Lagos intensifies housing fee regulation, meets CDAs

The Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority has met with the leadership of community development associations and community development committees in the 57 local government and local council development areas.

The move is in a bid to tackle the rising cost of housing transactions in the built environment in Lagos and follows a previous meeting of the agency with the chairmen of local governments last week.

A Sunday statement noted that the initiative was part of the broader efforts to regulate and reduce agency and legal fees charged by real estate practitioners.

Speaking during the meeting with the chairmen of the CDAs and CDCs, the Commissioner for Housing, Maruf Fatai, reiterated that the move “is not only to reduce the exorbitant fees being charged by some property agents but to bring sanity to the built sector and make life easier for the average Lagosian.

Housing is a basic necessity, and we are committed to ensuring it is accessible and affordable.”

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Housing, Barakat Odunuga-Bakare, stressed that the move reflected the government’s commitment to fair and affordable housing practices in Lagos.

“Agency fees must be between zero and 10 per cent, not more. Anything beyond that is unacceptable and exploitative,” she said.

Bakare said, “We want members of the public to understand that doing business with unregistered agents poses serious risks. LASRERA exists to protect both tenants and landlords, and we will not relent in our effort to restore sanity to the built sector.”

The government noted that the collaboration with the CDAs and CDCs was a major step in extending LASRERA’s regulatory oversight to the grassroots, where most housing transactions take place.