FCT Mass Hous­ing Policy and the Chal­lenges (I)

By: TPL. UMAR SHUAIBU FNITP

It has been acknow­ledged that the pro­cess of obtain­ing land title by developers is cum­ber­some. Most espe­cially for those developers that require mul­tiple hec­tares that would enable the con­struc­tion of hous­ing estates with many houses to accom­mod­ate as many cit­izens as pos­sible. There­fore, the size of land required for devel­op­ment of hous­ing estate would be much big­ger.

It has been acknow­ledged that the pro­cess of obtain­ing land title by developers is cum­ber­some. Most espe­cially for those developers that require mul­tiple hec­tares that would enable the con­struc­tion of hous­ing estates with many houses to accom­mod­ate as many cit­izens as pos­sible. There­fore, the size of land required for devel­op­ment of hous­ing estate would be much big­ger.

The FCT Mass Hous­ing Policy is meant to ease the avail­ab­il­ity of land to such developers to con­trib­ute their quota in mak­ing houses avail­able to all.

Thus, the intro­duc­tion of the mass hous­ing scheme was meant to enhance hous­ing pro­vi­sion, and make houses avail­able and access­ible in the city to those in need. They could be civil ser­vants, work­ers in private organ­isa­tions, ordin­ary self-employed cit­izens of all cat­egor­ies and many oth­ers who reside in the city.

Thus, the intro­duc­tion of the mass hous­ing scheme was meant to enhance hous­ing pro­vi­sion, and make houses avail­able and access­ible in the city to those in need. They could be civil ser­vants, work­ers in private organ­isa­tions, ordin­ary self-employed cit­izens of all cat­egor­ies and many oth­ers who reside in the city.

The high demand for accom­mod­a­tion by people attrac­ted to Abuja is bey­ond the hand­ling capa­city of the pub­lic sec­tor alone. However, address­ing these chal­lenges is not without costs. Because it entails the aban­don­ment of the hous­ing sub­sidy policy, a key com­pon­ent of the hous­ing pro­gramme in the Abuja Mas­ter Plan. The plan recog­nises the low pur­chas­ing power of the ordin­ary cit­izens, hence the hous­ing sub­sidy pro­posal.

The high demand for accom­mod­a­tion by people attrac­ted to Abuja is bey­ond the hand­ling capa­city of the pub­lic sec­tor alone. However, address­ing these chal­lenges is not without costs. Because it entails the aban­don­ment of the hous­ing sub­sidy policy, a key com­pon­ent of the hous­ing pro­gramme in the Abuja Mas­ter Plan. The plan recog­nises the low pur­chas­ing power of the ordin­ary cit­izens, hence the hous­ing sub­sidy pro­posal.

The high demand for accom­mod­a­tion by people attrac­ted to Abuja is bey­ond the hand­ling capa­city of the pub­lic sec­tor alone. However, address­ing these chal­lenges is not without costs. Because it entails the aban­don­ment of the hous­ing sub­sidy policy, a key com­pon­ent of the hous­ing pro­gramme in the Abuja Mas­ter Plan. The plan recog­nises the low pur­chas­ing power of the ordin­ary cit­izens, hence the hous­ing sub­sidy pro­posal.

Since the private sec­tor is profit­ori­ented, while the gov­ern­ment lacks the capa­city to sup­ply and sub­sid­ise, the aban­don­ment of the sub­sidy regime became immin­ent with the involve­ment of the private sec­tor.

However, being the major and most import­ant stake­hold­ers in the city’s devel­op­ment, who the city can­not be built nor be sus­tained without, the gov­ern­ment must evolve ways of get­ting the types of accom­mod­a­tion afford­able to the low-income group, as policy could be changed, but not the people, espe­cially this cat­egory. Although, as it finally emerged, it can be truly stated, that major­ity of the masses or low-income earners, if not all, can­not afford the mass houses being developed for their bene­fit.

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By the ori­ginal policy of plots alloc­a­tion, all cit­izens desirous and cap­able of own­ing houses in Abuja are entitled to only one plot alloc­a­tion. But, a lot of water has gone down the bridge as time pro­gressed; because people are now get­ting mul­tiple alloc­a­tions with mind­bog­gling sizes, due to the viol­a­tions of the guidelines.

By the ori­ginal policy of plots alloc­a­tion, all cit­izens desirous and cap­able of own­ing houses in Abuja are entitled to only one plot alloc­a­tion. But, a lot of water has gone down the bridge as time pro­gressed; because people are now get­ting mul­tiple alloc­a­tions with mind­bog­gling sizes, due to the viol­a­tions of the guidelines.

From the ori­ginal model, plots sizes range from less than 800 to a max­imum of 2,500 square metres, and are to con­tain only one to two struc­tures depend­ing on the dens­ity of the area. Any plot of up to 3,000 square meters is regarded as a spe­cial devel­op­ment plot, and would be allowed to accom­mod­ate up to three struc­tures.

From the ori­ginal model, plots sizes range from less than 800 to a max­imum of 2,500 square metres, and are to con­tain only one to two struc­tures depend­ing on the dens­ity of the area. Any plot of up to 3,000 square meters is regarded as a spe­cial devel­op­ment plot, and would be allowed to accom­mod­ate up to three struc­tures.

Mean­while, the policy has pegged the sizes of the mass hous­ing plots within the city dis­tricts at a max­imum of 10 hec­tares, and a max­imum of 20 hec­tares for the regional areas. Any size bey­ond these is an abuse of the pro­gramme. Be it as it may, all types of alloc­a­tion must respect the land use and res­id­en­tial dens­ity as enshrined in the City plan. Thus, just as the case with the stat­utory alloc­a­tions, a mass hous­ing plot alloc­a­tion on a high, medium or low-dens­ity area must be developed as such. These are for orderly devel­op­ment and meet­ing up with the city’s tar­geted pop­u­la­tion pro­jec­tion.

Mean­while, the policy has pegged the sizes of the mass hous­ing plots within the city dis­tricts at a max­imum of 10 hec­tares, and a max­imum of 20 hec­tares for the regional areas. Any size bey­ond these is an abuse of the pro­gramme. Be it as it may, all types of alloc­a­tion must respect the land use and res­id­en­tial dens­ity as enshrined in the City plan. Thus, just as the case with the stat­utory alloc­a­tions, a mass hous­ing plot alloc­a­tion on a high, medium or low-dens­ity area must be developed as such. These are for orderly devel­op­ment and meet­ing up with the city’s tar­geted pop­u­la­tion pro­jec­tion.

It is very import­ant to know that there are marked dif­fer­ences between a stat­utory title and that of mass hous­ing. A massive chunk of land would be required for the devel­op­ment of many houses as is the case of estates. The mag­nitude of the size would be far above the size for a stat­utory alloc­a­tion to any cor­por­ate organ­isa­tion.

There­fore, all mass hous­ing alloc­a­tions were not allowed to have stat­utory rights, but ‘Let­ter of Intent’ for Mass Hous­ing devel­op­ment. As such, it doesn’t carry the weight of a ‘Right of Occu­pancy’, and can­not be pro­cessed to the level of a ‘Cer­ti­fic­ate of Occu­pancy’, as would be for the stat­utory alloc­a­tion.

There­fore, all mass hous­ing alloc­a­tions were not allowed to have stat­utory rights, but ‘Let­ter of Intent’ for Mass Hous­ing devel­op­ment. As such, it doesn’t carry the weight of a ‘Right of Occu­pancy’, and can­not be pro­cessed to the level of a ‘Cer­ti­fic­ate of Occu­pancy’, as would be for the stat­utory alloc­a­tion.

The amount charged by the Author­ity on the issu­ance of Let­ter of Intent is very little in com­par­ison to that pay­able for the premium on Right of Occu­pancy and its accom­pa­ny­ing annual ground rent. This is a delib­er­ate effort in order to reduce the end cost of the product, which is the houses, in order to assist the cit­izens while buy­ing the houses, and to some extent check the pos­sib­il­ity of spec­u­la­tion on the title by the bene­fi­ciar­ies of the alloc­a­tions.

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The amount charged by the Author­ity on the issu­ance of Let­ter of Intent is very little in com­par­ison to that pay­able for the premium on Right of Occu­pancy and its accom­pa­ny­ing annual ground rent. This is a delib­er­ate effort in order to reduce the end cost of the product, which is the houses, in order to assist the cit­izens while buy­ing the houses, and to some extent check the pos­sib­il­ity of spec­u­la­tion on the title by the bene­fi­ciar­ies of the alloc­a­tions.

The houses, when developed, are meant for sale to the cit­izens in need. Because the focus is on the end users, or those who bought the indi­vidual houses, as such they are the ones entitled to the issu­ance of Cer­ti­fic­ates of Occu­pancy, not the developer. Hence the lim­it­a­tion of the status of the developer’s title to only the Let­ter of Intent. Mean­while, the Admin­is­tra­tion has since sus­pen­ded the issu­ance of new Mass Hous­ing alloc­a­tions, due to many abuses by many so-called developers.

The houses, when developed, are meant for sale to the cit­izens in need. Because the focus is on the end users, or those who bought the indi­vidual houses, as such they are the ones entitled to the issu­ance of Cer­ti­fic­ates of Occu­pancy, not the developer. Hence the lim­it­a­tion of the status of the developer’s title to only the Let­ter of Intent. Mean­while, the Admin­is­tra­tion has since sus­pen­ded the issu­ance of new Mass Hous­ing alloc­a­tions, due to many abuses by many so-called developers.

The amount charged by the Author­ity on the issu­ance of Let­ter of Intent is very little in com­par­ison to that pay­able for the premium on Right of Occu­pancy and its accom­pa­ny­ing annual ground rent. This is a delib­er­ate effort in order to reduce the end cost of the product, which is the houses, in order to assist the cit­izens while buy­ing the houses, and to some extent check the pos­sib­il­ity of spec­u­la­tion on the title by the bene­fi­ciar­ies of the alloc­a­tions