across the State.
Benson-Awoyinka made this known while hosting Female Lawyers in Real Estate Practice (FELIREP) at her Alausa office, Ikeja.
She explained that ”people should see Real Estate Transactions beyond selling, buying or leasing of properties or cut and paste of documents.
”It’s value chain is huge and yet untapped.”
Citing the instance of some property developers who are in the habit of collecting money from potential clients above the available units of property, Benson-Awoyink said that ”such individuals or organisations must be made to face the Law, to serve as deterrent to others with similar intentions.”
The Special Adviser also stated that ”the State Government is coming up with a Policy that will encourage Property Developers to open an Escrow Bank Account with Financial Institutions.”
According to her, the concept of Escrow banking is to promote financial transparency and protection of citizens in transactions.
Benson-Awoyink encouraged Lagos residents to always engage Lawyers at every stage of Real Estate Transactions to avoid falling victims of illegal swindlers in the sector.
She however advised Real Estate Practitioners on the need to understand the value of LASRERA Law, especially the aspect of documentation of Real Estate Transactions for ease of doing business in terms of sales/ purchases of properties for identification of ownership.
Mentorship
The Founder, Female Lawyers in Real Estate Practice, Peace Anomneze, explained that ”the essence of Body is to create awareness about female Lawyers that are in Real Estate for mentorship purposes and also for advocacy on professionalism in carrying out Real Estate Transactions in the State.”
Stating examples of Lawyers in other Sectors like Marine, Insurance, among others, Anomneze promised that the Body of FELIREP would invest in mentorship programme for young female Lawyers and individuals on how to understand the dynamics of the Real Estate Markets.
She sought for more cooperation from the State Government in the area of Land documentation to ensure that the processing period is further reduced.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
