Disclaimer: This article is not a legal advice. It is for education
Title search is how to confirm ownership and current status of the land/property you want to buy in Nigeria. Experience have shown that many purchasers of properties in Nigeria do not understand title search. Many just buy because their brothers/sisters live around the area. Those who cares to conduct search only go to the lands ministry and conduct a search on the documents that were given to them by the sellers and they proceed to deal. At the end, you find out that there are many problems underneath largely as a result of poor land information and lark of updated and centralized data concerning land administration in Nigeria. There are many ways you can verify ownership of a property in Nigeria and get a complete land information as it is a complicated process but here are the basic ones
1: Once you identify a property you want to buy, request for the documents, ask questions like who owns, is there any encumbrances. Visit the property/land with the agents or the owners. If it is family land, visit the head of family and representatives of family heads. Investigate the properly. Then visit the property again on your own without the agents. Ask questions around the location of the property from neighbors. If it is family land ask questions widely.
2: If the land is family land, visit the Local Government headquarters where the land is located and make enquires about any family disputes in the land. In most cases, family disputes concerning land starts from the local Government Offices. Here you will get firsthand information which may be different from the one from the family.
3: Then with the consent of the owner/owners of the property, take your own registered Surveyor with modern and certified equipment to pick the coordinates of the land to ensure that the Survey plan you are presented with represents the actual land in question. Experience has shown that in some cases the land you are presented with in the documents of title may be different from the one you are buying physically. This may be as a result of, innocent mistake or deliberate fraud. Ensure the surveyor is registered and uses updated survey equipment. This is important. Then gets a survey plan from the registered surveyor where there is none already.
- Visit the surveyor General’s office in the state ministry of Lands & Survey and get certified true copy of the survey plan you were given, compare with the one you have. Confirm the land actually exists, the coordinates are correct, and it’s not in a swamp, road, or government layout. Also check if it’s excised and gazette if you are in Lagos State or if it is under Government acquisition.
- Move to the Land Registry. Here you confirm title and registration. The search will reveal whether the land is under government acquisition. You will also confirm if there is any lean or court case on the land. In some cases, when a land is subject to litigation or lean, parties endorse this in the file at the land registry to give notice to any intending purchaser.
- If it is family land, in other to confirm the authenticity of the information you got from the Surveyor General’s office, go to Land Use & Allocation Committee at the State Ministry of Lands and Federal Ministry of Works to check about federal roads, rail or any other infrastructure plan. If you are in Lagos State, check with the New Town Development Authority at Allen Avenue Ikeja to ensure the land is not encumbered in anyway.
- Court search: You go to the court registry of the jurisdiction where the land is situate to confirm the land is not subject to any court litigation. Also check the probate registry to see if the land is subject to a succession dispute.
- Check with the Town Planning Authority in the LGA for town planning approvals if it is a building or any other structure. Here you confirm approvals and other compliance with regards to type of buildings/usage approved for the area. Check Environmental Impact Assessment reports where necessary. Don’t buy a Disco Hall built in a purely residential area.
8: Check with the revenue departments of the state to confirm that there is payment of tenement rates /land use charge in Lagos state subject to the Land Use Act as contravention of the LUA could give rise to revocation
Propertygroom advice: If you want to buy a property, engage a lawyer to conduct a credible and comprehensive search on the property to get a credible LAND INFORMATION for you. The process is not as simple as people assume. A property may be subject to litigation and it is not endorsed in the registry. A property may have contravened some sections of the Land Use Act without your knowledge from the report from the Registry. This is one of the reasons why people have problems with real estate transactions in Nigeria which discourages potential investors. A credible search is the solution. Do not limit your search to only one department. Prospective buyers must understand this so you can understand what it takes to conduct a credible and comprehensive search to avoid any problem
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