Lagos Government Subsidizes Cost Of Home Ownership

Lagos State Government has moved to ease the barrier to home ownership in the state as it announced upscaling of its housing delivery performance and subsidising the cost of the homes.

The government initiative is in response to the growing gap in housing demand in relation to the available accommodation in the state.

Lagos State Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, made this known on Friday in a statement signed by Adeola Salako, Spokesperson of the ministry.

Akinderu-Fatai said the government was committed to the provision of affordable mass housing units in spite of the increasing cost of building materials occasioned by the current inflationary trend.

He said that Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu had directed that cost of homes built by the state should be lower than the market price to make homeownership easier for the people.

According to him, the government was pursuing the agenda of housing provision with increased vigour to ensure that more homes are available for residents before the end of the year.

‘’We are engaging multinationals along with other Ministries, Departments and Agencies to build and support the financing of buildings in the state. This is the viable option, given the fact that land is a limited resource in the state,’’ he said.

Akinderu-Fatai also explained that the state’s housing schemes, which were financed through direct budgetary allocation and located in Odo-Onosa Ayandelu, Agbowa, Sangotedo Phase 1, Gbagada and Omole Phase 1, will be delivered soon.

Other schemes that were being constructed through direct budgetary allocation include Egan-Igando, LASU, Ita-Marun in Epe and Ajara.

The commissioner said the projects are for the benefit of low and middle-income earners to eventually become homeowners.

He said this would be accomplished through a convenient mortgage system where homes shall be allocated through the Rent-to-Home Scheme and whereby the tenure of payment would be 120 months.

Akinderu-Fatai said that an initial payment of 5% of the value of the homes by the allottees was required before spreading the balance.

About a week ago, the Lagos State Government assured financial institutions, including banks, that there will be returns on their investments in mortgages as a result of the proposed amendment of the Lagos State Mortgage and Property Law.

The proposed Mortgage and Property Law is to help create an accessible and affordable mortgage for the benefit of Lagosians to purchase their own homes.

The Lagos State Government had moved to safeguard investments in the real estate sector and ensure its development as they began the process of incorporating the foreclosure clause into the Lagos State Mortgage and Property Law.