Nigeria proposes National Real Estate Regulatory Authority to curb fraud

National Real Estate Regulatory Authority property fraud housing deficit rental regulation Nigeria real estate

The Nigerian House of Representatives has proposed the establishment of a National Real Estate Regulatory Authority (NRERA) to address widespread fraud, regulatory loopholes, and weak consumer protection in the property sector. During a stakeholder conference in Abuja, lawmakers and officials emphasized that the sector suffers from a significant trust deficit caused by unverified developers, overlapping institutional mandates, and a lack of coordinated oversight.

Proposed reforms include creating a unified national framework to manage property records and a verifiable register of developers and agents. To protect homebuyers, officials suggested implementing mandatory escrow accounts, where funds are only released to developers upon reaching specific construction milestones. This measure aims to prevent unscrupulous operators from collecting payments for uncompleted or non-existent projects.

In a separate legislative move, the House of Representatives passed a bill for its second reading aimed at regulating the rental market in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The bill seeks to prohibit landlords and agents from demanding more than 12 months of rent in advance and aims to standardize agency fees to protect tenants from exploitative practices.

Entities

Abdulmumini Jibrin · House of Representatives · Muttaqha Darma · National Real Estate Regulatory Authority · Nigeria · Tajudeen Abbas

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[○ 1 SOURCE] Tajudeen Abbas proposed a centralized digital property records system to tackle ownership disputes. newtelegraphng.com
[○ 1 SOURCE] Mortgage penetration in Nigeria is below 10 per cent. ekohotblog.com
[○ 1 SOURCE] The proposed authority should maintain a verifiable national register of regulated developers, agents, and projects. newtelegraphng.com
[○ 1 SOURCE] Nigeria faces a housing deficit of more than 50 million units. ekohotblog.com
[● 2 SOURCES] The proposed authority would provide a unified regulatory structure while strengthening existing institutions. ekohotblog.com · thepodiummedia.com
[● 2 SOURCES] The House of Representatives proposed the establishment of a National Real Estate Regulatory Authority. ekohotblog.com · thepodiummedia.com
[○ 1 SOURCE] Abbas proposed protected accounts for off-plan sales where funds are released based on verified construction milestones. newtelegraphng.com