Guide on How to get a building permit in Lagos

CLARIFICATION: PLANNING APPROVAL IS DIFFERENT FROM C OF O/OTHER LAND TITLES

Before going fully into the topic of discourse, it is pertinent to make some clarifications of what planning permit/approval is. Approval to build or develop is completely different from land title. i.e whether you have a valid title (C of O, registered deed of assignment, land certificate, survey plan etc) or not, before you develop the land/property, you must still apply for development permit/approval.

Section 27(1) of the Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law 2010 in Lagos State clearly states that a permit from Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) is required before carrying out any physical development in Lagos State.

In a Certificate of Occupancy, the land use zoning is usually stated (land could be for residential, industrial, agricultural, recreational, institutional, commercial purpose) but this does not in any way grant the holder the right to develop that property without getting approval from the relevant MDA.

Similarly, even if you have an approval to develop or build a house that does not in any way make you the owner of the land, as this is clearly stated in section 37(4) of the Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law 2010

The next line of this article would be to list the principal ministries, departments and agencies to deal with in Lagos State for building approval/development permit

Principal Ministries and agencies to deal with in order to get approval

Lands Bureau: Primary responsibility is Land administration, management and control. They allocate land, regularize and also register titles. This is the ministry where you obtain your C of O; get your deed of assignment, deed of mortgage, deed of gift, Will and letter of administration registered.
Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development: Established as Lagos Executive Development Board (L.E.D.B) 1928 is responsible for vetting and approval of Building Plans in Lagos State. This is the go-to ministry before you carry out any development on any land
Office of the Surveyor-General: Over the years, the office has transformed from different ministries and departments. However, under the administration of Gov Akinwuimi Ambode via the Executive Order No EO/AA01 of 17th June, 2015 the office was retained as full-fledged Agency with the new nomenclature: Office of the State Surveyor General (OSSG). The primary function of the Office of the State Surveyor General is to provide Survey Framework to facilitate the registration of Certificate of Occupancy under the Land Use Act.

This office is very important because before you can get your title registred at the lands bureau, the survey plan must be cleared with the Office of the State Surveyor General and same applies to getting planning approval from Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development

Ministry of Environment: This ministry has also witnessed several reforms and name change under successive administrations in Lagos State. The primary responsibility is formulation of policy on environmental services matters. For some type of development in Lagos, the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development requires permit/clearance from the Ministry of Environment.
Ministry of Transportation: is the state government ministry, charged with the responsibility to plan, devise and implement the state policies on transportation. For some type of development in Lagos, the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development requires permit/clearance from the Ministry of Environment.
LIRS: is the operational arm of the Lagos State Government responsible for the collection of taxes and other revenues. All payments made or to be made to the above Agencies Ministries and Department is to be channeled through L.I.R.S
NTDA: The agency’s primary functions include Management and control of developed Government schemes/estate and Selection of land for schemes with functional infrastructure for development either for Government or private initiative.

For some type of development in Lagos, the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development requires permit/clearance from the Ministry of Environment.

THE PROCESS OF GETTING THE APPROVAL

In consonance with the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law 2010, the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development is responsible for Physical Planning, Urban Development, Urban Regeneration and building control policies of Lagos State.

The ministry also supervises the following agencies:

Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA): primary function is granting of approval and Monitoring of Layouts and Development Schemes for both Government and Private Estates. Hence for clarity, the main agency to go to for approval of development is the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA)

Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA): responsible for building control in all its ramifications and approval to commence construction after obtaining development permit. LASBCA is the enforcement arm of the ministry that carryout demolition of illegal structures.

Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency (LASURA): Charged with implementation of all State Government’s policies and programmes on Urban renewal

Planning Information

Either before or after buying the land, there is a need to apply for planning information from the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development. Planning information would tell you what the area has been zoned for. As posited above, there are different kinds of uses a land can be subjected to inline with operative development plan of the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development. By applying for planning information, the ministry would tell you what you can build and what you cannot build.

You might want to build a church, but the area could be a ‘no noise area’. Hence, planning information would tell you this. You might want to build a residential apartment, whereas the area is strictly zoned for agricultural use. Planning information would reveal this to you. Hence, it is important to apply for planning information before development.

Preparation of documents

Upon getting a nod from the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development based on the planning information, the next thing the intending developer should do is to start preparing necessary documents.

Survey plan: Upon identifying the land, the developer should contact the land surveyor for the preparation of the survey plan.
The survey plan is sent to the architect to guide on the land size for the drawing of the plan of the development to be accommodated within the available land.
The architect then starts preparing the building plan
While the building plan is being prepared, the developer must invite the Soil Geotechnician to carryout Geotechnical survey. A geotechnical survey (soil test) is the first step in the construction or consolidation of a site. It includes information about soil consistency and structure, groundwater level and recommendations for the technical project.
Upon receiving the soil test report and the architectural drawing, copies of both documents should be sent to the structural engineer. If proposed building is a bungalow, there is no need for a structural drawing, but if proposed building will be on two floors or more, there is need for structural drawing. In some cases (depending on the kind of building) mechanical and electrical drawings need to be prepared.
Upon receiving the structural drawings, the applicant, would package all documents together in anticipation of submission to LASPPPA

Submission of relevant documents

Sequel to the preparation of necessary documents to facilitate the application, the developer would then submit same to LASPPPA office in the local government area where the property is situated.

Some of the documents to be submitted include the survey plan, architectural drawing, structural drawing, among others.

Obtaining assessment

Officer(s) will very verify the documents, request for more details if necessary, make corrections where necessary and thereafter schedule a site visit for inspection.

Upon being satisfied with documents submitted, the officer would issue an assessment based on the architectural drawing submitted.

Payments to be made

The assessment is always in two parts. Part 1 will be payment to me made to LASPPPA as the agency granting the approval and the other part will be payment to LASBCA for stage certification.

Apart from payment to be made to the agencies under Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development (LASPPPA and LASBCA) applicant/ developer must also pay personal income tax to LIRS.

All payments would be made to dedicated accounts and same would be verified by LIRS including the tax clearance via a letter that would be issued and sent to the General Manager of LASPPPA

Issuance of development permit/ approval

Sequel to confirmation of payment into the dedicated account, officials of LIRS would issue a letter to the GM (as stated above). The letter would enable LASPPPA to complete the approval process and development permit is issued to the applicant/developer.

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PROCESS

After getting the approval from LASPPPA, there is need for LASBCA to grant approval to commence construction. The developer cannot just mobilize workers to site on the basis of obtaining approval. Developer must take the approval to LASBCA in order to get another approval to commence work.

Furthermore and during construction period, LASBCA would carryout inspection and certify various stages of building construction. Recall that payment would have been made to LASBCA for stage certification. Hence, LASBCA must always certify level of progress.

MOVING INTO YOUR HOUSE AFTER COMPLETION OF DEVELOPMENT

After completing the development, LASBCA must issue certificate of completion of building construction and fitness for habitation before the developer or house owner can move in

VALIDITY OF APPROVAL

As stated in section 37(2) of the Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law 2010, all granted approval has 2 years validity within which the developer must commence development. i.e once approval is granted, within the next 2 years, work must have begun on the site, otherwise the approval will lose its validity. The law is silent on when you can complete your development, but speaks on when to commence.

WHAT HAPPENS IF MY APPROVAL BECOMES IN VALID AFTER 2 YEARS OF NOT COMMENCING DEVELOPMENT?

An invalid approval for not commencing development would need to be revalidated with LASPPPA as stated in section 37(3) of the Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law 2010,

PROFESSIONALS TO ENGAGE FOR PLANNING APPROVAL

In consonance with the LAGOS STATE PHYSICAL PLANNING PERMIT REGULATIONS, 2019 issued by TPL (Dr.) Idiris Okanla̕ Salako the Commissioner for Urban and Regional Planning, the following are the appropriate relevant professionals registered to practice in Nigeria:

(i) an Architect, registered with the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (A.R.C.O.N.);

(ii) an Engineer, registered with the Council for the Regulations of Engineering (COREN) in Nigeria;

(iii) a Town Planner, registered with the Town Planners Registration Council of Nigeria (TOPREC);

(iv) a Licensed Surveyor, registered with the Surveyors Registration Council of Nigeria (SURCON);

(v) a Builder, registered with the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON);

(vi) an Estate Surveyor and Valuer registered with the Estate Surveyor and Valuer Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON);

(vii) a Quantity Surveyor registered with the Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRBN);

Different uses land can be subjected to in Lagos State

There are various kinds of land uses in Lagos state, some of which include:

RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
COMMERCIAL
PETROL/GAS FILLING STATION (PFS)
INDUSTRIAL
AGRICULTURAL
INSTITUTIONAL

Having read the article, you must have realized how easy/otherwise it is to obtain planning permit/approval in Lagos State.

https://nigeriarealestateblog.com/guide-to-obtaining-building-or-planning-permit-in-lagos-state/

lalasticlala
mynd44

this process looks easy thou

what do you think

lalasticlala

Wonderful article OP