LAGOS STATE NEW ELECTRONIC PLATFORM ON REAL ESTATE: AN INNOVATION TO RESHAPE THE REAL ESTATE MARKET IN AFRICA

On the 30^th of January 2018, the Lagos State Government launched an electronic platform known as the Lagos State Electronic Real Estate Litigation System (LIS PENDENS ELECTRONIC SYSTEM), an online platform designed to provide easy access to relevant information to real estate practitioners, financiers, investors, developers on properties with a pending case or the ones subject to litigation.

The acronym ‘lis pendens’ is a Latin maxim properly expressed as “Lis pendent lite nihil innovetur” which simply means that during a litigation nothing new should be introduced. When a land or property is the subject matter in court, it is required that nothing should be done whatsoever by any of the parties to the dispute to affect or change the subject matter of litigation.

It is unfortunate that in the fast pace real estate market, many investors are unknowingly buying properties subject to litigation and Lagos State being a pace setter in real estate development, has risen to stem the tide of fraudulent and corrupt practices in this fast growing sector.

Lagos State in its vision of becoming the commercial hub of Africa and unrelenting drive to promote information technology has  by this platform  provided a “one-stop shop” for investors, developers, financiers in determining the encumbrance or otherwise of a particular property.

BENEFITS OF THE PLATFORM TO INVESTORS

The benefits of this innovation are immense, viz:

• Provision of comprehensive data base of properties.
• Provision of easy access to relevant information on legal status of registered properties to real estate practitioners.
• Enabling end users the platform for filing and uploading properties subject to litigation into the system for benefit of real estate practitioners.
• Ease of efficient search, aside tracking properties subject to pending cases, also providing information on properties that were subject to litigation at some point.
• Enhancing due diligence in property transaction.
• Further help in curbing the excesses of land grabbers, popularly called “omo-niles”. In addition to the various efforts by the State Government in ensuring fertile ground for investment, to wit, passage of the Lagos State Properties Protection Law 2016, ease of doing business guide, establishment of Neighbourhood Safety Corps etc, the instant initiative, would help reduce fraudsters specialised in selling innocent investors lands subject to litigation.
• Curtailing of risk associated with property transaction and reduction of litigation on real estate as the public could now easily confirm if a property was subject to litigation.
• Convenient and user friendly, thus, enhancing ease of property transactions, complementing the ease of doing business posture of the Federal Government and the recent calls by real estate practitioners for property verification number.
• Restoration of investors’ confidence in the real estate sector.
• Positioning Lagos as a real estate destination in Africa.

EFFECTS OF THE LIS PENDENS LITIGATION SYSTEM ON IBEJU LEKKI, LAGOS

Ibeju Lekki, Lagos has been described as the new face of Lagos. This new city which is currently under development is one of the fastest developing urban areas in Nigeria housing major projects such as Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Pan African University, Lagos free trade zone, Chinese free trade zone, Lekki golf and country resort. Other projects to be cited in Ibeju Lekki are: the lekki-Epe Airport, Lekki deep sea port, also the 4^th Mainland bridge to connect the new city with the other parts of Lagos.

It is without doubt that the instant initiative would positively affect the real estate market in ibeju lekki Lagos as prospective Investors in the ibeju Lekki, Lagos etc, would be able to access information on their choice property from any part of the world in a click. I see this novel idea as a proactive attempt in “digitalising realty”.  This comes as a soothing relief to investors and would not only add value but also secure investment

CHALLENGE

The challenges now is for effective synergy amongst the relevant State agencies, ministries, offices in charge of property, to wit, Lands Bureau, Office of the Surveyor General, Lagos State Records and Archives Bureau, Lagos State Planning & Environmental Monitoring Authority, Lagos State Urban Renewal Authority (LASURA), New Towns Development Authority, Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority etc, and the Lagos State Judiciary couple with the Federal Courts (Federal High Court, Court of Appeal) in the State to ensure that the desired objective of providing the public with comprehensive information on the properties in Lagos subject to litigation is achieved.

CONCLUSION

It is hoped that this well thought out policy would boost the real estate market and further position the State as a pace setter in the real estate industry in Africa.