Upon the completion of 13th Abuja International Housing Show, which held from 23rd to 26th July 2019, participants, speakers, developers, and heads of all housing bodies at the event agreed on a number of sustainable and important interventions that will bridge the housing gap in Nigeria.
Below are selected 10 out of these resolutions that have been presented to the government and its several housing agencies for implementation.
1. Creating enabling policies around land title documentations, with government playing a larger role in assisting investors and supporting local building industries and materials.
2. Fast track the passage of foreclosure bill into law to legally resolve default issues in the sector. Also the review of land use act of 1978, Federal Government Housing Loans Board bill (FGHLB), the National Housing Fund (NHF) Scheme Act 1992, Mortgage Banks Act 1989 (subsumed in BOFIA), Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) Act 1993, The Trustee Investment Act 1962, The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) Act 1993, The Insurance Act 2002, The Investment and Security Act 1999, The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) Act 1990, Securitization Bill amongst many others.
3. Advance the ongoing partnership between Mortgage Banking Association of Nigeria (MBAN) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with regards to the underwriting standards which can increase housing and mortgage affordability for the masses.
4. Building the right skill ecosystem through job-driven training programs spearheaded by private sector industry participation for adoption of trainees.
5. Institutionalisation of collaborations and partnerships between large scale industry players to enhance mass housing provision and affordability.
6. Creating standard data base in African countries especially in Nigeria that can be universally accepted to collate data, identify data gaps, integrate, optimise and expand knowledge set to meet current demands.
7. The policy creation, adoption and financing of sustainable buildings that utilise green approach in construction which integrates topography into developments.
8. To set up an institution such as a National Housing Council to be the focal point for housing research, policy development and implementation, development of suitable housing economic models that fits into local contexts and monitoring of the housing sector.
9.The adoption of high impact training that supports research and data generation by major stakeholders within the industry.
10. To resolve the challenges of affordability mismatch resulting in unsold and unoccupied developed houses especially in our major cities, there is an urgent need for paradigm shift from market driven pricing system to end user driven pricing to ensure houses are provided for those who need and could afford them.
Source: Extract from 13th AIHS communique.
