Although, details of the bill signed into law by Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu to regulate real estate transactions in the state may still be sketchy, the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), has called for exemption of their members from its operation.
Sanwo-Olu, while signing the bill at the Executive Chamber at the Lagos House, Ikeja on Monday, has expressed optimism that the new law would protect citizens from falling prey to unscrupulous real estate professionals.
He said: “It is really around ease of doing business and ensuring that we can continue to attract private sector investments into the real estate space.
“We believe this law would be the very first in the country that has taken a deep dive into what is happening in that space and it further strengthens our intervention in housing through the Ministry of Housing.”
But, the president of NIESV, Emma Okas Wike said the association will study its content and come out with a position.
Stressing the association’s support to the regulation of real estate transactions in Nigeria, he, however, said the law should exempt members of NIESV because their activities are already being regulated by the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON), a Federal Government body.
According to him, there is no way members of NIESV will now be regulated by a state authority at the same time with federal authority as there would be confusion.
Wike stressed that the association was not against regulation of real estate transactions in Lagos State as the body has been clamouring for the regulation of estate agency practice, hence its formation of Association of Estate Agents of Nigeria to ensure that the practice is regulated.
He also stressed that NIESV is working to sponsor a bill at the National Assembly for regulation of the estate agency in the country, which would soon be listed in the order papers.
This, he said is being done because of the association’s desire to tackle issue of corruption in the estate agency practice.
Read Also: Nigerians petition Fashola, N’A against yearly payment of rents
He said: ” If we have government law that is now regulating the practice, is it not better?
“So, we are not against Lagos regulating real estate transactions. What we are against is that they are going to regulate an already regulated body.
” But what we are saying is to remove us from the law by excluding estate surveyors and valuers because we are already being regulated and we cannot be regulated by two bodies at the same time to avoid confusion.”
The NIESV president said when they met with the governor on the issue, he assured the association that he is going to look into the matter.
According to him, the governor directed the association to appoint a mediator, which it did to work with his special adviser on housing to look at the issues.
He expressed optimism that their requests should be incorporated in the new to avoid confusion in its implementation.
But expounding on the new law, Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Housing, Ms Toke Benson-Awoyinka, said the law does not exempt anybody doing real estate transactions in the state.
According to her, there is no reason for NIESV members to agitate over whether they already have a professional body regulating them.
She stressed that from the onset, the state made it clear that they are not regulating professional bodies and hence NIESV should be partners in progress.
She said: “We all want to stop frauds in Lagos. We want to curb the threat to our citizens and everybody. Our citizens are being defrauded on a daily basis by agents, developers and others. We have no other place to submit rather than what the law said. That is what happens in a sane society. We should regulate our society as well as sanitise the industry.”
On the concerns expressed by the estate surveyors and valuers, she said as long as they are doing real estate transactions in the state, they will be regulated.
Ms. Benson-Awoyinka, noted that NIESV took them to the Federal High Court, Lagos and the case was thrown out for lack of jurisdiction because the court held that the state has powers to regulate such transactions in her domain
According to her, one of the issues, NIESV raised in court was that their members were self-regulated by ESVARBON, but we have no business regulating professional bodies, we will regulate real estate transactions.
“Assuming a realtor, who happened to be a member of NIESV defrauds a Lagosian. Is that citizen going to get redress from NIESV? He is going to get redress from the law court of Lagos State. They can regulate their members but not real estate transactions. I know that the judgment of the court is clear on that,” she added.
