The Lagos State Government, through its Rent-To-Own Scheme Policy, addresses the persisting housing issues in the state.
According to the World Bank, the state would need thousands of housing units on an annual basis to meet the housing needs of its more than 23 million residents.
Through the Rent-To-Own-Scheme Policy, the state has created a payment framework that allows homeowners to pay over a 120-month period, “with a single internet digit interest rate”, the Chief Executive Officer/General Manager of the Lagos State Mortgage Board, Bayowa Foresythe, said.
Noting the importance of this policy in the state, Foresythe, at a stakeholders’ forum said that the state was providing low interests rates, one that could not be “found in any state in the federation” to allow for easy access to the housing units provided by the state government.
Foresythe said, “It is no exaggeration that shelter is key to human existence, especially in Lagos State where land is one of the most expensive resources, judging from its size and population.
“This urgent need of the state government to reduce the massive housing deficit brought about the establishment of Lagos State Mortgage Board in Year 2012 and since then, the agency has gradually been reducing the housing deficit in the state, initially through the Lagos Homs Ownership Mortgage Scheme in which you belong and presently the Rent-To-Own Scheme Policy, in which only five percent equity contribution is required for anyone to own a home and the rest payments are spread over a period of 120 months, with a single digit internet digit interest rate.
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“This interest rate, I’m sure, cannot be found in any state of the federation. It is of note to mention that the value of this magnificent and comfortable edifice has increased incredibly since 2014 and protect it jealously from all kinds of ruins because the state government has invested a lot of resources in it.”
In January 2021, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State called on investors to “join force” with the state government in reducing the housing deficit in the state.
He said, “I seize this opportunity to assure investors, both foreign and local, of the state government willingness to provide unencumbered land for Housing development on the basis of mutually agreed terms in the areas of specification of houses to be delivered and duration.”
The governor also disclosed that his administration was making efforts to complete unfinished housing projects rolled over from the previous administration.
He said that the projects were financed “through budgetary allocations, others are being financed through joint venture arrangement with our development partners.”
