... Says every real estate transaction must begin and end with lawyers
The Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority met with practicing Lawyers in Real Estate Sector in order deliberate on the newly amended LASRERA Law, examine its impacts on the Real Estate Practitioners and also explore the benefits inherent in the State Government’s proposed Monthly Rental Scheme and how residents can key into the initiative.
Speaking at the maiden edition of the Stakeholders Forum which was in conjunction with the Construction Projects and Infrastructure Committee of the section on Business Law, Nigerian Bar Association,(CPIC), on Thursday, at Victoria Island, the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Housing, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka underscored the crucial roles expected to be played by lawyers in making the implementation of the new law.
She said that it became imperative for Lawyers to be well guided by the provisions of the law so as to enable them to give professional advice to their potential clients in the area of property and real estate business transactions.
The Special Adviser who decried the level of fraud perpetrated by unscrupulous individuals in the State's real estate industry mentioned that most fraudulent Real Estate transactions do not engage Lawyers from the inception of such transactions to closing.
She, however, stressed that the LASRERA Law was reviewed in order to regulate and bring sanity to the Real Estate Sector, as well as all transactions therein, stressing that the role of property Lawyers is to protect the interest of all parties in any Real Estate Transaction, as Legal professionals.
"Real Estate transactions have relevant processes with necessary documents required for the preparation of specific property business transactions in the sector.
"In Real Estate transactions, Lawyers and Real Estate Agents offer completely different services, Real Estate Agent is involved in the process of buying/selling properties or rental services while all paper works handled by a Lawyer as prescribed by the Law.
"To this end, our perspectives and experiences as Learned Professionals will make these deliberations and recommendations impactful while meeting International best practices in the Real Estate Market of the Lagos State Government, " the Special Adviser explained.
Speaking on the proposed Monthly Rental Policy Scheme, the Special Adviser noted that the scheme is a social investment program of the Lagos State government to alleviate the suffering of the residents seeking comfortable shelters, stressing that the State Government would not compel any Landlord to subscribe to this initiative.
She added that such an idea of payment which has Insurance and Legal coverages would guarantee a consistent pattern of payment by the tenant, while the tenant would also heave a sigh of relief with the burden of unbundling huge amounts on a yearly basis.
She said: "On the monthly rental scheme, we will not legislate on it, but we will continue to work towards the scheme being generally accepted by the residents.
"What we are proposing is a scheme whereby we are going to bring in a group of financiers they would finance this scheme by paying up the landlord on a yearly basis and the tenant gets the opportunity to repay on the monthly basis. It's a scheme with a single digit of payment that is going to be managed by the private sector and supported by the government."
In his keynote address, the State's Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN expressed optimism about the new law, saying that it was designed to bring sanity into the sector and weed out touts that have made a lot of gains fraudulently from the sector.
Highlighting certain provisions of the law, Onigbanjo talked about the functions of the agency which involved policy formulations, training the stakeholders in the real estate transactions, collection of data of players in the Industry, issuing of permits and possibly revocation of the same, as well as receive and investigate complaints from the public regarding transactions, amongst others.
He assured me that the law would change the landscape of real estate development and management in general.
Onigbanjo who was represented by the Director of Legal Drafting, Mrs Aderinsola Olanrewaju of the Ministry of Justice explained that law and regulations are very critical to the real estate as the forum would avail participants the opportunity to understand the intricacies of the legislation.
Speaking via a Virtual platform, the Chairman, CPIC, NBA Section on Business Law, Mr Olayode Delano, SAN, said that the LASRERA Law would be beneficial to investors and property owners in the State.
While Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mrs Abiola Kosegbe clarified the issue of duplication of roles by different Government Agencies, at the panel discussion, saying that all MDAs have specific functions though there are areas of synergy.
She explained that while Lasrera concentrates on the post-construction stage of Real Estate, other Agencies of Government are either involved in the conception stage which involves building materials testing, building control and implementation of approved building plans among others.
The Company Secretary/ General Counsel, UPDC PLC, Mrs Folake Kalaro, during the Panel discussion on the LASRERA LAW, emphasised the need to review the academic qualifications for Real estate practitioners as stipulated in the law.
She stated that the law is a path toward ensuring normalcy in the real estate industry but wants Government to ensure the implementation of most of the policies, particularly the aspect that affects the Real Estate Market in the State.
Another Panelist, the Managing Partner, Adetola Ayanru & Co, Mrs Adetola Ayanru affirmed that the law seeks to address professionalism in the real estate sector considering the importance of real estate in Lagos State and its contribution to the State's economy.
She said that when the law becomes fully operational, cases of fraud and sharp Practices would become a thing of the past and more foreign direct investment would be attracted to the State.
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