KEY ASPECTS OF THE LAGOS STATE LAND REGISTRATION LAW

1. Introduction
On 21st January 2015, the Lagos State Land Registration Law (the Law) came into force. The Law became the comprehensive legislation on land registration and replaced all the previous legislation on the matter. Therefore, the Registered Land Law, Registration of Titles Law and Land Instruments Registration Law have all been repealed. However, any title or rights registered under the said repealed laws remain valid. We shall now point out some noteworthy provisions of the new law.

2. Registration of title
Section 2 of the Land Registration Law states that, every document of interest or title to land in Lagos State shall be registered in accordance with the provisions of the Law. Section 30 states that, no document shall be tendered in evidence in court, as proof of title to land, unless, the document has been duly registered in accordance with the provisions of the Law.

3. Subleases
Section 26(2) of the Law states that, any sublease for a term of 3 years or more must be registered. Section 42 states that, a sublease for a term of 5 years or more shall not be registered without first obtaining Governor’s consent. This means that a landlord can grant a sublease for a term of 2 years without registration. A sublease of 3 or 4 years must be registered but does not require Governor’s consent. However, a lease of five (5) years or more can only be registered after consent has been obtained.

4. Survey plans
Section 101 of the Law states that, the registrar shall not register any deed of assignment or sublease unless, the land has been surveyed, to the satisfaction of the Surveyor General. In practice an application for Governor’s consent to an assignment or lease or mortgage will not be accepted by the Lands Bureau unless it is accompanied with a survey plan of the land. The first stage in the consent process is the charting of the survey plan by the office of the Surveyor General to determine whether or not the land is under Government acquisition.

5. Succession on death of title holder
Section 26(3) of the Law states that, any succession to land under a will or by letters of administration does not require Governor’s consent and can be registered on production of the grant of probate or letters of administration. Section 81(2) states that, the registration of a deed of assent or vesting deed from an executor to a beneficiary shall not require Governor’s consent.

6. Joint ownership & right of survivors
Section 80(1) of the Law states that, in the event of the death of one of the joint holders of title to land, the name of the deceased shall be deleted from the register, upon application by the survivor. This means that when land is jointly owned by spouses, on the death of one spouse the survivor is recognised as the sole holder of the title.

7. Power of attorney
7.1 Section 56(1) of the Law states that, where a power of attorney contains authority to alienate any land, the donor or donee of the power shall file the power of attorney in the lands registry. Note that the Law says file and not register. This means that a copy of every power of attorney granted to enable a person sell or lease land on behalf of the owner must be deposited in the lands registry. However, a power of attorney granted to enable a person manage property and collect rent on behalf of the donor does not need to be filed as it does not grant the donee power to alienate the land.

7.2 Section 57 states that an irrevocable power of attorney for valuable consideration cannot be presented for registration without first obtaining Governor’s consent. An irrevocable power of attorney cannot be revoked and is therefore regarded as a transfer of ownership. For this reason it is usually granted for substantial consideration.

8. Trusts
Section 87(1) of the Law states that, any person who acquires land in a fiduciary capacity, by sublease or mortgage, may be described in that capacity on the document of acquisition by the words “As Trustee” but the particulars of any such trust shall not be entered in the register. Section 87(2) states that, the trustee shall be subject to any unregistered liabilities, rights or interests to which the land is liable.

9. Family land
9.1 The Law has introduced provisions to regulate the ownership of family land. Section 89 of the Law states that, where the name of a family has been registered in respect of any land but no family representative was previously appointed, then the family shall convene a meeting to appoint not more than 10 representatives and forward their names to the registrar. The registrar shall not enter their names in the register until the expiration of 21 days after the publication of a notice of appointment in a national newspaper and the absence of any objection.

9.2 Section 91 states that the registered family representatives shall have the exclusive right of dealing in the family land and section 92 states that the sale of family land shall not be valid if the transfer document is executed by less than the registered number of family representatives. In future people buying ‘omo onile’ land are advised to inspect the relevant title documents at the land registry to discover the persons authorised to execute the deed of assignment.

10. Children
Section 93 of the Law states that, a person under 18 years of age may only be registered as owner of any land where the person acquires the interest by succession or by transmission (inheritance). However, that person cannot deal with the land during minority. Section 95 states that, where the minor is required to deal with the land then the guardian or executors may act on their behalf.

11. Adverse possession
Section 112(1) of the Law states that, ownership of land may be acquired by uninterrupted adverse possession after a period of twelve (12) years. That person may after the required notice apply to court for an order directing him to be registered as the owner of the land. Section 112(6) states that, where a person is in possession of land subject to certain conditions imposed by the owner and that person continues to remain in possession for 12 years beyond the expiration of the term but without fulfillment of the conditions and without challenge from the owner, that person may claim registration by adverse possession.