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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