Lagos Set To Commence Monthly Payment Scheme

The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Housing, Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka, has stated that all modalities for the commencement of a monthly rent payment scheme will commence soon in the State.

Benson-Awoyinka disclosed this during a discussion on Rental Policies at the just-concluded Second Lagos Real Estate Market Place Conference and Exhibitions which took place at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

She maintained that the new initiative will greatly ease the burden of yearly payment on residents, assuring that landlords will, however, get their annual payment of house rent upfront, while tenants will no longer have the burden of yearly payment of a huge amount of money.

Her words: “Tenants can therefore use the yearly payment 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”.

The Special Adviser explained that for tenants interested in the scheme, they must be able to meet some requirements which include the capacity to make the payments on a monthly basis, stressing that the scheme will begin with those in the formal sector with monthly income after which the informal sector will be brought on board.

“We thank the Lagos State Governor and the entire cabinet for this wonderful initiative and I pray the scheme will not only be successful but will become a reference point in Lagos”, she said.

On his part, the Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Rabiu Olowo, said the initiative was part of the resilience policy of the current administration, noting that the State government did a rental survey and found out that 88 per cent of tenants would rather pay their rent monthly.

Olowo said: “We had to pursue this by working with different relevant stakeholders and we now have a model that will work and enable Lagosians to 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 to minimise risk, saying, “We as a Ministry are already looking into the informal sector to bring them into this programme but we need to first begin with the formal sector to enable us to 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 will help us fish out defaulters”, the Commissioner stated

He averred that the government is working with stakeholders, especially financial institutions, noting that the platform for the scheme is a social investment for the benefit of Lagos citizens and residents and not a money-making venture.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nobleserve Capital Management, Mr. Korede Adeyemi, described the initiative as a market platform that speaks to social impact.

He said: “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

In a move to secure lives and property of residents in the nation’s capital, the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, has directed all estates in the territory to deploy solar lights on their perimeter fences and along streets within estates.

Malam Bello, who gave the directive at the commissioning of the Cosgrove Smart Estate, Wuye, also directed all estates in the territory to deploy solar lights on their perimeter fences and along streets within estates,adding banned scavengers from refuse collection in estates within the territory

He said emphasis would be placed on ensuring that estates are managed properly with greater emphasis on security and the environment.

“Our focus would be ensuring that estates are managed properly to the benefit of the residents. Accordingly, greater emphasis would be placed on ⁷ and environmental matters. It would be made mandatory for every estate in the FCT to deploy CCTV cameras with recording facilities and solar lights on perimeter fences and along the streets in the estates.

“Furthermore, no scavengers would be allowed to be refuse collectors within estates. Each estate would be expected to employ the services of reputable companies registered by the AEPB.

“I wish to remind estate developers that 40% of the FCT is intended to be green. This is even more critical now as we battle climate change,” the minister said.

Malam Bello congratulated Cosgrove Investment Ltd and its CEO, Umar Abdullahi, for pioneering construction of Smart Estates in the FCT, saying the housing subsector in the FCT was the most dynamic and vibrant in the entire country.

‘More funds should be pumped into the real estate sector to promote housing revolution’

Modern Shelter Calls for Government Intervention in Affordable Housing

Abdulmalik Mahdi,Managing Partner Modern Shelter Systems,has said that more funding should be directed into the real estate sector to promote housing revolution and boost the nation’s economy.

In an interview with Africa Housing News, Abdulmalik Mahdi, called for government’s intervention in the real estate sector, adding that the power and agriculture sector have enjoyed government’s intervention in the area of provision of funding.

He said government can help in the process of getting approval for affordable lands and single digits mortgage financing.

Abdulmalik,however ,stated that since other sectors have Bank of Industry and Bank of Agriculture, they are highly capitalized, therefore, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria needs to be adequately supported and more provision should be made for real estate funding in the country.

According to him, if government patronizes the real estate sector, employment opportunities and economic growth will be achieved

“At least 7 to 10 industries are directly affected by real estate; from carpentry to tiling and cement.

Since the government is giving direct interventions, real estate companies should be given the opportunity because this will ensure mass employment of labor.” He concluded.