Pay ground rent now or risk C-of-O revocation, FG tells property owners

The federal government has warned that property owners who fail to pay their ground rent now risk having the certificate of occupancy (C-of-O) given on such property revoked. The revocation, according to the government, will take effect on the expiration of the 60-day ultimatum it has issued.

Ahmed Dangiwa, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, who announced the ultimatum at the 29th Conference of Directors of Lands in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Abuja, explained that many property owners have defaulted on the payment, causing government to lose trillions of naira revenue.

The minister stressed that it was no longer business as usual, pointing out that there was no more room for non-compliance as the funds from payment of the ground rent are critical to national development efforts.

“The Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is aware that several owners of its titled properties have failed to pay ground rent and other statutory charges to the ministry for several years now,” Dangiwa said at the conference which had as theme, ‘Equitable Land Stewardship: Challenges of Land Administration and Its Impact on Climate and Community Rights.’

The minister, whose views were contained in a statement in Abuja, emphasised that all federal C-of-O title owners have only 60 days to settle their outstanding ground rent and statutory charges, as failure to do so within this period will result in the revocation of their certificates.

The minister also noted that some residents’ associations in federal government-owned estates have obstructed ministry officials from conducting billing and enforcing payments, warning that these associations must comply with the terms of their C-of-O to avoid penalties and sanctions.

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In a related development, the minister revealed that the ministry has enhanced the Electronic Certificate of Occupancy (e-C of O) and Land Titling System for all federal government-owned lands across the 36 states of the federation.

He explained that the upgraded system integrates a web-based Advanced Workflow System and an Electronic Documentation Management System (EDMS) to streamline the review, approval, and issuance processes, significantly reducing administrative bottlenecks and processing times.

As of October 2024, over 600 e-C of O applications have been digitally approved, with plans to clear the remaining backlog by December,” the minister said, adding, “this initiative is part of a broader national land titling program, developed in partnership with the World Bank and other stakeholders, and aimed at unlocking $300 billion in untapped capital tied to unregistered land.”