Barakat Odunuga-Bakare, an attorney, serves as the Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on Housing and oversees the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA). In an interview with DAYO AYEYEMI, she discussed the agency’s efforts in preventing and addressing instances of fraud in the real estate sector, along with insights on the proposed monthly rental collection and the state’s mortgage system.

**There have been cases of fraud in the real estate sector in Lagos State regarding how people pay money to developer but unable to access the property. How much sanitation of the industry has been done?

This recurring issue is one that persists, and I can assure you that the Lagos State Government, under the leadership of the Governor, is making exhaustive efforts to combat fraud in the real estate sector.

You know the sector is quite big and considering the housing deficit, the amount of people practising real estate is alarming. You might go out and see pepper seller saying I am an estate agent; you see a meat seller telling you that his second occupation is real estate agency. They are not licensed to practise real estate . We have a case sometime last September of one developer that collected huge amount of money in Ajao estate . The developer eloped and took away people’s money . God being so kind and the governor not leaving any stone unturned from the beginning of his administration, we were able to catch the man. He traveled out of the country and came back but was napped. As we speak right now, he is in incarceration. He had been told to pay money back to those he collected money from. And also, the said property has been taken over by the state government, and people in question have been sorted out.

So anybody that thinks he can defraud people in Lagos State and go away with their money is messing with their future.

There’s another man in Canada. He said one developer collected N20 million from him and the case went on for about three years. He wasn’t allocated any land. He later went on the social media, complaining that he was going to commit suicide if the Lagos State Government does not come to his aid. Mr Governor picked it up from the social media and sent it to me and the Commissioner for Housing.

We were able to get hold of the man within the space of one hour. We got hold of him in Canada and the said developer, and also the realtor that helped him in acquiring the said property.

I can tell you that within 48 hours, the issue was resolved. The man got allocated his parcel of land. He has also done appreciation post as well just to calm the people down.

Many are unaware of the existence of this agency and the resources available through the Lagos State government. We extend our assistance to all parties involved, including landlords, tenants, developers, and agents. Our involvement in transactions spans from landlords to tenants and covers up to five years.

Real estate developers, landlord, agent, tenant all have the right to register their transaction with the agency.

**Can this agency of government help victim get the interest of money paid to developers for over two years after failure failed to honour the agreement?

Inflation is a worldwide concern, impacting not just Nigeria but a global audience. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is striving to formulate policies to stabilize the dollar. Exchange rates fluctuate throughout the day, demonstrating volatility. Eventually, stability is expected. Lagos State government does not intervene in property pricing decisions.

**Can the government help to get accumulated interest rate on delayed transaction?

We cannot do anything per-se on that because it’s inflation that affects everything. It also affects our contractors as well when they got job and didn’t do it on time.

**Can you put a figure to the numbers of petitions to real estate fraud in the state?

We have received well over 1,577 petitions from the inception of this agency in 2020. We have been able to resolve 1027 petitions We also have eight cases in court bordering around real estate fraud.What is the update on monthly rental collection policy being initiated by your agency? Its implemention ought to have started last year December.

Government is continuous . If you don’t continue well that means you are going two years’ back . We all see that in the United Kingdom (UK) and United States (US) that rent is being collected monthly. We are looking forward and hoping that before the end of the year or by early next year, we will able to implement the policy of monthly rent collection. Also, it will be charged according to individuals earnings. The good part of it is that we will be test-running it with the public sector to ascertain income of everybody and once it works in the public sector, we will now push it to the private sector.

**What are the challenges confronting the take-off of monthly rental payment policy in Lagos State because we learnt then that N5billion was already set aside for it?

The N5billon set aside is still there. The fact that it slowed to take off showed that we are trying to perfect one thing or the other. And also the administration wanted to come to an end as at the time it wanted to take off. Now we have a new administration and Mr governor wants it to come to effect

**How would you dictate rent when prices of building materials are going up?

The forum countries you mentioned have a mortgage system.

We also have a mortgage system in Lagos State. If you want to buy any of our homes through the Ministry of Housing, you either buy outrightly or through a mortgage, and a percentage is charged depending on what you are earning. So if it can work for rent-to-own, it can also work for monthly rental collection.

**What’s the relationship between your agency and Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN)?

We are having a fantastic relationship and collaboration.

**What is your relationship with the developers in the area of regulation of their activities?

There is nothing an agency can do if it doesn’t has the law that is backing it. The present laws we have are good, but as time evolves, the laws need to evolve too. My first objective is to make sure that the laws are actually effective on ground.

I have been meeting different organisations: REDAN, ERCAN and Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) as well.

Most people don’t know we have a mortgage system as well. I have been telling them that we have a mortgage system that works and they can as well partner the Lagos state in this direction.

There is a critical need for collaboration between the public and private sectors. The Lagos State government is keen on engaging with both sectors to address the housing shortfall in the state. Every year, a significant number of individuals migrate to Lagos State, estimated at around 500,000 people. Given the substantial population influx, our goal is to ensure that people can access our amenities through the Ministry of Housing. To regulate the industry, we are calling on developers, landlords, brokers, realtors, agents, and others to register and participate in awareness campaigns, as the sector is currently fraught with issues. Recent reports indicate that about 4,000 members have already engaged with us in this initiative.

The question is that how many of them have registered?