The most important things to consider when you want to purchase a land is the title documents
it comes with.
A land can either be free or under government acquisition, every land in Lagos state is owned
by the state government, this is in accordance with the land use Act 1978. The government
then leases any land purchased for a period of 99 years after which such title can be renewed
by owner.
In this article I will list the different land titles available in Lagos state.

In freehold

• You won’t have to pay annual ground rent

• You don’t have a freeholder either failing to maintain the building or charging huge amounts for it

• You have responsibility for maintaining the fabric of the building – the roof and the outside walls

• Whole houses are normally sold freehold

What is leasehold?
If you purchase leasehold, you are actually buying a right to live in the property or use the property for a specified amount of time; you do not own the property. Instead, the freeholder who owns the property and the land will grant you the right to reside in the property, the terms of which will be laid out in the lease. This will stipulate how long the lease will last (usually 99 years), how much ground rent you must pay a year (to cover the cost of communal maintenance repairs) and how ground rent is split amongst other leaseholders. It is usually possible to extend the lease after it has expired; otherwise, the property will return to the freeholder. The freeholder here may refer to the original owner or the government or any legal entity who sold the land to you.

The huge difference between this two is land ownership tenure.

• Freehold – Ownership tenure is for life
• Leasehold – Ownership tenure depends on the government which usually span around 30, 60, and 99 years

LIST OF LAND DOCUMENT IN LAGOS

 EXCISION AND GAZETTE
Excision means the government leasing a large parcel of land that has been
under the acquisition. While
A gazette is an official record book that list details of an expense of land that has
been excised and given back to the community.

 C OF O {CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY}
A c of o is an authorized document of grant issued by the state government to an
individual group of people to confirm ownership and right of occupancy in a
definite and for all purposes.

 DEED OF ASSAIGNMENT
It is a legal document that records the agreement between the buyer and the
seller. This document contains a specific description of the property and tha
amount that is sold.

 GOVERNORS CONSENT
This simply means an approval of the governor of the state on any transaction
concerning land. The main purpose of obtaining this consent is so that the
government is aware that ownership of land has been transferred from owner to
another person.

 SURVEY PLAN
This is where the land is mapped out accordingly to show the type of land and
indicate all types of title the land already has and it also shows if the land is free
from government acquisition of not.

 PROBATE OR LETTER ADMINISTRATION
Only the executor mentioned in the will receives a grant of probate, the executor
collects assets and distribute them to the beneficiaries because the dead name
the executor in his will, the beneficiary are unable to replace him.