Nigerian Senate Passes Real Estate Regulatory Council Bill

The Nigerian Senate had on Wednesday, November 17, 2021 passed a bill to establish the Real Estate Regulatory Council of Nigeria.

According the bill, the council, when established would curb fraudulent practices to ensure that the real estate business conforms with the National Building Code in Nigeria.

The bill is titled: The Real Estate Regulatory Council of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2021 was sponsored by Senator Aliyu Wamakko and was read for the first time on April 28, 2021, and it scaled second reading on June 22, 2021.

The bill was passed after the consideration of a report by the Committee on Establishment and Public Service.

The report was laid during plenary by the Deputy Chief Whip, Senator Sabi Abdullah. Senator Nicholas Tofowomo,  presented the report on behalf of the Committee Chairman, Ibrahim Shekarau. 

According to Tofowomo, the establishment of the Real Estate Council of Nigeria would provide efficient, effective and transparent administration of the business of real estate development in Nigeria 

The lawmaker said the council would be responsible for prescribing minimum standards for the conduct of the businesses of real estate development across the country.

He recalled that the bill seeking to establish the Real Estate Council of Nigeria was passed by both chambers of the eighth National Assembly, but was not assented to by  President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said the President’s decision to withhold assent to the bill was as a result of certain observations raised by stakeholders at the time.

“Those observations have been taken care of in this report by the Committee following the engagement with stakeholders to ensure that real estate business in Nigeria conforms with the Money Laundering Act 2011 (as amended) and the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit Act 2018 in terms of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing due diligence compliance," he said.