“The Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA) received well over 1,577 real estate fraud petitions from the inception of the agency in 2020 to 2024.”
The above disclosure was made by the special adviser to the governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwoolu on Housing, Mrs. Barakat Odunuga-Bakare, during a press briefing in Alausa, Ikeja, in 2024.
The real estate sector in the state, no doubt, is polluted with quacks who parade themselves as professional developers, agents, and realtors, defrauding unsuspecting members of the public of their hard-earned money. To protect stakeholders and safeguard the public from fraudulent activities in the sector, the state government established LASRERA to register practitioners, investigate complaints, and settle disputes between practitioners and complainants.
Understanding LASRERA:
LASRERA stands for Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority. Established by the 2021 Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Law and signed in February 2022, the Authority aims at eliminating touts and enhancing transparency in real estate transactions by discouraging fraud, misrepresentation, and deceit and ensuring the security of investments.
Before the establishment of the agency, the sector experienced some challenges including undocumented properties leading to ownership disputes, lack of clarity, and inefficiencies; issues with Land Use Act compliance as well as the need to approach the governor for consent; bureaucratic bottlenecks and confusion among the public; prevalence of fraudulent documents which undermines investor confidence and creates legal complications for property owners and buyers; insufficient knowledge and understanding of laws, market values, and property registration processes among stakeholders; inadequate regulation with its attendance chaos, disputes, and exploitation by unscrupulous players; limited use of technology leading to inefficiencies and limiting accessibility for stakeholders, and low investor confidence, amongst others.
To address these challenges and enhance best practices, LASRERA was established with the aim of regulating and ensuring consumer protection in real estate transactions in the State.
Functions of LASRERA:
The following are the key roles and responsibilities of the authority:
- Formulation and recommendation of policies for the enhancement of real estate transactions
- Registration of tenancy agreements
- Monitoring and conducting inspections in order to ensure compliance with the Lagos State Tenancy Law
- Investigating complaints and petitions against registered persons or organisations dealing in real estate transactions
- Mediating and resolving disputes in respect of real estate transactions.
Registration of Practitioners and Issuance of Permit
The law that set up LASRERA stipulates that a person or organisation dealing in real estate business shall be eligible for registration and issued a permit after fulfilling certain conditions and paying a fee prescribed by the authority.
Monitoring and compliance: LASRERA ensures strict compliance and adherence to the law to protect citizens and eliminate unethical practices in the sector. They achieve this by inspecting and monitoring the activities of registered practitioners while encouraging unregistered people to come forward and register.
Benefits of a Regulated Real Estate Sector:
According to Mrs. Barakat Odunuga-Bakare, LASRERA had less than a thousand registered real estate practitioners while there were well over a hundred thousand people practicing real estate in Lagos State at that time.
This revelation confirms why many real estate frauds were committed in the state, going by the number of unregistered practitioners. By having a regulated sector, buyers enjoy increased transparency and reduced risk of fraud. Property sellers, on the other hand, are protected from unethical practices.
A retired magistrate in the Lagos State Judiciary, Alhaji Shafihi Ogunleye, while on a courtesy visit to Muyuth Prime Properties Ltd in the Epe Local Government Area of the State, advised the government at all levels, particularly the Lagos State Government, to ensure that real estate agents across the country register with relevant agencies to safeguard the interests of all stakeholders.
The retired magistrate who served under Alhaji Jakande’s administration further stated that the activities of real estate agents should be monitored so that whoever flouts the law among them is sanctioned accordingly.
He equally advised the public, particularly those who are interested in buying properties for whatever reasons, to do due diligence regarding the agents they want to engage and the documents presented to them. He added, “You shouldn’t fall into the wrong hands just because you want to avoid the necessary legal fees.”
At Muyuth Prime Properties Ltd., we appreciate the roles of LASRERA in sanitising the sector as well as building trust and enhancing the credibility of registered estate agents across the state. For instance, we have received numerous calls and inquiries from prospective clients in Nigeria and the diaspora who have visited the LASRERA dedicated platform for registered real estate practitioners in the State.
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