Title Documents in Nigeria

Are you planning to buy land or building?? Then this is for you

buying a land or building is a great investment, but you need to be enlightened on the different LAND DOCUMENTS & LAND TITLE. This will enable you to make a seasoned decision in your choice of land and building to go for. It is advisable to go for land or building with C of O but it is mostly expensive because of the rigors of getting a C of O and the authenticity attached to it. However, if you as a buyer do not have the capital for land or buildings with C of O, you can opt for the others without C of O but you must conduct a due diligence search.

Below are the different land document and title it confers on the buyer. feel free to ask question if you don’t understand any of these.

SURVEY PLAN

This is a document that measures the boundary of a parcel of land to give an accurate measurement and description of that land and it is to be attached to the Deed of Conveyance or Deed of Assignment as the case maybe.

EXCISION

An excision is a document issued on a land that has been released by the government to the indigenes of the area who originally owned the land before the government acquisition. As its well known that all land belongs to the government. This means that the land is no longer under government acquisition and therefore processing of C of O is possible.

GAZETTE

A gazette is an official record book where all special government details are spelt out, detailed and recorded. A gazette will show the communities and villages that have been granted excision and the number of acres or hectares of land that the government has given.

CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY (C of O)

It is a land document issued by the state government to officially lease any land under the state to an applicant for a period of 99years. As already said earlier all lands belong to the government. A C of O (as popularly called) however is the officially recognized land document for demonstrating rights over a land. A Certificate of Occupancy can be for either residential, commercial or agricultural purpose. It is granted for a fixed term of 99years and 25years for agricultural lands. After the expiration of 99years, the buyer can apply to the government to renew the C of O.

The C of O are of 2 types. The Individual C of O and the Global C of O. The Individual C of O just covers a plot or few plots of land made by an individual. While the Global C of O covers several parcels of lands owned by different people which was applied for as a joint application.

GOVERNOR’S CONSENT

It’s a land document that is obtained whenever you buy a land with C of O. It’s the land document that lets the Governor and the general public to know that the land in question has changed ownership.

DEED OF ASSIGNMENT/ DEED OF CONVEYANCE

It is a document that shows that a buyer is the new owner of a parcel of land. It is an agreement between the seller of a land or building and the buyer evidencing that the seller has transferred all his or her rights, titles, interests and ownership over the land to the buyer.

RECEIPT

This land document is the least of all and its just for the seller to acknowledge that he/she has received the due money he/she wants to sell the land. As simple as this document may seem or appear, it is still very important for future purposes.

CONTRACT OF SALE

This is a contract between two or more parties in which the seller agrees to sell and the buyer agrees to buy a real property. The contract outlines the terms and conditions for the sale and purchase of the property.