Property developers in Lagos State are to be mandated to open escrow bank accounts with financial institutions to promote financial transparency and protection of citizens in transactions.
The new policy is to be introduced by the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority, LASRERA.
Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Housing, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka, made this known when Female Lawyers in Real Estate Practice, FELIREP, visited her at the weekend.
According to Benson-Awoyinka, LASRERA has declared its readiness to commence the enforcement of its newly signed law aimed at holding property developers, individuals and organisations in real estate business accountable, especially those with the intentions to defraud accommodation seekers across the state.
She cited the instance of some property developers who were in the habit of collecting money from potential clients above the available units of property,
Benson-Awoyinka maintained that such individuals or organisations must be made to face the law in order to serve as deterrent to others with similar intentions.
She also encouraged Lagos residents to always engage lawyers at every stage of real estate transactions so as not to fall victims of swindlers in the sector.
She added that legal practitioners are always ready to guide prospective property buyers on how to avoid some pitfalls.
The special adviser urged real estate practitioners on the need to understand the value of LASRERA law, especially the aspect on the documentation of real estate transactions for ease of doing business in terms of sales/ purchases of properties for identification of ownership.
Earlier, FELIREP founder, Peace Anomneze, explained that the essence of the body was to create awareness about female lawyers that are in real estate for mentorship purposes and also for advocacy on professionalism in carrying out real estate transactions in the state.
Stating examples of lawyers in other sectors like marine, insurance, among others, Anomneze promised that FELIREP will invest in mentorship programme for young female lawyers and individuals on how to understand the dynamics of the real estate markets in the state.
She sought for more cooperation from the state government in the area of land documentation to ensure that the processing period is further reduced.
