Buying land in Nigeria involve various legal requirements and key procedures to be followed. The first key step towards purchasing a land in Nigeria is to engage a lawyer who can conduct a land search in respect of the property and investigate the title document of the land.
It is really important to have a lawyer who is grounded in property law practice before embarking on a land purchase. This is so because a lawyer would ensure one does not run into legal troubles with land documentation after purchase, and also by virtue of Nigerian laws it is only a legal practitioner that are actually allowed to prepare legal documents (instruments) for conveyancing or transfer of an interest in a land for a fee.
SUMMARY OF STEPS FOR BUYING LAND & HOUSE IN NIGERIA
The following steps are important and must be carefully followed for buying land in Nigeria:
First, the buyer must demand and obtain all relevant land title documents from the seller.
Buyer may engage a lawyer to investigate the title of the seller and also conduct a due diligence in respect of the transactions.
Buyer’s lawyer will conduct search at land registry and investigate the land’s title accordingly.
If satisfied, seller or buyer may go ahead to prepare a contract of sale, which shall be signed by both parties. Buyer can go ahead and make deposit or pay all the property sum at this point.
Upon competition of the entire payment, seller or buyer may prepare and sign the document transferring the interest in the land, which could be deed of assignment or conveyance.
Buyer may go ahead and perfect the title of the land with government immediately.
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR A LAND PURCHASE IN NIGERIA
Of the process of purchasing a land, there a number of relevant documents required from the seller to be able to effectively validate the transaction. These documents are essential as they tend to prove the title that the buyer possesses in relation to the land. It is crucial that one be aware that there are actually various kinds of land documents in Nigeria. These documents include:
Approved survey plan: This is a crucial title document that helps to reveal the real ownership status in any land and landed properties’ transactions. It can also help to reveal whether such land is not under any government acquisition.
Deed of Assignment/ Conveyance: It is a really important document, which should be prepared by either seller or buyer of the land after the conclusion of any land transaction. It is the document that transfer an interest in land from one person to land. Where the seller previously purchased the land from another buyer, it is important for the buyer to demand for the copy this document to enable him or her trace the history of the property to be purchased.
Probate & Letter of Administration: Where in any property’s transaction, the owner is late, it is important for any prospective buyer to demand for the grant of probate or letter of administration in respect of the property. Any documents directly owned by a deceased in respect of his or her property before demise becomes invalidated after his or her death for the purpose of transferring title or conveying legal interest in the said property. The grant of probate or letter of administration is the only official document that serves as a legal title in respect of any land or house owned by a deceased person. Such a document must name Executors or Administrators who can legally sign any document transferring interest in the property, which is called Assent.
Certificate of Occupancy: This document certifies the legal ownership status of any land in Nigeria irrespective of its use. It is usually delivered to the owner of a parcel of land by the government attesting to the owner’s interest to the land where such interest is actually in accordance with the applicable laws. It is a legal document indicating that an individual that has acquired an interest in land having been granted a statutory right of occupancy by the governor.
Power of Attorney: It generally required where a person is actually acting for another person, companies or individuals as the agent. It Is a document that authorizes a particular person to act on the behalf of another.
PROOF OF LAND OWNERSHIP IN NIGERIA
There have always been disputes arising from land matters which often end up in litigation; this is usually as a result of failure to get the proper documents of ownership of land or the failure to finishing the process of acquiring a perfect title to the land. This is the reason that in the bid to achieving justice in property dispute, the court is going to rule in favour of any party which can prove a much better title to a land or perhaps property. This was the position of the court in the case of ELEGUSHI v. OSENI (2005) 14 NWLR (PT 945) AT 348.
Thus, in law, there is every chance that the owner of a piece of property or land may not appear before the law as an individual with a better title as it was held in the case of Agboola v. United Bank for Africa Plc. & two Ors. (2011) 4 CLRN 33. In the famous case of IDUNDUN v. OKUMAGBA (1976) 9 10 SC, 227 1 NMLR, the Supreme Court of Nigeria held that ownership or perhaps title to land can be proved in any of the following five ways:
By traditional evidence.
By production of documents of title duly authenticated and executed.
By acts of ownership extending over a sufficient length of time numerous and positive enough as to warrant the inference of true ownership.
By acts of long possession and enjoyment, and
Proof of possession of adjacent or connected land in circumstances rendering it probable that the owner of such connected or perhaps adjacent land would, in addition, be the owner of the land in dispute.
Therefore, the most common way out of all listed above is actually the creation of a document of title or perhaps grant. This method entails providing any of the following document; Deed of Assignment/ conveyance, a Deed of gift, a legal Mortgage, and a Certificate of Occupancy.
HOW TO WRITE LAND AGREEMENT IN NIGERIA
It is so instructive to note it is just legal practitioners that are permitted to prepare instruments relating to land. Such instruments include Deed of a lease, Assignment, Legal mortgage, etc. The name and address of a legal practitioner who prepared a land document must be stated on the instrument and it must bear a seal of such legal practitioner, this is also known as franking of such instruments. The reason is that where an instrument relating to an immovable property does not contain the particulars of the legal practitioner who prepared it, it might not be accepted for registration at the land registry in any state in Nigeria.
To conclude, it is advisable and essential to involve a lawyer when one intends to purchase a land or perhaps acquire a property in Nigeria, as responsibilities and roles of a lawyer in respect to buying land in Nigeria including but not limited to the following:
Investigation of the title of the property.
Preparation of formal contract which encapsulates the agreement of the parties in respect of the property that is being transferred. Excellent drafting skills are necessary for this to make sure that the document reflects the absolute intention of the parties.
Reviewing of the contract by the solicitor of the purchaser.
Ensuring and preparing the execution of the instrument or perhaps the deed that transfers the legal interest in the purchased property.
Registration of the instrument that conveys the legal interest in the land.
All of the above can only be effectively completed by a legal practitioner for the buyer of the property
– Lexology