₦airaland Forum

Treash:
1. Physical inspection of the land by the buyer or his solicitor.
2. Request for all legal & title documents in respect of the land reflecting the seller's name, description and location of the property. Details of the seller also depends on- Corporate entity, an individuals, family, communal land, or trusteeship. For Lagos property (particularly Lekki, Awoyaya, Ibeju axis), you must request for a copy of Excision already Gazetted by Lagos State Government. There is no Gazetted and Excision Land in Ikeja; it must be a Registered Conveyance, Certificate of Occupancy, Deed of Agreement and Purchase Receipt with other relevant documents.
3. Ascertain from requisite land registry the area is not fully committed. The buyer must further verify presence or otherwise of any court litigation on the property; or conduct search in CAC, if corporate entity is involved; or request Probate Documents in respect of an inherited land.
4. The buyer must further ensure the overall description on the title documents matches with the physical status of the property.
5. Upon full satisfaction of genuine title, the buyer may proceed to make payment.
6. The next step will be for the buyer to instruct a Licensed Land Surveyor to prepare a Survey Plan for the property in the name of the new buyer. Note, that the Survey plan must carry all necessary details and Record copy duly lodged at Surveyor’s General office.
7. The Solicitor will use the new Survey Plan to prepare the final document which may be: Deed of Sub-lease, Deed of Mortgage or Deed of Assignment.

Treash:
In many property transactions such as sale, long lease or short let, issues have arisen between an agent and principal regarding compensation. On few cases, multiple agents claim commissions based on mere referral or introduction, leading to legal conflicts and increased transaction costs.

In S.D.V. Nigeria Limited v. P.K.O. Ojo & Anor, Mr Ojo, who was a registered Estate Agent, claimed that he introduced a property, which was up for sale to one Adebola Adejobi who subsequently brought the property to the attention of the M.D of SDV Nigeria Limited. SDV subsequently bought the property from SCOA Nigeria Ltd and Mr Ojo requested for his Agency Fees in the sum of $1,250,000.00 (One million, two hundred and fifty thousand US Dollars from SDV, but SDV Nigeria Limited rejected the request on the ground that it did not appoint Mr Ojo as its Estate Agent and Mr Ojo was not responsible for its purchase of the property.

The Supreme Court ruled that estate agents are not entitled to commission solely for introducing a buyer to a property transaction, establishing that compensation must be tied to a legally enforceable role in completing the deal.

The court further held that an estate agent must demonstrate active and effective participation in concluding a transaction to claim commission. Mere introduction of a prospective buyer, without evidence of involvement in negotiations or completion, does not create a valid entitlement.

KeziahRealty:
You don’t hire a property lawyer because you have money, you hire one because mistakes are expensive.

They verify titles, spot hidden issues, and protect you from buying problems disguised as property.

One oversight can cost everything. A lawyer makes sure it doesn’t.

Treash:
A money lender is any person who lends money at interest or who lends money in consideration of a larger sum to another. The Law requires money lenders to obtain a moneylenders’ licence. Decisively, the law further criminalizes money lending business without license.

WHAT QUALIFIES A PERSON AS A MONEY LENDER IN LAW?

The court decided 2-3 condition precedents in holding that a person is a money lender.
1. The body is a business whose primary objective is
money lending.
2. The body holds itself as a money lender.
The mere fact
that a person gives out a loan with interest or in return for a higher amount does not make the person a money lender, unless the two conditions are fulfilled.

In Lagos, the Lagos State Money Lenders Law is the principal law which regulates money lending in the state and the authority responsible for issuing licenses is the Lagos State Ministry of Home Affairs and Tourism

REQUIREMENTS FOR MONEY LENDING IN LAGOS.
A potential investor is expected to incorporate a company before he can be granted a license to operate as money lender, and as such, must meet certain paper requirements which includes: Incorporation Documents, police clearance report of all directors, applicant banker's reference letter, 3 years Tax Clearance certificates of each director and so on. The police character certificate will state whether the director of the company has been convicted for any or not.

In the course of application, such investor is expected to apply to a Chief Magistrate for an Ordinance which will then proceed to Ministry for grant of license.

Upon satisfactory review of the above-listed documents, the officials of the Ministry will conduct a visit to the official address of the Applicant. Once the ministry is satisfied with all compliance, a license will be issued. The license issued is renewable every year.

It should be noted, that the court has power to review excessive loan interest. In an occasion, the court viewed that 50% interest per annum is high.

Treash:
PROBATE

Probate means a legal document which an Executor obtains after a Will has been read. A testator is someone who makes a Will before his death.

A testator may opt to deposit his Will to Probate registry either personally or through his lawyer. Whichever way, it is expedient to obtain an Acknowledgement Letter from the registry which indicates official proof of lodgement. Upon death, the family of the testator proceeds to the registry after 7 days through his solicitor, and apply for the Will to be read. But where there are uncertainty whether or not a Will is made, they can conduct search at the registry.

LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION.

Whereas, a Letter of Administration applies where there's no Will. A Letter of Administration is a legal document obtained from a court by a Next-of-Kin to enable him/her have access to and administer the estate of a deceased. Where there is no Will, the next of kin applies to the registry for Letter of Administration to manage the property of the deceased. The next of Kin is either appointed by the deceased in his lifetime or by family members upon his death. The law provided for minimum of two next of kin and maximum of 4. The exemption to a 'sole next of kin', is where the applicant is the only spouse and the marriage was contracted under the Marriage Act. Usually, it is expected that a widow or widower should be the one to process a Letter of Administration in respect of a deceased spouse’s estate. However, where the marriage was not conducted under the Marriage Act, then, the widow or widower will have to process the Letters of Administration with one of his/her children thereby making it two Next-of-Kins.

If there are no children in the marriage and the marriage was not conducted under the Act, the deceased’s family can nominate a member of the family to be the second Next-of-Kin.

Two other circumstances where an individual could be allowed to apply as a sole Next-of-Kin are:

👉If such an individual has been introduced by the deceased person’s office as his/her Next-of-Kin as contained in the deceased’s Record of Service and;
👉If such a person can prove to the court that he/she is the only surviving relation of the deceased person.

REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANT OF LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION.

Death Certificate: This is sole proof of the death of the deceased. Death certificate from a credible hospital should be produced. In practice, some state probate registries demand for death certificate from the National Population Commission.

Publication: This is a legal notice from the probate registry, informing the general public of the death of the deceased and that someone has approached the court to apply for Letter of Administration. The notice runs for 21 days, and where there is no Caveat, the court grants the Letter of Administration. But when caveat is raised, the court will suspend the grant.

What is Caveat?
A caveat is a legal notice lodged with the Probate Registry that prevents the grant of letters of administration or probate (depending on whether the deceased died with or without a will) to the proposed administrator/executor until the issue raised in the caveat is resolved.

Barr. Adeolu Ayo Aderinto.

Treash:
What is a Tenancy Agreement?

A Tenancy Agreement is a written contract between a Landlord and the Tenant which sets out the rights and obligations of both the Landlord and the Tenant when renting property in Nigeria. 

It is always advisable there is an existence of a tenancy agreement between a fresh tenant and his landlord. Both parties have implied rights whether with or no tenancy agreement. However, the tenancy law of each state in Nigeria expressly stated some guidelines for rights of each party; such as Rent Control and Recovery of Residential Premises Laws, and Tenancy Laws. For example, in lieu of express agreement between the parties, Tenancy Law of Lagos State provides for guidelines and time frame for evicting a lawful Tenant. However, this Law does not cover areas like Victoria Island, Ikeja GRA, Apapa and Ikoyi. It does not cover residential area meant for students accommodation, rehabilitative center or hospitals. It strictly applies to Residential buildings.

Mostly, some tenants and long term leasees pay for Agreement and Commission without being handled the copy of the said tenancy agreement, except payment receipt. The Tenant being a party has the unfettered right to review the terms of the Tenancy Agreement to determine whether or not the Agreement protects his interests. The agreement is mostly prepared by the landlord or his legal representative.

What consists of a Tenancy Agreement?

1. The names and addresses of each party.
2. The description of the subject matter.
3. The amount paid by the tenant.
4. The terms of tenancy; that is the duration. This could be yearly, quarterly, weekly or monthly. For example 1st of July 2025 - 30th June, 2026.
5. Other provisions for service charges, rates and outgoings.
6. Obligations of both parties.
7. Provision for alternative dispute resolution.

Adeolu Ayo Aderinto, Esq.
Real Estate Practitioner