The Nation Newspaper

Tag: housing deficit

  • Bridging housing deficit in Lagos

    Globally, housing deficit is huge with a wide gap in demand and supply in the sector leading to homelessness, rise in slums and squatter settlements which usually result in low level of health due to poor living condition and lack of basic services. Nigeria’s housing deficit was estimated at 17 million as at August 2012 by the National Bureau of Statistic (NBS).

    In Lagos State, adequate housing has always been a challenge in view of rapid urbanisation which has led to tremendous increase in population. Home to over 23 million inhabitants with an estimated 86 people relocating to the state every hour, housing deficit in Lagos is a real issue with affordability worsening because more people are chasing a limited supply of real estate. It is, however, cheering that a government with a toga of inclusive governance is striving hard to proffer solutions to the various challenges confronting housing in the state.

    Blessed with government that has been able to cushion the effects of the nation’s economic recession with prudent management of resources and expenditure on capital projects, residents of Lagos, no doubt have much more to celebrate at this period of its 50 years anniversary with the proposed plan of the Akinwunmi Ambode administration to construct 20,000 additional housing units in the next five years under the Lagos Affordable Public Housing (LAPH) programme.

    Policy-making process in a responsible and responsive democratic setting start from problem recognition and followed by agenda setting. Lagos State government has identified shortfall of 2.5 million housing deficits in the state and has set out with a futuristic policy of Lagos Affordable Public Housing programme to address the problem through direct and Public Private Partnership.

    With a burning desire to put taxpayer’s money into judicious use and improve the living standard of Lagosians, the government has already mobilized six developers to sites for construction to commence on the scheme planned to be christened Jubilee Housing Estates in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the state. As a form of redistributive policy,  Ijora Badiya, Imota, Ayobo , Idale (Badagry), Ilamoye-Isolo , Abijo, Tolu (Ajegunle) , Abule Ado, Ikota , Ibeshe, Owutu and Igbogbo have been listed as areas where the Jubilee Housing Estates would to be sited.

    Under the Ambode administration, government has dedicated a total of 5008 housing units in 12 housing estates spread over the three Senatorial Districts of the state. Lagosians could recall that in December, 2016, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode launched the Rent-To-Own and Rental housing Policies aimed at ensuring that all Lagosians irrespective of status, income and affiliations have access to decent shelter in order to improve their quality of life.

    Prior to this time, the mortgage option under the Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (Lagos HOMS) was the cheapest means of becoming a Lagos State housing unit owner. This entails a deposit of 30% as equity contribution while payment of the balance in monthly instalments is spread over a period of 10 years. However, it was observed that many of the young adults and low income earners were unable to come up with the deposit.

    Meanwhile, under the new Rent-To-Own policy, individuals are required to pay only 5% of the cost of the housing unit as the commitment fee and the balance is spread over a period of 10 years. This policy allows allottees to live in the property while paying towards ownership at a fixed rent over the 10 year period. The Rent-To-Own policy is for every resident of the state irrespective of state of origin, profession, gender, religion and status.

    Contrary to views and comments gathered on the streets and across some online media platforms which revealed that some Lagosians are skeptical on the credibility and sincerity of the process and allocation system that would produce the winners of these houses, the fact and the truth is that one does not need to know anybody in government before one could benefit from the programme.

    All that is required for eligibility is for prospective allottee to  possess a LASRRA Card, reside in Lagos State, be above 21 years, have a steady source of income, be a taxpayer as well as a guarantee that 33% of monthly income covers the monthly repayment.

    Interestingly, the initiative is not just about making people home owners but giving them homes in a clean, safe and live-able environment. All the schemes are developed in serene and beautiful gated communi­ties with facilities such as wa­ter treatment plants, adequate parking space, health care centre, estate management of­fice, street lights, recreational area and a police post for se­curity.

    As part of moves to demonstrate the sincerity of the administration on promise made and kept, keys were handed over to the first set of allottees comprising 100 people on Monday February  20. Since then, the second batch comprising 200 allottees and the third batch also comprising 200 allottees received keys on  March 31 and April 20 respectively. This implies that within the last few days, a total of 500 proud home owners have been produced by this policy. By extension, not less than 2500 people have been provided shelter if calculated at an average of five persons per family.

    The Rent-To-Own policy is not just about provision of shelter; it is also about economic stimulation and empowerment. The new homes provided will require furniture and home gadgets such as electrical/ electronic appliances etc. The increase in demand for these items is expected to stimulate production and consequently economic growth.

    Artisans and technicians such as auto mechanics, panel beaters etc. are not left out as their market share will be boosted by the influx of people into the communities where the estates are located. The same is also applicable to food vendors as well as market men and women. In short, the policy will stimulate the GDP of the state. The state’s Ministry of Housing has also taken over all abandoned estates in the state and working towards their completion so as to meet the need of the Rent-To-Own Policy.

    The state government has equally continued to intervene in real estate transaction matters including tenancy and rent through the Lagos State Real Estate Transaction Department (LASRETRAD) established in 2012 under the Office of Special Adviser on Housing.

    Government intention with this is that residents are protected in the course of real estate transactions and that all players comply with Lagos State Tenancy Law, Criminal Law and other legislations on landed property transactions.

     

    • Musbau is Features Unit, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.
  • Fed Govt blames incompetent operators for housing deficit

    Fed Govt blames incompetent operators for housing deficit

    THE Federal Government yesterday attributed the housing deficit to incompetence and inadequacy of operators in the sector.

    It said Nigeria had been experiencing challenges in the area of quality buildings.

    Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing Abubakar Magaji spoke in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, while open the fifth meeting of the National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development.

    The theme of the meeting is “Building adequate capacity of professionals, artisans and tradesmen in the built environment.”

    His words: “I urge delegates to bring your professional and technical competences to bear while deliberating on the memoranda presented, and come up with workable recommendations to address challenges in the built industry.

    “I also enjoin you to recommend measures to reposition the sector to contribute its quota in the nation’s quest for sustainable growth and development. It is hoped that among others, issues on quality control, personnel training and development, use of local contents and such other vital issues would be discussed.”

    In a remark, the Kwara State Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, Muideen Alaladed urged stakeholders to use the forum in redressing inadequacies in the construction industry.

    Said Alalade: “The programme is timely, considering the challenges of housing deficits in the country and unprofessionalism in the construction industry; I believe that all gathered here today should be wary of quackery and use of substandard materials in the construction industry, which have been the cause of loss of life and property.

    “I am, therefore, sure that the theme of this year’s meeting will address constraints in the sector. Let me place on records that the state is determined to provide mass housing for its people as the government is poised to make the state home for every Nigerian.”

  • Housing deficit: Valuers advise Buhari, Fashola to run inclusive govt

    President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola  have been advised to carry all relevant stakeholders along in its programmes if they must succeed in the task of bridging the huge gap in housing provision in the country.

    Chairman, Faculty of Housing, Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Elder Biodun Odeleye, said the institution through the Faculty of Housing, has been making efforts to come up with a template on affordable housing delivery models in the country through community development approach.

    He said research and practical experiences have exposed potent methods in dealing with the problems militating against effective housing delivery in the country.

    Odeleye, who spoke on the sideline of a briefing, addressed by the coordinator, NIESV Board of Faculty, in Lagos at the weekend, said: “We can use communities, professional bodies, groups, associations, cooperative societies to start the agenda of providing houses for their members because when we are together and understand ourselves, we will be able to build synergies in terms of raising funds, facilitating how to access lands. There is need for the Housing Ministries to work hand in hand with key stakeholders within the housing sector such as the Federal Mortgage Bank, the mortgage refinance institutions, the primary mortgage institutions, the builder merchants, all of them that have one role or the other to play in the housing sector.

    “It is through the process of working together with the stakeholders that we can achieve the objective of providing houses for the teeming population in Nigeria.”

    Secretary, Faculty of Housing, Mr. Casmir Anyanwu, said the idea of community development approach to mass housing is very important.

    He said. “We are Nigerians and we belong to various associations; we realised that is it easier for cooperative groups to lay hold on their members, monitor their progress and implementation of funds.

     

     

  • How housing deficit can be tackled, by expert

    How housing deficit can be tackled, by expert

    Government at all levels must invest massively in the construction of low scheme houses in order to bridge the gap in housing deficit.

    A United Kingdom-based forensic property expert, Dr. Dapo Williams, gave this advice while speaking in an interview with our correspondent. According to him, affordable houses for low income workers is achievable if the three tiers of government put the provision of houses for the people on the front burner.

    Besides providing shelter for the millions of Nigerians, Williams, who holds a doctorate degree in Forensic Property, said the programme is capable of generating massive job opportunities and also boosting the revenue base of the government through taxation.

    Williams, who is also the Chairman of the Buhari-Osinbajo Diaspora Organisation (BODO), said: “The government should adopt a long-term housing strategy; we should be building about 250,000 homes every year nationwide. It is not a rocket science. We have experts on our BODO professionals’ database.”

    Dismissing claims that affordable houses provided by the government for the people is not achievable, he explained, “All we need to do is to carry out research into affordable and low cost housing strategy that will suit the Nigerian people. The repayment system must be affordable and the mortgage banks should be carried along or the state becomes the landlords. We can even introduce part-tenant, part landlord’s scheme. There are so many ways we can go about providing shelter for every Nigerian.”

    While urging the government to tap into the expertise of Nigerians in the Diaspora to bridge the 17 million housing deficit in the country, Williams said the country boasts a huge number of internationally recognised housing experts that are willing to offer their services to the nation.

    Also speaking on the state of the nation, Williams urged the federal government to tackle the insurgency in the North East region of the country, adding that all hands must be on deck to rid the country of terrorism.

    He noted, “Our leaders need our support and I believe the country is in a position to get assistance from world powers to tackle insurgency. With the great recommendation President Muhammadu Buhari got during his recent trip to America, you can see that Nigeria is on the trail of success. However, we need change of attitude by the Nigerian people. If we can go back to the WAI era, Nigeria would be a fantastic place to live.

    He expressed confidence in the ability of President Buhari and his deputy, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, to restore the country on the path of greatness, saying, “The two men were sellable products during the campaign so, I was proud to sell them to the Nigerian community in the UK and in Nigeria through the social media. PMB’s past records on fighting indiscipline and corruption are there for all to see.

     

     

     

  • Housing deficit: FMBN explores ‘renovation loan’ option

    Housing deficit: FMBN explores ‘renovation loan’ option

    The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) has started giving loans to National Housing Fund (NHF) contributors for the renovation of their personal or family houses.

    Section 14(2) of the NHF Act Cap N .45 of 1992 states that a contributor can access loan from the Fund for the purpose of building, purchasing or renovation of homes. With this provision,  FMBN deemed it necessary to develop some remedial measures to ensure greater access to the NHF.

    The initiative, known as the FMBN Home Renovation Loan (FHRL), will afford Nigerians an opportunity to access housing mortgages solely for the renovation or improvement of their existing homes or family-owned properties. The scheme is available to every individual, whether civil servants at the federal or state service, as well as workers in the private sector.

    Basically, the FHRL scheme is designed for contributors to the NHF. With the contribution, the contributors can be granted credit facilities to the tune of N1million, as long as they keep contributing to the Fund, and subject to the income limit of the beneficiary as well as the final cost of renovation.

    Another condition for benefiting from the scheme is that an applicant must have an approved letter of undertaking from the office of Head of Service to deduct and remit monthly repayments to FMBN. Applicants are also required to provide two guarantors with verifiable sources of regular income, in case the beneficiary’s terminal benefit is not sufficient to offset the 1oan. Also, applications are to be submitted with certified Bill of Quantities indicating the amount required for the renovation. In addition to the above conditions, for employees in the private sector to benefit from the scheme, the requirement is a letter    of   undertaking    from   the    chief   executive   of   the employing organisation  to  deduct   monthly  repayment of the  loan   from  the employee’s monthly salary and remit  directly to FMBN.

    The loan, which attracts eight per cent interest, will be recovered through monthly repayments within the maximum stipulated period and through deductions by the Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board  (FGSHLB) and the respective Head of Service or account office of the states, within three years or through the remaining service years of the employee. The renovation loan can be taken jointly by a couple, subject to the income assessment of both parties, while the loan can only be taken once in five years.

    In specific terms, federal civil servants’ applications will be administered and accepted by the FGSHLB while at the state level applications are to be compiled by the relevant authority and forwarded to FMBN through the state controller of the particular state. For private sector employees, including other   government  agencies   and   parastatals  not  covered by  the activities of FGSHLB,  the  applications shall  be  aggregated by the  Permanent Secretary or Chief Executive of the organisation.

    plications emanating from State Offices, the loans shall be approved and disbursed directly to the accounts of the beneficiaries after receipt of consent to disbursed from the relevant authority through which the applications were submitted.”

    Notwithstanding the above-stipulated conditions, there are fears of a possible default, especially going by previous experiences.

    However, FMBN’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Mr. Lawal Isa, assured that the loopholes for defaulting have been reduced. He explained that where a beneficiary was unable to repay, especially arising from death or disengagement from service, the FGSHLB would be responsible for liquidation of the loan using the beneficiary’s terminal benefits.

    While this is mostly applicable to federal civil servants, beneficiaries in state public service will, in addition to adhering to almost the same requirements, have their ministry, department or agency responsible for repayment of their outstanding balance from their terminal benefits.

    “Applicants will take out a Reducing Term Assurance policy which guarantees the outstanding loan and covers death,   incapacitation and loss of job,” lsa said.

    Isa further explained that the renovation loan shall not be available to any NHF contributor who has enjoyed credit facility from FMBN to buy or build a house, adding however that NHF beneficiaries may be eligible to apply for mortgage loans for home purchase after fully liquidating a home renovation loan earlier taken.

    Stakeholders in the real estate sector agree that proper implementation of the scheme is capable of addressing the housing needs of the people as well as redeem public perception of the institution.

    They are optimistic that an increase in access to beneficiaries of the NHF scheme will improve the standard of living of contributors to the Fund.

     

  • ‘How we plan to close housing deficit’

    ‘How we plan to close housing deficit’

    The federal housing authority says it is re-engineering for better efficiency in delivering affordable houses. But how will this be achieved, given the ‘failure’ of the authority over four decades? FHA’s managing director Prof. Mohammed Al-Amin shared his re-engineering plans with select journalists. MUYIWA LUCAS was there.  

    Concerted efforts are now being made to resolve the over 17 million housing deficit in the country. One of these efforts is the re-engineering of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), a government agency whose impact has not been felt by Nigerians over the last 40 years of its existence. The Minister of Lands, Housing and Urband Development, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi, while dissolving the management of the FHA last December, noted that the Authority has failed to meet its statutory responsibilities to an acceptable level over the years.

    Now, the FHA, under a new leadership of Prof. Mohammed Al-Amin, a professor of urban planning and environment, may be having a refocus, aimed at achieving feats it has failed to realise. But how far can Al-Amin take the FHA?

     Doing things differently

     Al-Amin agrees that there is a 17 million housing deficit in the country, a situation that makes his coming at this time critical. He said that he has not brought anything new, but just to do things in “other different ways.” This, he explains, would mean turning things around by making housing delivery, housing accessibility, affordability and availability a reality. “This is to be done simply by re-engineering the system that bring about housing delivery in the country; re-engineering the workforce; the mode of housing delivery; the resource allocation; prioritising the deliverables, as well as injecting new spirit into partnership,” he said.

    He explained that the deficit is not just a factor of production but also the factor of demand. For instance, Al-Amin explained that there is a huge difference in the country’s population in the last 40 years compared to what it is now. He explained that when there is a high population, especially one growing at about 3.7 per cent per annum, then definitely which ever system of housing finance is in place, if not properly positioned, there will always be a deficit.

    The FHA boss noted that it has been an old model of several years back for a country to just rely on an agency or a group of individuals to provide housing to its citizens- a system he said is now archaic because globally, housing delivery is not something that is run by one person or one agency. “It involves a lot of collaborations, partnerships. So my first priority is to ensure that the safety of operations particularly how we relate with housing financiers, housing contractors, housing market as well as the housing demand and supply is re-engineered in the sense that what is required for the system to do is aided by the necessary resources- both human and financial, that are required. So, that is precisely what I have come to do to make sure that any placement, any arrangement, anything that is put in place to assist the system is now re-vitalised to work, so that at the end of the day we will close the deficit and ensure that the accessibility is high.”

    He said the new FHA under his leadership, has put so many things in place, including reach out campaigns and advocacies for so many cases of housing delivery starting for the housing finance, to the nature of houses and the type of materials for housing construction to even small things in housing- like maintenance culture. “So it is something that requires the concerted effort of both government and non-governmental organisations to be able to close the gap between housing delivery and housing demand,” he said.

    Doubts on FHA’s statistics

     Prof. Al-Amin told The Nation that the statistics being bandied of the FHA building 40, 000 housing units in the last 40 years is questionable. For him, the FHA has put up more than this number of units because apart from the direct construction done by the Authority, other housing units have been put up through its various partnerships with the private sector, including the facilitations of most of the various State governments housing projects. “There is the hand of the FHA in one stage or the other of most housing projects in this country. If you put just the resources, materials and otherwise, it is tantamount to hundreds of thousands of houses. People are not talking of the partnerships, the facilitations that we do, either in giving money to off-takers to process housing or injecting our technical know-how in sites, serving as a go-between for prospective house owners and financiers to make sure finances come down,” he explained, assuring that the FHA is working very hard and certainly that statistics will soon change for better.

    Social housing and partnerships

     Al-Amin is of the opinion that the private sector is interested in more or less the profit that comes into their system; therefore, he explained, FHA’s partnership with the private sector is now being reviewed. “We have a special task team that comprises of professionals and experts that are studying the partnership system to come out with a template for both commercial and social housing because the partnership that you go into with the private sector on commercial housing, shouldn’t be the same that you go with the private sector on social housing. Social housing involves houses for low income, houses that are very much affordable of which a lot of Nigerians belong,” he said, adding that the partnership system that  was in place before his appointment focused more on the commercial system.

    Al-Amin however admitted that government cannot go into social housing alone, hence, the need to have partnerships. But having such partnerships, he reckons, the FHA has to be able to come up with new realities, which requires that other private sector social housing driven companies be invited. “We can partner with  several government organisations, unions, trade union, trade organisations and others in this area. This will then enable us to fashion out a way of bringing down whatever the interest rate is to a single digit and also to negotiate with government of all levels to come into the provision of infrastructure in the housing because most of the cost or the high percentage of the cost that translates into the final market cost of a house is being risen by the cost of infrastructure that is being built into it. So, the new model of partnership we are talking about is bringing government, our agency and other organisations that are related to it then we negotiate with either of the tiers of government, federal, state and local in the infrastructure provision,” Al-Amin said. He is hopeful that as soon as infrastructure provision and housing delivery is taken care of, the prices of houses will crash quickly, leading to a rapid and easy house ownership for Nigerians.

    FHA’s commercialisation vs social housing

    According to Al-Amin, the reform that is being talked about in the FHA is in line with the fact that there will be a shift away from the previous practice because it is not sustainable, to a practice where citizens of a country get value for their money. Therefore, he explains, the FHA reforms will be one that will strengthen the system- the operations and staff currently in the authority. “What commercialisation is all about is bringing private sector into your operations. You can build 500 houses in two years but, there is an opportunity where six developers can come from outside and help to develop 30,000 houses in the same period. So, why don’t you open your arms, commercialise the system that is bringing about investors that are doing the same thing because the commercialisation does not negate the principle of social housing,” he argued.

    Continuing, he said that “Social housing is a mandate that is enshrined in the constitution of this country and every citizen is entitled to a decent shelter. So, social housing is embedded in this reform we are talking about; essentially, this is what we are looking for. What the reform is all about is to open up a system where investors could come, bring their own money, bring mass housing, and sell at government controlled price since government will inject its resources into infrastructure and maintenance.” The FHA boss said that apart from this model making houses available, affordable, and accessible, it will also generate a lot of employment opportunities, which the FHA can capitalise on to provide jobs for at least half of the unemployed youths population in the country because housing starts from marketing of the undeveloped land, to the erection of structures, to furnishing, to selling, maintenance, infrastructure and all of that, which require people to work on.

    Rent-to-Own scheme

     Al-Amin said the rent-to-own idea is not new in the FHA, which he said pioneered the initiative 20 years ago. “We build houses; we allocate to users; they pay rent on a system of owning it or on a system of perpetual rent. It depends on what you tick in the form that we will allocate,” he explained, adding that several Nigerians have owned houses through the rent-to-own housing scheme of the FHA. He disclosed that the Authority is also to introduce other models of not only rent-to-own, but rent to own the investment.

    Initially, he further explained, FHA’s mandate was to build houses and give it out to people. But the new policy, he revealed, is not only to build, but also to acquire land, provide site and services scheme- lay the road, drainage, electricity, water, amongst others, then allocate the plot of land and give buyers different options of the type of structures to be built. “We are trying as much as possible to liberalise the way Nigerians access houses; it is not going to be business as usual where you have to be connected to somebody in Abuja or the Parliament; any Nigerian can walk into our authority or in future our agencies and get what they require,” Al-Amin said.

    PMIs vs housing delivery

     The PMIs, he explained, are institutions that were created through the enabling law, and through the facilitation of government. Though the PMI’s are private sector driven, they are to create and provide mortgage for interested persons across the country. Therefore, he said, they need to have the financial, technical and reach out strength to be able to deliver to the clients and customers. He said for over 30 years, FHA has had its own PMI known as FHA Homes Limited, which is primarily meant to market the product produced by FHA, as well as create mortgages for intending off-takers.

    “So the issue of the recapitalisation of the PMIs actually does not affect our system because we have a primary mortgage institution that is operational just like the other private sector institutions that have to go through the system of recapitalisation as well as capacity demands that our primary institution had to go through and ensure that we came out with the requirement and fully licensed by the authority, that is, the Central Bank of Nigeria and other agencies that are responsible for that,” he explained.