19th May, 2022
By Rukayat Adeyemi
The Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA), on Thursday, clamped down on signages of unregistered real estate practitioners operating in the state.
The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Housing, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka, said the exercise was to enforce compliance with its directive to real estate practitioners to be duly registered with the authority.
Benson-Awoyinka, represented by the Director, Enforcement Unit of LASRERA, Mr Deji Badejo, said this at the commencement of the exercise in Ikeja and Maryland.
She said the exercise was in line with LASRERA’s mandate to regulate, sanitise and effectively monitor the real estate sector in Lagos State.
According to her, it is an offence to practice real estate in any of its forms, which includes the display of signage and inscriptions such as: ‘To Let,’ ‘To Lease,’ and ‘For Sale’ among others, in their offices or on any property without being duly registered with the authority.
“This enforcement and sensitisation exercise, which started at Ikeja and its environs, is expected to be replicated across other divisions of the state.
“It is part of the strategies by LASRERA to raise public awareness about the state government’s efforts to sanitise the real estate sector in the state,” she said.
According to her, there is a need to restrict posting of signage on residential and commercial properties, by unregistered real estate individuals or organisations who can easily swindle unsuspecting members of the public.
Benson-Awoyinka explained that many members of the public had been defrauded in the past by imposters and fraudulent real estate practitioners.
She emphasised that the government could not continue to ignore and allow irregularities capable of driving many genuine investors/ investees away from the sector.
The special adviser said LASRERA had earlier written to over 1,000 real estate individuals or organisations in the state to honour the state government’s call for regularisation of the sector and also boost the confidence of those in diaspora to invest in the market.
“Let me state clearly that following the letters earlier delivered to practitioners across the state, only a few of these practitioners responded to the letters; hence the need to embark on this enforcement and compliance exercise.
“This will enable relevant stakeholders in the built sector and the general public to attach importance to the call by the Agency to sanitise real estate transactions in the state,” she said.
Benson-Awoyinka assured all residents of the state that the enforcement drive would be a continuous exercise until all practitioners in the real estate sector were captured under LASRERA’s database, in line with international best practices.
She urged members of the public to report dubious real estate practices to the Agency’s email on: [email protected].