Ogun slashes cost of obtaining C of O, property documentation

• Government creates a reduced package for home owners.

The Ogun State Government has reduced the charges for the acquisition of certificate of occupancy and documentation of landed property in Ogun State.

The new package, known as Homeowners Charter, was flagged off on Monday at the Arcade Ground, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta. It is aimed at relieving landlords of the huge cost of securing their buildings documentation across the state.

The landlords would now spend N95,000 – paid in installments over nine months -  to obtain certificate of occupancy, land survey and other documentations rather than the previous N450,000

Speaking at the ceremony, the state governor, Ibikunle Amosun, noted that most property owners in the state had no legal documentation in form of building approval and Certificate of Occupancy(C of O). He said this would no longer be accepted.

“The Homeowners’ Charter presents an opportunity for all those who have built on private land without obtaining Building Plan Approval and were therefore unable to apply for a Certificate of Occupancy, to regularise their status at a huge discount on what they would normally be required to pay,” he explained.

He said there was need for landlords to regularise their documents so as to prove legal ownership of their property.

“Also, those who have built illegally on land that belongs to the state government, OPIC and Housing Corporation, and who for years, have lived with uncertainty about whether government would eventually repossess the land, are being afforded an opportunity to formalise their ownership, also at a huge discount,” he said.

He said the lack of proper documentation made it difficult for government to plan for the future of the state.

“This administration took the view that this situation was too widespread to be ignored but rather needed to be addressed directly and urgently. For us as a government, the problem meant that our planning for the medium and long term needs of our state was being hampered by the lack of data on our residents and their needs,” Mr. Amosun said.

The governor also noted that the lack of proper documentation meant that property in the state were undervalued compared to neighboring states.

The Director General, Bureau of Lands and Survey, Adewale Oshinowo, said the state government was worried by the fact that not up to 20 per cent of developed property had legal document.

He disclosed that government had restructured and repositioned the state Geographic Information System to regularise matters relating to land use.

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