Property owners urged to take advantage of 90-day amnesty period in Nigeria

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Property owners in Lagos State have been urged to take the advantage of a 90-day amnesty period granted them to regularise their property.

The amnesty programme, the state’s Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Oluyinka Olumide, said was aimed at assisting owners/developers of existing property to regularise their property and help in promoting sustainable physical environment.

According to him, the amnesty initiative would allow owners and developers of existing buildings to obtain planning permits without the payment of statutory penal fees within the amnesty window from May 2 to July 30, 2024, with a five-percent discount applicable to payments completed within ten working days of the bill’s issuance.

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The commissioner gave the charge at a press briefing to mark the first year of the second term in office of Governor Sanwo-Olu in Ikeja, Lagos.

He added that the Lagos State Government has announced a 40-percent rebate on planning permit payment to Lagosians, noting that this would encourage property owners in the state to do the right thing by ensuring their properties pass all official procedures.

The commissioner described the incentives, that is the rebate to civil servants and the amnesty programme, as a relief measure to mitigate the effects of the current economic hardship being experienced in the built environment, adding that applicants are expected to submit all relevant documents for assessment through the LASPPPA Head Office and District Offices in the 57 Local Government areas and Local Council Development Areas.

He said “Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu-led administration is not leaving any stone unturned in bequeathing a Lagos smart city that is premised on a sustainable functional physical environment, achievable only by wholesale compliance with regulatory requirements.

“The administration which is people-oriented and compassionate in formulating policies that favour inclusiveness, ease of compliance, and citizens’ participation has given the 40 percent rebate in planning permit for civil servants to get more and more of them to experience the process and become wilful advocates of the good works of the government.

In the sector and also the amnesty window of three months that we just opened last week to allow planning permit applications from owners of existing developments without payment of the statutory penalty is a good case in point.

“For emphasis, the window opens from May 2 to July 30, 2024, when the waiver on penalty payments on existing developments shall subsist.

The commissioner warned that non compliance would draw the wrath of the government that is positioned to do that which is good for the largest number of Lagosians.

He stated that the administration would not compromise the safety of every individual in the State.

Olumide said: “I therefore solicit the continued cooperation of the general public to adhere strictly to the physical planning laws of Lagos State by following the standard steps to the planning and construction of buildings to promote safety and orderly, livable, and sustainable environment for the wellness and wellbeing of the people.

“MrBabajideSanwo-Olu has charged every officer under this responsibility to take the life of every Lagosian as important as theirs and be steadfast in discharging their duties to ensure no further collapse of buildings, neither should there be the loss of any life.

“With this rebate and after the 90-Day Amnesty, any property that falls on the wrong side of physical planning laws shall face the consequences squarly,” he stressed.

The commissioner highlighted some of the activities embarked upon by the Office of Physical Planning, including over 74 percent rate in the grant of Planning Permits in the last one year and the preparation and review of Master Plans and Model City Plans such as the Lagos Island Model City Plan and Alimosho Model City Plan.

Others are the preparation of nine Action Area Plans, nine Development Guide Plans and the delivery of the right of way for 16 public infrastructure projects in the state.