Sanwo-Olu's Aide, Toke-Benson Inaugurates LASRERA Committee To Promote Global Best Practices In Real Estate Sector | AgegePulse Magazine

 

The Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor, Hon. Mrs. Toke Benson- Awoyinka yesterday, inaugurated a Technical Committee on Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA) at The George Hotel, 30,Lugard Avenue, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Middle: Toke-Benson, SA on Housing L: Rabiu Olowo, Commissioner for Finance, Moyosore Onigbanjo, the Commissioner for Justice 

Hon. Toke-Benson said, it is pertinent to set up such committee to achieve Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu's agenda of transforming Lagos State into a 21st century model of effective and efficient governance.

Technical committee with sub committee of Legal, Finance, Insurance and Social  comprises of Hon. Toke Benson-Awoyinka the SA to the Governor on Housing, Hon. Rabiu Olowo – the Commissioner for Finance, Hon. Moyosore Onigbanjo – the Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Babatunde Obaniyi of United Capital Trustees, Mr. Kayode Omotoso of Mortgage Bankers Association of Nigeria (MBAN), Mr. Afolabi Balogun of Libra Law Offices, Mrs. Funmi Ekundayo of STL Trustees.

Other include, Mr. Kehinde Ogundimu of the NMRC, Dr. Roland Igbinoba of Pison Housing, Mr. Bisi Onasanya of The Address Homes, Mr. Femi Adewole of the FHF, Mr. Owolabi Salami of AllOaks Insurance Limited, Mr. Demola Sogunle of Stanbic IBTC, Mr. Deji Charles Adeogun of Philips, Charles, Anthony LLP.

Addressing the audience, Hon.  Awoyinka, stated that the committee mandate is to design a policy and fiscal framework to institute and promote global best practices in the state, curtail the malpractice in the real estate sector while improving financial transparency and fiscal responsibility.

"This is in line with the Executive’s agenda of transforming Lagos State into a 21st century model of effective and efficient governance. The Committee has been charged with addressing the challenges in the sector with particular attention to reforming the Home Ownership Model to increase housing stock and reduce deficit.
To achieve this, the Committee will be required to tackle the set up of a comprehensive system and framework which will address the following:

"To resolve financing, the Committee will prioritise the development of a fiscal responsibility and transparency model to promote the inflow of local and international funding required to confront the housing deficit.

"The creation of a trusteeship for the management of real estate remittances for off-takers and a system to stagger payments to Developers where off-plan payments are applicable. The trusteeship would also have the obligation over the administration of diaspora remittances for off-plan payments/sales with the ultimate plan to boost investor confidence, attract, and improve upon Foreign Direct investment in the sector. These funds will be domiciled in a Centrally Managed Fund.

"The Committee will set up a governance structure which will oversee the entire real estate framework and stakeholder engagement in the state to minimize trust deficiency. The structure will cater to the entire system of the real estate process and will incorporate participation from Private Developers, Financial Institutions and of course the State Government in a Public-Private Partnership model.

"To further boost confidence and safeguard investment, the Committee will be responsible for the centralization of insurance management for all real estate assets which will dovetail into the existing Lagos State Risk Management framework.

"To improve upon existing laws and policies, we would oversee the creation and implementation of Strata Title Law to drive revenue. This would encourage the revivification of unused capital in the state as well as improve accessibility to housing for citizens.

Speaking at the inauguration, the Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Hon. Rabiu Olowo stated that, "National Bureau of Statistics recently put real estate contribution to Nigeria’s GDP at 7.5 per cent, a figure that left many stakeholders surprised at what they described as a very poor rating by the body.

"The current Global Real Estate Transparency Index Survey carried out in 2020 rates Nigeria poorly as number 68 out of 99 countries with a score of 3.74% as against United Kingdom as Number 1 and a score of 1.31%. South Africa remains the only Country with a positive Real Estate transparency index in Africa ranked number 24 with a score of 2.37.

To plug the housing gap, the World Bank in its 2014 study stated that N59. 5 trillion would be needed at N3.5 million per unit.
In Lagos State, the statistics shows that the contribution of real estate to the State GDP stood at c. N242b representing 2.01% of Lagos State GDP which is very low.

"This initiative has strategic broad responsibilities with its focus on improving financial transaction and building invertors (internal/external) confidence.

The Introduction of a Real Estate Trustee to help manage off takers- investors funds and gradual re-imbursements to Real Estate developers at every milestone achieved. This is to reduce the overbearing exposure/risk investors face in the Real estate industry. This Trustees will be accountable to both the Government, the Real Estate developers, and the investors.

The subscriber’s funds will only be assessable to developers upon approval from the trustees and the Government. The required approval will cover both quality of deliverables and milestone.
Some of the components of poor transparency currently faced by the sector cuts across; No measurement of Real estate investment performance, Corporate Governance, No Regulations, No regulated financial transaction process, Poor real estate data.

"The Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority is saddled with the responsibility of registering estate agents, sanction unlicensed estate agency practitioners, collate data on property transactions, investigate complaints and petitions against licensed practitioners as well as ensure the payment of fees, taxes or charges on property transactions".

The commissioner implored all stakeholder in this sector to work closely as a team in transforming the Real Estate Sector particularly in Lagos State in achieving one of the best real estate sectors across the globe.

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Toke-Benson Awoyinka

As part of the submissions reached at the just concluded First Real Estate Market Place Conference and Exhibitions in Lagos, the Special Adviser to the State Governor on Housing, Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka has revealed that the Housing sector can serve as an important contributor to the nation's GDP, support job creation and provide social benefits to Nigerians as a whole. 

The 2-day event was organised by Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority- LASRERA as a meeting point for Real Estate Practitioners / Property Developers and their potential clients with relevant State  Government  Agencies  in the  Built  Sector to serves as a one-stop-shop for the Real Estate Market. 

The Special Adviser submitted that addressing the housing deficit will have a game - changing impact on our society and communities when compared with other less important sectors that are presently being given greater attention at the detriment of the housing sector. 

While saying that most African countries do not see and treat the housing sector as an engine of economic growth, Benson-Awoyinka identified the Real Estate Market as a sector that has tremendous multiplier effect on the broader economy through two channels: Private investment and housing services.

Benson-Awoyinka stated that the real estate/ housing sector remains a critical component of the economy that represents one of the fundamental needs for livelihood considering its influence on the health, social behavior, efficiency, contentment and overall welfare on the citizenry and society.

 In the same vein, the State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Olalere Odusote expressed the desire of the State Government to have sustainable, reliable power and greener energy, towards the realization of its vision of a 21st century economy which is one of the priority areas of the present administration in the State.

While quoting the United Nations statistics which revealed that the real estate accounts for about 40 per cent of the world's energy consumption and a third of all carbon emissions, Odusote submitted that there is the need to ensure the availability of clean solutions and innovations to make buildings future-proof, adding that in line with SDG 7, efforts must be increased on energy efficiency. 

He said, “In line with its THEMES agenda to make Lagos State a 21st century economy, Lagos State is desirous of having sustainable, reliable and greener energy across all sectors; the real estate sector particularly provides a unique opportunity to meet this objective. 

“Lagos, reported to have the highest immigration rate in the world, is expected to be the largest city in the world by population in the next 100 years. This population growth will require significant sustainable housing and energy needs and thus makes it imperative to ensure that new buildings are built green to avoid higher carbon emissions for decades that stem from inefficient energy use.”

The Commissioner, who acknowledged the fact that real estate developers and owners have started recognizing the importance of clean energy, maintained that the practitioners must ensure access to secure, affordable and sustainable energy by exploring the option of clean energy and energy efficient solutions available.

As part of the State Government’s efforts to promote greener and environmental sustainability, the Commissioner reported that it has embarked on the conversion of all streetlights in Lagos from hpS to the brighter and significantly more efficient LED lighting, assuring that all 39,000 streetlights in Lagos will be retrofitted over the next 6 months and will lead to a 65% operational cost savings to the state government.  

He stated that the State Government will further expand street lighting to ensure that before the end of this administration, all class A & B roads as well as designated public spaces achieve full lighting coverage, saying that these kinds of clean energy and energy efficient solutions are equally crucial and beneficial to the real estate sector as they guarantee significant energy costs savings for such buildings.