Understanding Land Documents In Nigeria [the untold truth]

Understanding Land Documents In Nigeria Real Estate Industry

The acquisition of land is as important as the documents associated with it. A lot of people do not understand this importance until they are faced with problems, especially when it means they are going to lose it to either the government or another individual.

The family receipt is one document most people take as a land document. The family receipt is just a piece of paper showing a receipt of a certain amount of money for the purchase of land but actually does not hold any water when it comes to possession.

A lot of people are easily deceived when they are advised to go and build a structure on the land as a means of securing ownership. No matter the structure on the land, it is the person who provides the right documents that owns the land. And the law states that everything that is on the land belongs to the land so your structure automatically belongs to the owner of that land.

That being said, let’s take a deeper look into the different types of land documents in Nigeria, and what makes each of them unique.

The Land Use Act

Land administration in Nigeria was in the hands of the traditional rulers before 1978. Different administrative systems operated in different parts of the country. Land control in the North and South were the two distinctive systems.

It was during the Obasanjo regime as a military leader that the different tenure systems were overhauled which gave birth to the Land-use act decree of 1978 which vested all lands in the hands of the government. The act abolished all land tenure arrangements in all parts of the country.

The Land Use Decree succeeded in removing these barriers when land is being acquired.

• Brings a government control that can facilitate programs for land use.
• Removing bitter controversies that land has caused in the past.
• Eliminates Land Speculation.
• Promotes balanced regional development and growth.
• Protects and preserves the rights of all Nigerians as beneficiaries to hold, and to enjoy land in Nigeria.
• Streamlines and simplifies the management and ownership of land in the country.
• Enhances The Development/modernization of the agricultural sector of the economy.

Land Classification

Before we dive into the different types of land documents in Nigeria, let’s talk about the classes of Land as relate to the Nigerian real estate sector.

Land can be classified as either free or acquired. A parcel of land is considered free if the government has not indicated any interest whatsoever in that land. Such land is safe to buy because the title on the land can be perfected without issues.

In most cases, such lands will either have a gazette, a C of O or a governor’s consent.

Now that you understand what it means for land to be free, you should also know that all lands that fall within areas that are designated as ‘urban areas are under government acquisition until deemed committed or free.

There are two types of acquisition:

1) Committed Acquisition

A parcel of land is said to be under committed acquisition when the government has indicated an intention to use that land for a specific purpose such as provision of amenities.

Such lands belong to the government and can never be available for use by individuals. If you purchase land that is under committed acquisition, it will be impossible for you to perfect your land title and you’ll only be occupying the land until the government comes to kick you out.

2) Global or General Acquisition

Lands that are under “general acquisition” or “global acquisition” can later be confirmed ‘FREE’ or ‘committed’ as the case may be.

“A land under general acquisition can become free by a process called excision.”

“Excision is a process whereby the government releases a portion of an expanse of land that is not committed” If a parcel of land that was formerly under acquisition becomes excised; it is then considered free and becomes gazetted.

The gazette then becomes the title on the land and such land is safe to buy because a proper title can be processed on the land.

A second case where lands under general acquisition can be released is if an individual purchased a land that was under acquisition without going through an excision process.

Such lands can go through another process called “ratification” or “regularization” in which the land owner pays for the land to be ratified or regularized. To simplify it, it means the process of allocating Government Land to someone who had previously occupied landed property without lawful authority from the State Government. And it is subject to 7 Conditions:

• The property must not be situated in a Government Scheme, Estate, or Committed area.
• The Property must be situated within an Area that conforms to Urban and Regional Planning Regulations and Standard of the State.
• The Appropriate Set back of the Land must be observed.
• The Appropriate distances from drainages, Canals, NNPC pipelines, Gas Pipelines, NEPA transformers, High Tension Wires, Water Pipelines, and other restrictions laid down by the Physical Planning and Town Planning.
• The land must not fall on road Alignment.
• The land must not fall within a Committed Government Area.
• The Land must fall within the Permitted Regularization Areas.

Note: Conditions for ratification may differ from state to state.

Estate In Real Property

The amount and kind of interest a person has in real property is called an “Estate in land”. There are two major classifications of “Estate in Land” and they are :

• Freehold Estates
• Non-Freehold Estates.

1) Freehold Estates

Lands or estates under this classification have an indefinite duration and can last forever. These are estates with full-time ownership with government intervention. Lands under freehold are not under acquisition and such lands can easily be inherited by the heirs of the original owners. There are two major types of freehold estates.

• Fee Simple:
  The holder is entitled to all rights in the property. It is the highest type of interest in real estate recognized by law. The estate is of unlimited duration and when the owner dies, the estate passes on to the heirs of the owner. Freeholds are the type of titles you get in Epe, Lagos State Nigeria. With Freehold, processing your Certificate of Occupancy is faster.

• Life Estate:
  A life estate is limited in duration to the life of the owner, or to the life or lives of some of the designated person(s). Unlike fee simple, the life estate is not considered an estate of inheritance.

2) Non-Freehold Estates

These estates are also known as Leasehold estates because they are not inheritable and exist “without ownership”. They are created through written and oral leases or some form of rental agreement. Examples are:

• Tenancy for years:
  A tenancy for years is created by a lease with a definite beginning and an end. The lease terminates automatically at the end of the specified end. This is also called estate for years.

• Tenancy from period to period:
  This is a tenancy for a definite initial time but is automatically renewable for an indefinite period unless the owner or tenant terminates it with prior notice. It is also called estates from year to year. An example is the monthly or yearly rent paid for use of the property.

• Tenancy at Will:
  This tenancy can be terminated at any time by either the owner or tenant. It is also called estate at will.

• Tenancy at Sufferance:
  This is the lowest form known by law. It exists indirectly as a result of circumstance and is never created deliberately. It happens when a person who has a legal right to use a property remains on the property without the legal right to do so and without the owner’s consent.
  
  The only difference between a tenant at sufferance and a trespasser is that the former had the right to be on the property at some point but stayed beyond the terms of the lease of the agreement while the latter has none. It is also called estate at sufferance.

What is a Survey Plan?

A Survey plan is a document that measures the boundary of a parcel of land to give an accurate measurement and description of that land. The people that handle survey issues are Surveyors and they are regulated by the office of the Surveyor general in Lagos (or your state) as it relates to survey issues in the state. A survey plan must contain the following information:

1. The name of the owner of the land surveyed.
2. The Address or description of the land surveyed.
3. The size of the land surveyed.
4. The drawn-out portion of the land survey and mapped out on the survey plan document
5. The beacon numbers
6. The surveyor who drew up the survey plan and the date it was drawn up
7. A stamp showing the land is either free from Government acquisition or not.

Finally, another advantage of the Survey Search is that it will allow you to know what the zone was designated for.

Land Documents In Nigeria

Now that you understand the classifications of land, the Estate in Real Property, and what is Survey plan, let’s now look at the meaning of each land documents that we have here in Nigeria.

1) Deed Of Assignments

A deed of Assignment is one of the most important documents you must-have when you conclude a Land Transaction.

A deed of Assignment is an Agreement between the Seller of a Land or Property and a Buyer of that Land or property showing evidence that the Seller has transferred all his rights, his title, his interest, and ownership of that land to that Seller that has just bought the land.

The Deed of Assignment acts as a main document between the buyer and seller to show proof of ownership in favour of the seller. The person or Seller who transfers his rights or interests in that property is usually called the Assignor and the person who receives such right or interest from the Seller is called the Assignee.

A Deed of Assignment therefore is an Agreement where an assignor states his promise that from the date of the assignment or any date stipulated therein, the assignor assigns his ownership in that Land to the assignee. The deed contains very pertinent information for a real estate transaction. For one, it spells out the date when the ownership of the property transfers from one owner to the other. The deed also gives a specific description of the property that is included in the transfer of ownership.

The Deed of Assignment spells out the key issues in the transaction between the Seller and the Buyer so that there won’t be any confusion or assumption after the property has been transferred to the new owner. Such Key issues include:

• The Parties’ to the Agreement e.g. between Mr. A and Mrs. K
• The addresses of both parties and how it is binding on their successors, friends, colleagues, and those representing them in any capacity.
• The history of the land in question is how it was first obtained down to the moment it’s about to be sold including any documents it previously had till this date.
• The agreed cost of the land and the willingness of the Seller to finally accept that price paid for the land.
• The description and size of the land to be transferred.
• The covenants or promises both parties choose to undertake to perfect the transfer of the document.
• The signature of the parties to the Assignment and Witnesses to the Transaction.
• Finally the section for the Commissioner of Oaths or Governors Consent to sign and validate the agreement.

Always consult a property lawyer before you buy a land to help prepare a deed of assignment. It will be your greatest mistake if you don’t have one.

And, it is very compulsory and mandatory for a Deed of Assignment document to be recorded at the appropriate land registry to show legal evidence as to the exchange of ownership in any land/landed property transaction in order to make the general public and government aware of such exchange or transaction.

See sample of a Deed of Assignment below…

Summary of the above sample

• The Cover of the Deed of Assignment must show the parties to the transaction and the description of the land sold.

• The first page of the Deed of Assignment must contain the parties to the transaction and the brief history of how the land became the Sellers’ property.

• The third page must contain the description of the land to be sold, the surveyor that did it, the cost of the land, the acceptance of the cost of the land, and the promises both parties will make to themselves to abide by after the deal has been sealed.

• The last page must show the signatures of the parties and the witnesses to that transaction and finally below, the section for the commissioner of oaths to endorse or the Governor to assent his consent to this transaction.

2) The Gazette

The land use act coupled with other laws made it possible for the Governor who was now the owner of all lands in the state to actually have the power to acquire more lands compulsorily for its own public purpose to provide Amenities for the greater good of the citizens. The Acquisition of land from the Family by the Governor to take the general control and management of all urban land and any area designated as an Urban area by the Governor shall be published in an Official Government Record book known as the Gazette.

So, basically, a Gazette is an Official record book where all special government details are spelt out, detailed and recorded.

A gazette will show the communities or villages that have been granted excision and the number of acres or hectares of land that the government has given to them. It is within those excised acres or hectares that the traditional family is entitled to sell its lands to the public and not anything outside those hectares of land given or excised to them.

A Gazette is a very powerful instrument the community owns and can replace a Certificate of Occupancy to grant title to the Villagers. A community owning a gazette can only sell lands to an individual within those lands that have been excised to them and the community or family head of that land has the right to sign your documents for you if you purchase lands within those excised acres or hectares of land.

If the government, based on some reasons best known to them, decides to revoke or acquire your land, you will be entitled to compensation as long as it’s within the Excised lands given to that community as land to buy.

The best way to know whether a land is under acquisition or has an excision that has been covered by a Gazette is to get a surveyor to chart the site and take it to the surveyor general’s office to do a land information to confirm whether it falls within the gazette and spell out which particular location it can be found.

Features Of a Gazette

• The Cover of the Gazette must include the Number of the Gazette, Page of the Gazette and Volume of the Gazette. It must also Include the Date and Location it was issued.
• The first page of a Gazette must have the following unless it is a dubious or fake Gazette:
  • The Logo of the Country and the inscription of the title “LAGOS STATE OF NIGERIA OFFICIAL GAZETTE”
  • Underneath it must have the Number, Volume, Page, Date, and the Location it was signed into law e.g No 26 on pages 200 to 291, Volume 87 dated 14th of August 2011, and have the contents of the list of the Villages, Settlements, and parcels of land excised back to the community.
  • The description of the Area or Village excised.
  • The number of Acres or Hectares of land excised to the Village.
  • Where the boundaries of the beacons start and stop.
  • The page the description of the Village excised is.

3) Excision

An Excision means basically taking a part from a whole and that part that has been excised will be recorded and documented in the official government gazette of that state. In other words, not having an excision means the land could be seized by the Government anytime without compensating you even if you bought it “Legitimately” from the Baale or the Original dwellers on the land.

So for example, if in 1981, Victoria Island, Ikoyi and Lekki were all part of one big Community joined together called Oniru and it had no separation to know which area is called ikoyi, Lekki, or V.I then, and it has an approximate total area square meters estimate of 100,000 square meters and the Government is interested in that area and decides to take 70,000 square meters for itself for its own personal use as an Urban Area or public purpose, it will record this acquisition in the official government which is Gazette and also record that the remaining 30,000 square meters (EXCISED PORTION) have been left alone for the traditional family to have and do with it whatever it pleases it to do.

4) Certificate Of Occupancy And Governor’s Consent

A simple formula to follow is this. The first person on a virgin Land that has neither been occupied by another person nor under acquisition by the Government is entitled to get a Certificate of Occupancy on that land.

If that person with the C of O decides to sell his land to another person after so many years, that person must now obtain the consent of the Governor before that transaction can be deemed legal in the eyes of the Government. If the new buyer now decides to sell the land again to a third owner in the future, that Third owner must also obtain a new Consent of the Governor before that transaction can be deemed legal in the eyes of the Government and the process continues every time the property changes hands to a new buyer.

In other words, the first person on a land is the only person or group of persons entitled to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy. Every subsequent buyer of that land must get a Governor’s consent. There can only be one (1) Owner of the Certificate of Occupancy on that Land and it will not be replicated for another person once the land has been sold or transferred to another person.

The powers of the Governor to Consent to such transactions can be found in Section 22. Of the LAND USE ACT 1978 as amended which states thus:

“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, mortgage, and transfer of possession, sublease or otherwise howsoever without the consent of the Governor first had and obtained”

With this power, the Governor has the right to grant consent to any transaction which it thinks has not contravened any Law of the land and if the consent has been obtained fraudulently, the Governor is entitled to revoke such consent immediately.

All in all, a Governor’s Consent is a very good document to obtain and I advise you to get it so as to free yourself from Omoniles 100%. An advantage of having a Governor’s consent is that you can transfer your land to another person without going to the Omoniles or Family Baale to sign your deed and Form 1c which are compulsory requirements needed before you can process a Governor’s consent.

It is very important for a purchaser of land to perfect his or her document by obtaining a Governor’s consent so as to have a complete rest of mind. Although it’s good to buy a land that already has a Global C of O or the Land has a Gazette, it still doesn’t give you the full satisfaction that you own the land without any form of fear or intrusion by the Omoniles. Your documents have not been perfected and the consent of the Governor to that transaction has not been obtained.

Obtaining a Governor’s Consent from the Land Bureau isn’t the easiest thing to get quickly despite the importance attached to it and the urgency needed to secure a land from Omoniles.

On the Government website, it is stated that a Governor’s Consent can be obtained in 30 days but that has proven to be very untrue due to unscrupulous civil servants who would do everything to frustrate the process of obtaining the document without giving them huge kickbacks. A Governor’s consent that should cost N200,000 naturally could end up costing N600,000 Due to kickbacks, Egunje, Bribes, P.R, etc, and that 30 days could translate to 6months or a Year.

The Omoniles pray seriously for the Owner not to have a Governors consent so that they can make a lot of money running into their Thousands whenever the Owner requires the signatures of the family to start the Governors consent.

Do you now see why C of O is not the ultimate? Stepping aside the criticism of those in charge of processing the C of O, You should try as much as possible to get a Governor’s Consent for all your genuine lands so as to eliminate Omoniles completely and live a straightforward life devoid of Omonile wahala.

The Governors Consent must contain the Following:

• The Form 1c must be signed by the Omonile traditional Family that has either a Gazette or Global C/O or in the case of an individual that has a private C of O granted to him by the Governor
• A Deed of Assignment must be prepared by the Buyer’s lawyer who must include the parties to the transaction, the cost of the land, the size of the land description of the land, the copy of the survey attached to it, and signature of all the parties and witnesses to the transaction.
• The Consent will be heavily stamped from the beginning to the end and upon completion and payment of the requisite fees, the Governor or his representatives such as the Commissioners will sign and date the Consent and stamp it with their official Seal.
• The land bureau after that will assign a Consent number to that document for reference purposes for life and it’s with this Consent number, your documents will be registered and recorded in their archives for future references.

Deceased Land Without Will

What happens when you intend to buy a land or property but you later discover that the original owner of the Property has died without writing a will and has left a host of children, wives, extended relatives or close friends behind that are all interested in the property as the new owners? Who then has the capacity to sell that property to you?

So many buyers have had their fingers burnt buying lands or properties from people who claim to be the authorized representatives of the deceased only to later find out that they have bought that land from the wrong representative.

If you don’t want to buy into a problematic property like the one mentioned above, you should keenly watch out for the following:

• If the deceased left no will.
• If there is no letter of administration granting ownership of the property to a person or group of persons to act as executors and administrators of that property.
• If there are so many family members such as wife or wives, children or stepchildren that the deceased left behind without instructing anyone to be the sole owner or in charge of the property.
• In some cultures, the extended family of the deceased owns the property too and can lay claim to the ownership of the property that their Son, brother or nephew left behind.
• Also, some cultures wholesomely transfer title to the first son and what if the first son isn’t around at that moment or you do not know.
• If some family members intend to get a letter of administration but because of the pressing need to sell the land, they avoid going through the court system to get a letter of administration because of the lengthy delay associated with getting a letter of administration.
• If the owner of the property has C of O or Governor’s consent, the property cannot be sold to another person without a letter of administration unless the government will not recognize it.
• Do you know the number of wives or children the deceased left behind that you do not know that also has access to sell that property?

If you have encountered one or more of these scenarios painted above, how do you go about it to prevent yourself from being sucker punched by a false relative who has no capacity to sell the property legally? Here are some of the ways you can go about it:

• Get in touch with a lawyer that is well experienced in Property and Family Law. There is no way around it to do it yourself.
• Investigate properly to know all the wives, children, and extended family members that the deceased left behind.
• Insist on getting that Letter of Administration but if they can’t get it, make sure that all of them draft and sign a Memorandum of Understanding all jointly agreeing to sell the land to you. That Memorandum of Understanding must be duly stamped and sworn to at the Court.
• All payments, documentations, and forms must all be signed by all the surviving relatives of the deceased jointly.
• Pictures, videos, and any form of digital capture must be used at all times as evidence in case something goes wrong.

These examples only work in simple situations when you have less than 3 surviving members of the deceased and it’s very clear that either the widow or widower is the only person that the property can be transferred to. Also if the kids are minors under the age of 13, the above scenarios can work. Once you’re dealing with 3 or more survivors and the children are above 16, please contact your nearest property lawyer because you could be buying a very fantastic Lawsuit that could devastate you.

Understanding Land Sizes & Measurements

In Nigeria’s Real Estate Sector today, Lands are measured in Hectares, Acres, Meters and Feet. Also, land and sizes differ in different parts of the country. Below is a table indicating the different sizes of lands.

Courtesy: Durand Infomatics

Using the land measurement chart above, let’s calculate the actual land sizes for Plots, Acres, and Hectares.

1) Plots:
In Lagos State, the standard size of a plot is 60ft x 120ft (18m x 36m i.e. 648 sqm), while in some other cities of the country, plots are measured in 50ft x 100ft.

2) Acre:
An Acre is a standard unit of measurement used by Land sellers, and it is almost equivalent to the size of a standard football field. An Acre is a product of any rectangular plot of land giving a total of:

• 6 plots (each measuring 60ft x 120ft)
• 43,560 sq ft, OR
• 4,046sqm.

3) Hectare:
A hectare is one of the least known metric units and one which potential buyers and Estate developers seem to struggle with. It is a land measuring:

• 15 plots, OR
• Two and half acres, OR
• 328ft x 328ft, OR
• 100m x 100m, OR
• 10,000 sqm.

The size of a plot can vary for different reasons but according to Nigeria’s land division, the appropriate plot for a house construction is 50 x 100ft which can accommodate a standard house with a small compound. Am sure this will go a long way to help you as a real estate investor, and even as a Landowner.

Conclusion

A thorough understanding of this post can save you from going to prison. Land is a very sensitive investment, and that is why transferability must be highly documented and one has to be very careful. To buy land, you must first of all chart the course to get coordinates and check at the appropriate office to know if it is under committed acquisition.

Don’t just jump into acquiring any land because you feel it is cheap or the Omoniles have guaranteed you that they will protect you. If it is government land, you have thrown away your money.

If you must remain in this business, understanding land documents in Nigeria is a crucial part that you cannot just overlook.

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