In Nigeria, there are certain public laws that govern zoning or permitting relating to the use, development and occupation of land. This includes public laws at both federal and state levels in the country.
We would be looking at the following major public laws;
The Constitution of The Federal Republic Of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), Cap C23, LFN 2004.
The constitution specifically affirms that every citizen has the fundamental right to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in the country. This right was labelled the “right to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in Nigeria.”
Land Use Act 1978, Cap L5, LFN 2004
This is the main federal enactment regulating land use in Nigeria. The act has provisions for how to acquire an interest in real property, the extent of such interest and how such interest may be extinguished. The Land Use Act was enacted in 1978 with the aim of energizing economic development by ensuring effective and equitable utilization of land and land resources in the country.
It was promulgated following the recommendations of a minority report of a panel appointed by the Federal Military Government of the time to advise on future land policy.
National Environmental Standards And Regulations Enforcement Agency Act Cap N164, LFN 2004 (NESREA Act)
This act establishes the National Environmental Standards And Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) as a body charged with the responsibility of protecting and developing the environment. The act spells out its objectives, functions, tenure of office, powers of the agency and so on.
The Nigerian Urban And Regional Planning Act 1992, Cap N138, LFN 2004
The Nigerian Urban and regional planning act establishes the Nigerian urban and regional planning commission as the body responsible for planning responsibilities and development plans for the federal, state and local government respectively. They are also responsible for giving developers permits before they can go on with land development. For a developer to get a developer permit from the Urban and regional planning commission, he or she has to go through the application process and get a permit.
The Environment Impact Assessment Act 1992, Cap E12, LFN 2004
This is one of the major public laws that provides environmental impact assessment in respect of public and private projects. The law sets out the general principles, procedures and methods of environmental impact assessment in various sectors. It prohibits the carrying, depositing and dumping of harmful waste on land and in territorial waters among others.
Planning Permits Or Licenses in Real Estate
There are two major permits or licenses every developer is required to possess based on the proposed development before building in Nigeria. They include;
Building Permit: Building permits in Nigeria are compulsorily obtained for development projects. The cost of the building permits typically depends on the location of the building and the timeframe used for obtaining such permit differs. This is because of the nature of the development and location matters. In Lagos for instance, building permits take an average of 28 days to process.
Development Permit: Development Permit is a license every builder is required to have before commencing construction. This is after a building plan has been submitted for government approval irrespective of the type of such development. As stated earlier the Urban and regional planning commission is in charge of giving out such planning permits
Recall that Propertydome had previously published a news piece on “Things To Note As Lagos Grants New Building Planning Permits”. This article disclosed that the Lagos State Government created an e-planning permit platform in order to ease the process of obtaining a planning permit.
In a bid to improve service delivery, more Town Planners were said to have been deployed to the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) by the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, to ensure the implementation of reforms that will ease the planning permit approval process, as well as aid enforcement of laws and regulations.
