The real estate sector in Lagos Nigeria has been dominated by some impostors and fraudsters who claimed to be licensed real estate practitioners with the purpose of defrauding people of their hard-earned money while seeking accommodation or buying a property.
In a bid to sanitize these fraudulent activities among real estate agents and property developers, the Lagos state government has made it compulsory for all real estate practitioners; real estate agents, developers, and professionals to register with Lagos state.
This is to be done via the Lagos State Regulatory Authority also known as LASRERA. The essence of this body is to regulate real estate transactions in Lagos State by identifying persons eligible to be licensed as Real estate practitioners and provides for the issuance or renewal of annual permits, as well as collating and registering Real estate consultants in the state. In a bid to promote honesty, Lagos state must keep a database of people dealing in Real estate transactions, monitor the activities of all real estate practitioners, and as well sanction unlicensed real estate agents in the state.
To do these, the agency launched its official website stating its practice guidelines for property developers and real estate practitioners. Speaking on the launching of the website at Alausa Ikeja, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Housing, Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka mentioned that this became necessary in order to capture and update a unified database of real estate practitioners and their activities. She also said that the Lagos state governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo Olu had approved the change of name of the government department from Lagos Real Estate Transaction Department to Lagos state Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA). Adetoke Benson-Awoyinka, a Legal Practitioner is grounded in different areas of the Law profession ranging from Insurance Law including Underwriting policies, Risk and Claims Management. She also possesses expertise in Litigation, Probate, and Land matters.
Also read: Understanding excision of land
Requirement for Registration With LASRERA
The following are the necessary requirement for registration with LASRERA
- Corporate Affairs Commission Certificate (CAC)
- Secondary School Certificate Examination
- Office address
- Valid means of identification
In conclusion
With the introduction of LASRERA to curb the unscrupulous activities of unlicensed real estate practitioners and by sanctioning any real estate practitioners that violate the provision of the guidelines, the real estate sector in Lagos state would experience transparency and credibility