Site icon Cable Plus Property

How to Process Governor’s Consent in Lagos State.

Image showing the process of obtaining Governor's Consent

Introduction

The processes of Title perfection on land in Lagos State in the form of the Certificate of Occupancy, Governor’s Consent etc can be perceived by the majority as being a rigorous exercise. Notwithstanding, it is a task that must be done to keep our land safe from intruders and land grabbers.

It has to be emphasized that Landowners should immediately after payment for the land proceed to process and register his or her title document on land as this is the only way to secure the land in case of any eventuality that may come up. It is not uncommon that lands are resold to another person by the same seller or from another party claiming ownership on such land. Registration of title on land with the Government, therefore, is considered to be the sure way of recovering land if the issue finally results in court action.

What is Perfection of Title document on Landed Property?

The word Title Perfection simply means the procedure for registering an interest in a title with the government in the form of Governor’s consent if there is a subsisting title on the said property. It could also mean the process of obtaining a title e.g Certificate of occupancy in a situation where no title was in existence.

Justification for the registration of land title from the Land Use act

Section 22 of the Land Use Act provides that “it shall not be lawful for the holder of a Statutory Right of Occupancy granted by the Governor, to alienate his Right of Occupancy or any part thereof by assignment, sublease, etc. without the prior consent of the Governor” this by implication means that even if a property has a Certificate of Occupancy which makes the beneficiary the legal interest holder on the property if he wants to resell or do any other thing on the property he needs the approval of the Governor since all land in the state is vested in the hands of the Governor of that State. Otherwise whoever purchases the land from him does not have a full legal right on the land.

Types of transactions on land that can be alienated but with Governor’s Consent:

  1. Assignment;
  2. Mortgage;
  3. Sublease;
  4. Lease;
  5. Gift;
  6. Power of Attorney etc.

If you intend carrying out any transaction as per the foregoing, then you need Governor’s Consent.

Requirements to process the Governor’s Consent:

  1. Application Letter addressed to Director Land Services or Letter of Authority by the applicant and means of identification such as National ID card, Drivers licence, International Passport, etc if the application is being processed on behalf of the applicant.
  2. Form 1C duly signed with an oath;
  3. 3 copies of duly signed Deed of Assignment; Mortgage; etc
  4. Locational sketch map;
  5. Chartable Survey plan (with evidence of lodgment of record copy);
  6. Certified True Copy (CTC) of the root of title or title of the property;
  7. Photographs of property showing time and date;
  8. Charting Fee; Endorsement Fee; Form 1C (All equal 10,500.00).
  9. 4 Passports photos of the Vendor (5 x 5) with White Background.
  10. Current Tax clearance of the parties involved in the transaction
  11. Administrative Charges for land services – 3000.00.

Essentials on the Deed of Assignment

Aside from the above requirements, there are other essentials needed to be done on the Deed itself before it can be accepted for the processing of the Governor’s Consent, otherwise, the Deed will be queried. These include but not limited to the assignor’s and assignee’s signature which should be on all the pages of the deed; pagination of the deed; franking; recitals issues; root of title issues; schedule issues; and many others

Types of payments required.

All these documents listed above, are forwarded to the office of the Surveyor-General of the State for charting and any other action necessary for the processing of the Governor’s Consent. If there are no defects in the Survey plan and other queries in the file, the file is sent back to Lands Bureau where a Demand Notice is issued to the applicant based on location and applicable Fair Market Value (FMV) for the following fees which are in percentages of the assessed value fees and must be paid via bank draft in the name of Lagos State Government and receipt issued thereto.

  1. Consent fees at 1.5% of the assessed value;
  2. Capital Gain Tax (CGT) at 0.5% of the assessed value;
  3. Stamp Duty at 0.5% of the assessed value;
  4. Registration Fees at 0.5% of the assessed value;
  5. The Neighborhood Improvement Charges (N.I.C). (for private and excised lands) assessed at the size of land X N2/m2 X number of years of relevant title.;

Mortgage transactions assessment

  1. Consent fee @ N2, 500/N1, 000,000;
  2. 0.25% for Registration fee @ N5, 000/N1, 000,000.;
  3. 0.5% for gift transactions,beneficiaries/applicants are exempted from payment of Capital Gain Tax.

Step by Step Procedure.

  1. Application & accompanying documents are received at the Lands Bureau.
  2. Application is uniquely referenced for identification purpose.
  3. Investigation of the status of the Land through charting.
  4. Assessment of the property to determine applicable fees payable by the applicant.
  5. Issuance of Demand Notices in the name of the applicant
  6. Applicant pays to Lagos State Government Account and forwards treasury receipts of payment.
  7. Approval & endorsement of documents by the Honourable Commissioner.
  8. Stamping of documents.
  9. Registration of documents.
  10. Collection of documents by the applicant.

Duration

The Lagos State Government provides 30 days for the completion of the processing. However, experience shows that with timely payments of all the prescribed fees, the processing lasts up to 2 months.

Exit mobile version