FG has urged State Governments to enact laws compelling landlords to collect monthly rent.
Glamtush reports that the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has asked state governments to push for laws that will compel landlords to collect monthly rents from tenants.
The former Lagos governor made the call in Lagos during the 10th Meeting of the National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development with theme, “Housing Development as a Catalyst for Job Creation, Social Inclusion and Economic Development,”
However, he added that the laws should be exclusive to residential homes.
Fashola said, “I am sure that our country will be a much better place when three years rent in advance, two years rent in advance or one year rent in advance for the middle class and working family residential homes becomes monthly rent, payable at the end of the month.
“This is a matter in which the Federal Government has no legislative competence. It is a matter for the states, and I urge you not to turn your backs.
“Three years rent in advance of monthly salary paid in arrears lies at the heart of affordability of access to shelter.
The minister also spoke on the need for states to ensure a faster and more seamless process of titling lands.
Fashola decried the bureaucracy in the whole process of getting construction permits is a frustrating investment in the sector.
He said, “We in government must consciously improve on the bureaucracy around granting of construction permits or planning approval by taking steps to reduce the number of people involved, introducing some level of automation, such as online submission of applications and reducing the cost of approval.
“Untitled land cannot attract credit like a mortgage or development finance because it is not in transferable form to constitute security or collateral.
“All states who seek prosperity and inclusion for the people must commit to expeditious processing, GIS mapping and titling of their land.
“We in government must consciously improve on the bureaucracy around granting of construction permits or planning approval by taking steps to reduce the number of people involved, introducing some level of automation, such as online submission of applications and reducing the cost of approval.”
