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State Property Lagos Nigeria - The Risk of Building On State Land

State property Lagos Nigeria is often developed and sold by the Lagos State Property Development Corporation (LSDPC).

State land or state acquired land is often reserved by the Lagos state government for the purpose of building estates for low income and medium income earners.

This is how it works.

The Lagos state government builds well-laid-out estates on state land and then opens it to the public for purchase. People who purchase these flats are issued with a certificate of occupancy (C of O) which makes them title holders to the property (individual flats, semi-detached or detached apartments).

Sometimes the government also sells state land to individuals for purpose of development by those individuals. In this case, the government sets the layout of the estate and provides utilities while the individual land owners build on the land purchased.

Buyers who purchase state land also get a certificate of occupancy from the Lagos state government. These new owners become bona fide owners of the flats or state land covered by the C of O.

So, where does the risk factor come in?

The thing is that state acquired land is not usually developed in a hurry by the state government. A stretch of land ear-marked for low income earners' estate may not be developed for the next 10 - 15 yrs.

What happens in that time span?

Omoniles or real estate scammers usually take advantage of this time lapse and start selling state land to unsuspecting buyers.

The state government often places a notice on such land saying something like, "This is the property of the Lagos state government. Do not trespass". However, land scammers usually remove this notice and start selling the land in bits.

The sad part is that state land never goes forgotten for too long. Sooner of later the state government will come for what is rightfully hers. And then what?

Government bulldozers come rolling in and the illegal occupants have their homes pulled down without mercy.

These bulldozers are accompanied by stern-looking policemen and soldiers without a heart. They have one mission: To claim that which belongs to the government.

What can you do to avoid losing all you've worked hard to build?

Stay away from state property. Do not mess with state acquired property.

However long it takes, the state government will claim what belongs to it and pull down all illegal structures within the property.

Therefore, before you buy any land and indeed, any property, be sure it's not state property. Verify the genuineness of the property at the Lagos state ministry of land and surveys.

If you live outside Lagos, contract us to do a home inspection (or property inspection) before making the purchase.

A home is a huge investment. Don't throw it all away by building on state property.

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