‘Land Titles’ Bottlenecks, Bane Of Affordable Housing’

The placing of undue
bottlenecks in securing land titles and documentations in Lagos State has been identified as the major clog in the wheel of the state’s effort at ensuring affordable and habitable housing for the teeming population of the state.
Lagos State has a two million share of the 17 million housing deficit in the country of which at least 187,500 new homes are needed in the next five years to combat the trend.
Housing and Urban development expert, Sola Fotoki, who spoke at an Urban Housing Talk Show on Lagos Homes, organised by Heinrich Bou Stiftuing , said the dream of the state of meeting the two million housing units deficit will continue to be elusive until the government has less consideration for monetary gains on land and tile documentations.
The Lagos State Housing Commissioner Prince Gbolahan Lawal, had recently said that the state introduced a rent-to-own policy, along with the construction of mass houses to reduce the gap, saying that the policy would provide a way for low and medium income earners to pay for houses within 10 years at six per cent interest rate.
He also revealed plans by the government to construct 50 housing units in all 20 local council’s areas and 37 local council development areas.
However, a private organisation based in Lagos, with broad focus on infrastructure, urban development and environment, Mr. Lookman Oshodi, has said that public participation will not work without first dealing with cumbersome nature of security tenur prevalent in the state.