Demolishing of houses is no longer news most especially in Lagos State. However, not only in Lagos does the Government demolish houses. We have other states in Nigeria where the Government demolishes houses as well.
This leads us to Why the government demolishes houses. I will be sharing with you 5 reasons why the Government will demolish any house either in Lagos or anywhere else. But the major focus will be on Lagos because that is the business hub of Nigeria.
Please note that “THERE IS NO DEMOLITION IN LAGOS THAT GOVERNMENT DON’T SERVE A NOTICE” Any house in Lagos that is being demolished, a notice has been served to the owner of the house or building. But most people won’t do anything about it until the Government comes for them.
ATTENTION: Please don’t be scared of buying a house or property in Lagos. There are genuine houses available with good documentation. All you need is someone to guide you through the process.
I can assist you and be of help to you to help you invest in property in and around Lagos State. Send a message below to get started.
WHY DOES GOVERNMENT DEMOLISH HOUSES?
1. NO BUILDING APPROVALS:
The number one reason why the Government will demolish houses in Lagos State is the lack of building approvals. According to the Land Use Act in 1978, all land belong to the State Government. For this reason, before you comment on building on your land in Lagos, please ensure you got approval on it.
When buying finished houses in Lagos, ensure part of the documentation you ask for is building approval. Building approvals is essential in Lagos unless the Government will come for you later in the year.
READ THIS: 12 REQUIREMENTS FOR BUILDING APPROVAL IN LAGOS
2. OUT OF CONCERN FOR PEOPLE SAFETY (WEAK OR DISTRESSED BUILDINGS)
Also have this in mind that, Government can demolish any house if such a house is weak and can cause loss of life and property. The safety of people is paramount and if the Government notice such a house is weak or faulty, a demand notice on demolition can be served to the owner.
For this not to happen, that is why you see most of the owners selling off those old buildings to developers to build new and modern houses. These old and weak buildings can be found in Ikeja or some areas with old structures.
If you have a house or your grandfather left a house for you and the house is getting weaker every day, please find means of selling it to the developer or you renovate the house again if you don’t want to sell it off.
3. CITING ENVIRONMENT RISKS SUCH AS CLIMATE CHANGE INCREASING WATER LEVELS AND POOR SANITARY CONDITIONS
This is why you see the Government demolishing houses very close to the carnal or where the drainage system ought to pass through. Lagos State Government doesn’t joke with any buildings that will cause environmental risk to people’s life.
A good environment must allow free flow of water and not cause flooding. So if your house is an obstacle to these channel, your house might be demolish. Some places are marked for drainage system in Lagos and this is why you should never build in such places.
4. BUILDINGS ERECTED ON RIGHT OF WAY (SUCH AS CARNALS, PIPELINES, POWERLINES, COASTAL ROADS ETC)
Any building that will obstruct the right way of people will definitely be demolish. When your house is built where a major road will pass through, definitely your house is going.
This is a need to build houses with enough setbacks. If for example, the Government gave you a 20m setback, you can add 30m to it before building your house. For no reason should you build on major projects by the Government without setting enough setbacks at both side.
5. BUILDING ON UNTITLED LAND WITHOUT PERFECTING IT
In Lagos State, we have many untitled land people are selling and it is wise for you not to fall victim except a perfection of the title has been made.
It is not bad to buy land with freehold however, ensure you perfect it before building on it.
READ THIS: 10 TYPES OF LAND DOCUMENT IN NIGERIA AND ITS CATEGORIES
WAY FORWARD
I will share with you 3 way forward on how to prevent demolishing of your house in Lagos. Here are the steps below
STEP 1: GET APPROVALS
Get the planning information as to what the area is zoned for whether it is for residential or commercials or mixed-use.
READ MORE: 10 TYPES OF LAND ZONING IN LAGOS
STEP 2: FENCE PERMIT
If you missed the information on not knowing the area zoning, as a point of getting the fence permit, you will know what it is zoned for.
STEP 3: LAYOUT PERMIT
In the process of getting layout permit, you would know what the area is zoned for or to be use for.
In conclusion, ensure you buy property rightly and buy from a reliable source. Don’t let Government come for you in few years to come. If you are buying land, ensure all documents are intact and if also if you are buying house as well.
For more information about real estate and best property you can buy either in Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja and also in some part of the East, please call or WhatsApp Peter at +234 901 509 4850 or click on the WhatsApp button on your screen.
