The Lagos State Government has said that all modalities for the Commencement of a Monthly Rent payment scheme will commence soon.
The
Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Housing, Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka,
disclosed this during a discussion on Rental Policies at the just concluded 2nd Lagos Real Estate
Market Place Conference and Exhibitions that took place at Eko Hotel and
Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
According
to the Special Adviser, the new initiative will greatly ease the burden of
yearly payment on residents, just as she assured that landlords will get their
annual payment of house rent upfront.
She
said the scheme will benefit the landlords as they have their rent guaranteed
and they have an assurance of payment upfront, while tenants will also no longer
have that burden of yearly payment of a huge amount of money.
Benson-Awoyinka
stayed that “Tenants can therefore use their huge money for other forms of
investments or for payment of school fees as the burden of payment of yearly
rent is taken away from them completely. So it is a win-win social investment
scheme, it is a good one and it is applaudable.”
She
explained that to come on board, tenants must meet the qualification which
includes ensuring that tenants have the capacity to make the payments on a
monthly basis. She said the scheme will
begin with the formal sector of people with monthly income but promised that
once’s the scheme starts running fine, the informal sector too will be brought
on board.
“We
are all looking forward to it as it will start from January next year. From
today you will start seeing communications about how it is going to work, how
existing tenancy will come on board and we are going to have a major launch for
the program. We will have communications all over the news medium to show
people how it will work and how to get on the program.”
She
assured that the scheme has come to stay and it will be sustainable, noting
that several Lagos State government policies have stood the test of time and are
still working and this would not be an exemption.
“We
have kept to all our words right from the beginning of this administration,
this is another win-win for us as a state government, as citizens of Lagos, as
landlords and as investors and we all should applaud the state government for
this initiative.”
“With
this initiative, we are able to enable tenants to pay monthly rent beyond for
properties built by the Lagos State government as we have in the rent-a-home
scheme. We have brought private landlords too on board and we know that they
are waiting eagerly to see what will happen to them. We know we cannot enforce
monthly rent collection on landlords but we have created a platform that will
make monthly rent payment possible for tenants and we know when the system
begins and runs fine, many more landlords will come on board.
“To make this work, we have brought together several stakeholders including financial institutions, landlords financiers, tenants and the legal and administrative system. We have put all these together as a state government and we will ensure this service is resilient and easily accessible by residents of Lagos State.
The
Special Adviser added that the platform works for both new and previous
tenants.
She
promised that the informal sectors would also be put into the scheme
She
urged Lagosians to take a good advantage
platform.
“We
thank the Lagos State Governor and the
entire team for this wonderful idea and I pray it has come to stay and will be
a reference point in Lagos,” She said.
Commissioner
for Finance, Dr. Rabiu Olowo, said the initiative was part of the resilience
policy of the current administration.
He
said the government had a rental survey and found out that 88 percent of
tenants in the state would rather pay their rent monthly.
“We
had to pursue this by working with different relevant stakeholders and we now
have a model that will work and enable Lagosians pay their rent monthly. Landlords have nothing to lose because they
will continue to receive their rent yearly and their default risk is zero.
He
said the scheme will commence with the formal sector to enable them
minimize risk.
“We
as a Ministry are already looking into the informal sector to involve them in
this program but we need to first begin
with the formal sector to enable us minimise the risk level.
"
It is easier for us to verify how much those in the formal sector earn and for
us to know what we will get and how we will get it. When we succeed in
this, we will roll out to the informal
sector. There is an insurance pack that helps us manage all of the risks. We
have a data plan that helps us fish out defaulters.
He
said Government is working with stakeholders especially financial institutions,
noting that the platform is a social investment for the benefit of Lagos
citizens and residents and not a money-making investment.
The
Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer, Nobleserve Capital Management, Mr.
Korede Adeyemi, described the initiative as a market platform that speaks to
social impact.
“With
what we are doing, every landlord will get their rent annually and tenants at
the same will have the capacity to pay their rent on a monthly basis. This
platform will be demand-driven because of the convenience of payment. People
will able to log into the platform to search for houses.”
He
said the initiative will also sanitize the pricing of houses in Lagos state
in terms of tenancy rate. He said this will be possible as the platform
tells similar properties in similar areas within Lagos State that can either go
for the same price or lower prices and in essence people can shop for rent
easily on the platform and rentals will be highly subsidized.
He
said the initiative is a robust system that takes care of everyone, adding that
it is an intervention platform that will also fish out defaulters.
Managing
Partner of Charles Anthony LLP, Mr. Charles Adeosun-Phillips, said it is a
social welfare program and it’s a win-win for all.
“The
landlords, government, financial institution and all stakeholders win,” he
said.
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