- The Nigerian government plans to impose triple ground rent on unoccupied buildings or land to encourage housing use
The program aims to address the housing shortage by incentivizing property owners to rent or sell vacant properties.
The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced its intention to charge three times the ground rent for any completed building or property that remains unoccupied for more than three months.
Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, revealed this initiative during a press briefing in Abuja after inspecting housing projects in Gwagwalada, Guzape, and Suleija.
The move is part of the government’s efforts to address the housing shortage in the country by encouraging the utilization of vacant houses in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and other states.
Dangiva directs the Department of Lands, Towns and Regional Planning.
The ministry compiles a list of vacant land and identifies land owners.
The Ministry aims to communicate with real estate owners to determine their intentions regarding real estate, whether they plan to keep it, rent it, or sell it.
Dangiwa stressed the need to address the issue of abandoned settlements, particularly in Abuja and surrounding areas.
He said charging triple ground rent for vacant properties would help reduce the housing deficit by incentivizing owners to rent or sell their properties.
The minister also commended BUA, a cement producer, for reducing the price of cement from N5000 to N3500.
He called on other cement producers to follow suit and warned wholesalers against selling BUA products above the official price.
The government has advised the BUA to mark the discounted products to track and prevent their exploitation by unscrupulous sellers.
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