· Govt targets over 7,600 homes by 2022
· Seeks amendment to mortgage law
Gboyega Akinsanmi
With a housing deficit of 2.5 million units, the Lagos State Government has initiated talks with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and multilateral development agencies to construct 100,000 units of mass housing units across the state.
Apart from this initiative, the state has also revealed the plan to deliver 7,600 homes on or before 2022 when the state governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu would be three years in office.
This plan was revealed in a housing sector assessment report that the Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Moruf Akinderu-Fatai recently presented at the state secretariat, Alausa to mark Sanwo-Olu’s mid-term anniversary.
Akinderu-Fatai presented the report alongside his information and strategy counterpart, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, Special Adviser to the Governor on Housing, Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka and Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Housing, Mr. Wasiu Akewusola, among others.
Lagos, one of the world’s first-twentieth largest cities, is faced with an acute housing deficit of over 2.5 million, which according to the National Bureau of Statistic (NBS), accounts for about 14.7% of Nigeria’s housing deficit estimated at 17 million.
With over 500,000 migrants relocating to the state yearly from different parts of the federation, according to government statistics, 85% of its residents live in rented apartments and spend over 40% of their income on rents per annum.
Confronted with this social challenge, the state government has come up with multi-pronged initiatives – LagosHoms, Home4More and Joint Venture etc. – to provide decent homes for the residents across social strata.
As indicated in the report, however, Akinderu-Fatai revealed the state’s new mass housing initiative with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), an operational arm of the United Nations, to provide 100,000 units of housing units in different parts of the state.
Akinderu-Fatai, who once chaired the House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Compliance, disclosed that UNOPS with the mandate to implement projects for the United Nations System “is working with international investors to provide 100,000 units of housing units in Lagos.
“The Office of SDGs is driving the talk alongside the Ministries of Housing and Physical Planning & Urban Renewal Development. The idea is to go vertical. With the uncontrolled influx of people, Lagos needs to meet the challenge and create the Hong Kong and Singapore scenarios.”
He, therefore, explained that the partnership was conceived “to speedily tackle the challenge of housing deficit in the state. We are providing a smart solution to bridge the housing deficit in order to make Lagos a truly 21st century economy comparable to others worldwide.
“In tackling this challenge, the state government is earnestly driving mass housing development headlong through collaboration with multilateral development agencies. Hence, our target is to produce homes in that magnitude so that we can make a speedy difference in the lives of our people.
“We have, in the previous years, sought smart solutions to the problem of housing deficits. The state engaged various development agencies that have track records in provision of affordable mass housing to collaborate with the state government. It is to tap into innovative technology that will speedily provide homes for the residents of the state.”
Akinderu-Fatai, similarly, revealed the state’s resolve to renew the entire existing old housing schemes to make them decent and liveable in line with the standard, which the Sanwo-Olu administration laid down.
According to him, the state is talking to both domestic and international investors who have approached it with proposals on the schemes. The aim “is to ensure that the interest of present occupants are protected and the outcomes expected will be a liveable environment.”
Also, as part of the state’s strategy to drastically reduce housing deficit, the commissioner disclosed that 7,600 homes would be on ground by the time the Sanwo-Olu administration will be three years old in 2022.
He emphasised the importance of innovative building technology “to achieve the objectives. The state will leverage on the innovative technology that Echostone Housing used to build the housing scheme in Idale, Badagry and other parts of the state, mainly the proposed Workers Village, Imota.
He explained that the state government would replicate the eco-friendly designs used at idale in the urban parts of the state notably at Imota, Ikorodu LGA to provide 500 units of homes.
Akinderu-Fatai said with the strategic intervention of the development partners, the state has increased its capacity of providing more homes over a period of time as well as achieve its set goals of renewing dilapidating estates.
He said: “In order to increase the confidence of property developers and enhance private sector investment in the built sector, the state has also set in motion the process of reviewing the Mortgage Law.
“This is being done with the intention of domesticating the law to meet the peculiar housing needs of Lagos. An amendment bill to the existing law is already before the House of Assembly for verification.”
“When the amendment is passed into law, it will address the interest of both the tenants and the landlords as there will be a clear chart in conflict resolution between the landlords and tenants.
This amendment, according to the commissioner, will generate more confidence in the built sector and the consequent effect will be more investment in the sector.
On the affordability of homes for low and medium income earners, Akinderu-Fatai said the state government would continue to engage stakeholders in the finance sector to make mortgages as low as a single digit interest rate.
“This is being done to make home ownership through mortgage attractive to all. The strategy is to keep interest rates as low as possible to reduce financial hardship faced by the citizens in achieving their desire for home ownership,” he added.
Akinderu disclosed that the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA) an agency under the ministry of Housing saddled with responsibility of coordinating the activities of Real Estate practitioners in the state has registered 77 real estate practitioners in the state.
