TYPE Of LAND TITLES NIGERIA
*Certificate of Occupancy:
This is one of the most important land title documents in Nigeria, as it certifies the legal and ownership status of any land, regardless of its use.
It is also a legal document confirming that the executive land situates has awarded the owner of any land a statutory right of occupancy. In Lagos, processing land title paperwork, particularly C of O, takes longer than expected.
The approval of a C of O document can take up to 18 months, which is why a C of O document on land greatly increases the value of the land.
READ MORE: Land Documents Are Very Important
*Governor’s Consent:
When land with a Certificate of Occupancy is sold to a third party, the buyer must now obtain the Governor’s consent before the transaction can be considered legal in the eyes of the government.
A governor’s consent, as the name implies, refers to the governor’s approval of a transaction, such as the transfer of ownership of a parcel of land with a certificate of occupancy from one person to another.
*FREE OR UNDER ACQUISITION:
Free land is that which the government has not indicated any interest in, while the land is said to be under government acquisition if the government has an interest in the area for the purpose of urban development or industrialization projects.
*GLOBAL ACQUISITION OR COMMITTED ACQUISITION:
The land that the government is buying can be bought in a global or committed manner. The term “committed acquisition” refers to a parcel of land that has been designated by the government for a certain project, and as a result, those pieces of land can never be given to people or groups for development projects.
When the government seeks to acquire full ownership of a block of land that is under committed acquisition, it will eventually result in the loss of such investments.
Whereas a land under global acquisition does not have a specific government purpose yet and as such those parcels of land can later be free or committed as the case may be.
There are 2 main processes for making a land under global acquisition to be free.
1. Excision and
2. Ratification.
READ MORE: Benefits Of Reviving Nigeria’s ‘Dead Capital’ In The Real Estate
*Excision and Gazette:
To excise a piece of land is to cut it. This is the process by which the government returns a parcel of land to its original owners for the purpose of residential and commercial development. When an excised parcel of land is published in a government official gazette, it is referred to as having the title Gazette.
Excision and gazette are very good titles for a piece of land; such lands are safe to buy and develop. The gazette then becomes the title on the land and such land is safe to buy because a proper title can be processed on the land.
*Registered Deed of Assignment:
A Deed of Assignment is a contract between the property’s owner and seller and the buyer, stating that the seller has transferred all of the seller’s rights, title interest, and ownership to the buyer.
The land or property becomes entirely and legally held by the buyer of the property after the deed of assignment is exchanged and the document is registered at the land registry.
