Procedures, requirements for obtaining C of O in Lagos State

Investigations have revealed that majority of home
owners in Lagos State, and in many other states of
the federation, have no Certificate of Occupancy (C
of O).
A Certificate of Occupancy is a document issued by
State governments in Nigeria to a land/property
buyer as a proof of ownership.
A parcel of land or property without an authentic C
of O or equivalent could be likened to a vehicle
without an authentic vehicle licence.
Individuals or corporations seeking to buy land in
Lagos have several options:They can buy straight
from the government in the case of government
acquired land or buy from individuals who have
bought from the government or buy from the
natives (popularly known as Omo o’nile in Lagos),
after verifying from the authorities that they are not
illegally selling government acquired land.
Whoever one buys from, you need to eventually
obtain a C of O from the state government to
legitimize the purchase, if the previous owner have
not already done so.
The following are the step by step procedures and
documents required for obtaining a C of O in Lagos
State for both State land and non-State land:
Procedures for State land
Applicant purchases and submits application pack
to Land Use Allocation Committee (LUAC) and
collects acknowledgement slip;  Applicant collects
letter of offer of allocation (1 day); Applicant pays
for allocated land (within 90 days); Applicant issued
with letter of confirmation with plot and block
number (Full payments must be made before Plots
& Blocks are allocated); Scheme Officer processes
application for C of O, signs off on the file and
forward files to Executive Secretary LUAC (5 days);
Surveyor General provides Scheme Officer with
digitized survey (2 days); ES LUAC approves
processing and signs letter of allocation. ES LUAC
signs off on the file, send file to the Senior Special
Assistant to the Governor on Lands (2 days);
SSA (Lands) vets entire file and sends file/
application with a covering memo to the Permanent
Secretary Lands Bureau (2 days); If file has a
query, message is relayed back by notification;
PS Lands signs off on the memo and sends file to
Governor (2 days); Governor approves file and
electronically signs the C of O (2 days); If file has a
query, message is relayed back by notification.
Upon approval and signing of C of O, the Governor
signs off and sends file to the Deputy Registrar for
further processing (2 days); Deputy Registrar
processes file further, signs off and sends file to
Registrar of Titles for final registration (2 days);
Registrar of Titles registers the C of O, signs off
and request for printing of C of O (1 day).
The whole process adds up to 21 days
Documents required for State land
Formal Letter addressed to the Executive Secretary
– Land Use and Allocation Committee, Block 13,
Room 4, Lands Bureau, The Secretariat, Alausa,
Ikeja; Standard Allocation Form with Receipt - Lekki
Pennisula Schemes, Abijo Commercial and
Industrial (Form for Prime Land); other areas (Form
for General); Four Passport Photographs with white
background; Evidence of payment of Income Tax;
Current Development Levy (In case of
company, Evidence of payment of Income Tax
of Two Directors and Development Levy); Survey
Plan; All payment receipts of Land Charges; Vital
Information Form.
Procedures for Non-State land
Submission of Application and Vital Information
Form for Certificate of Occupancy (by Applicant);
Compilation of applicants names for publication,
Title Search for previous Registration and Site
Inspection (21 days); Certificate of Occupancy
Engrossment (by LUAC);
Recommendation for execution of C of O (by ES
LUAC, SSA Lands & PS Lands); Execution of C of O
(by Governor); Stamp Duty (by Commissioner for
Stamp Duties); Registration of C of O (by Land
Registry); and Collection of executed and registered
C of O (by Applicant)
Documents required for Non-State land
Formal Letter addressed to the ES LUAC, Block 13,
Room 4, Lands Bureau, The Secretariat, Alausa,
Ikeja; Completed Certificate of Occupancy Form
with receipt; Land Information Certificate with
receipt; Four original Survey Plan (2 in cloth and 2
in paper); Four Passport Photograph with white
background; Sketch Map of the Site Location;
Purchase Receipt Duly Stamped; Evidence of
payment of Income Tax; Current Development
Levy. (In case of Company, Two Directors Tax
Clearance and Development Levy); Publication
Fee - N10,000.00; Capital Contribution Fee subject
to a minimum of N30,000.00; Building Plan Approval
if developed; and Copy of Tenement Rate Receipt (if
occupied).