By Yinka Kolawole

A foremost estate surveyor in Nigeria and the first General Manager of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Mr. Fortune Ebie, has called on the various tiers of government, particularly federal and state governments, to give all necessary incentives to property developers to facilitate provision of mass housing in the country.

Ebie, who is also the chairman board of trustees of the Mortgage Banking Association of Nigeria (MBAN), asserted that the support is necessary because the onus to reduce the huge housing deficit in the country rests on the developers.

He stated this in a paper presentation titled: “Estate Development Loan scheme: Goals, Expectations and Impact on Real Estate Development” at a recent workshop organised the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN). He noted that the major role of government is to ensure the creation of ecology in which housing development should be private sector oriented; private sector dependent; private sector driven in a free and competitive market economy.

“To encourage the private sector (developers) to effectively participate in the provision of housing, government should grant capital allowances on residential and provide tax exemptions on mortgage loans; encourage non-profit making organisations by facilitating easy access to land and provide matching grants to building for the unemployed school leavers, students etc,” he said.

According to him, government should also exempt investment by estate developers on low-income houses for sale from taxes for the first five years, and ensure that rent control measures are introduced as they mitigate housing delivery.

“Mass housing is achievable by managing in a collective and cooperative way the entrepreneurial spirit and skill developers. A developer is not necessarily a contractor or someone with qualifications in the professions more commonly associated with the construction industry and built environment,” he said.

Ebie noted that the role of developers in the development of estates containing houses for sale or rent cannot be over-emphasised, adding that the activities of developers should guarantee that mortgage-able products are available to primary mortgage institutions (PMIs). “The position is that unless real estate developers produce houses in mass, the housing deficit cannot be met and Nigerians will remain ‘unhoused’. The role of developers is immensely overwhelming,” he added.