Stakeholders charge Lagos on home ownership

Stakeholders charge Lagos on home ownership

Stakeholders charge Lagos on home ownership

While government admitted that its role is
to create conducive environment for private
investors in its quests for housing delivery,
stakeholders reeled out sundry requests
that would attract investment in the sector
to ensure 20,000 units in 2018.
TO keep the increasing housing demand
in Lagos State under control, the state
government must adopt a multi-
approach strategy; else, crisis of
homeownership in the state would
continue to escalate.
Though not totally new to the industry,
several of these approaches were thrown
up at a one-day forum, organised by the
Lagos State Ministry for Housing.
The event, which took place at Protea
Hotel, Ikeja, had in attendance, foremost
private developers, government officials,
mortgage bank operators and
professionals in the built environment,
among others.
What necessitated the parley was
government’s decision to provide 20,000
homes of different house types between
now and 2018.
Realising it would be a mere desire if
stakeholders are not carried along, the
Lagos State Commissioner for Housing,
Mr. Gbolahan Lawal said government
would ensure it creates enabling
environment rather than going into
actual construction. “It is not the
business of government to build houses,
but rather, to provide the necessary
incentives that would attract the
attention of private sector”.
After exhaustive deliberations, a
communiqué was released wherein it
was suggested that government should
define its role in housing delivery, for
example, whether is it for profit or
‘welfarist’ and within what boundary;
ascertain credible records of demand/
need and the shortfall in housing;
provide comfort for developers in terms
of infrastructure provision through
future project discount on land and
other such charges.
Besides, it was also demanded that
government should ensure easy
accessibility to titled land, ensure
simplification/timely delivery planning
approval; specification of the price
bands, which would include the cost of
land and facilitate means of lowering the
cost systems building; assist in access to
funds, including affordability gap fund;
standardize housing delivery methods
and facilitation of industrialization of
housing.
Others include, facilitation of
information exchange among the
developers and revisiting legislation for
regulation of housing provision through
professionalism; do more on mortgage
counseling; facilitate access to funding
from capital market for construction
finance and pooling of developers’
systems with a view to ensure
standardization; proffer solution to
preclude mortgage defaulter, including
insurance and rent-to own as alternative
to mortgages.
During discussion, it was agreed that the
issue at hand required a multi-pronged
approach, particularly, in Lagos, where
its mega-city status is putting pressure
on the existing accommodations.
Among issues discussed include how to
establish correct data of those who need
houses and who have funds to back up
their need; issues of land
administration; construction methods
and building materials, and how they
are hampering or improving housing
provisions and delivery agents and
model for housing delivery.
Others are available finance
mechanisms, mortgage facilities,
industry’s standard and regulations and
government policies.
Former Chairman, Federal Housing
Authority (FHA), Brigadier-General
Tunde Reis, who moderated the event
was of the view that to advance the
course of housing delivery, developers,
as the key driver, mortgage operators,
policy makers, professionals in the built
environment must come together and
painstakingly look at the best approach
to meet housing deficits in the country.
According to Reis, no industry can grow
on guessing, therefore, there is need to
know the actual number of shortfall in
housing needs, the potential buyers,
available land, preferred location of the
would-be home owners, availability of
mortgage facilities, amongst others.
“People have been brandishing 17
million housing deficit in Nigeria for
close to a decade when I was chairman
of FHA. But the question is where is the
data? Does it mean that no homes have
been delivered to bridge the gap since
then? This shows that we are just
speculating and with that, we cannot get
anywhere. Reiss said.