By Laolu Adeyemi

The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola has inaugurated several housing estates in different parts of the state as direct fulfillment of his development agenda.

The official hand-over of hundreds of units of one bedroom and two bedroom apartments in different parts of the state further lend credence to this.

Governor Fashola stated that the commissioning of over 336 housing units in Odoragunshi Housing Estate in Epe,  would form the first in the series of houses to be made available for the public. The Odoragunshi project was renamed as Michael Otedola Housing Estate.   Since then, several such projects have been commissioned one after the other.

Fashola, who identified the housing project as part of his electioneering promises, said the endorsement of its multi-pronged solutions by the State House of Assembly through the passage of the new housing law, eliminates many of the difficulties the old law inflicted on landlords wanting to recover their premises from defaulting tenants.

He explained that the new law has also introduced many other innovative policies for the benefit of landlords and tenants alike, just as government is already getting reports of its favourable implementation by landlords and tenants and estate surveyors and agents.

He stated: “With competing demands for other social services, we are convinced that the future for mass housing delivery should be private sector-driven, with government strengthening the operational environment and legal framework for such participation.

“The result is that the public gets quality and affordable houses, while the private sector gets new business opportunities.”

The problem with housing, Fashola said, was not that of building alone, but also of sustainability, which according to him, manifests itself in various forms, such as the congestion of ports, which compounds the cost of imported components of building materials, the rate of foreign exchange, which adds to cost of building, the absence of long-term mortgages and funding, exacerbated by high interest rates that force citizens to desperate situations to raise money to pay for houses in one single payment.

His inauguration of the Elegushi Housing Estate in Lekki Phase 2 was rather a significant confirmation that the Epe commissioning was just a launch pad.

The Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC) built the estate, which has 15 blocks of 90 luxury flats. Fashola said the new housing projects would be delivered to residents on a Rent-to-Own basis in the next 24 months.
He also hinted that 41 of such projects would be sited in Alimosho; 16 in Ikeja; two in Agbowa, Ikorodu; three in Surulere; and 12 in Ogba.

“When they are completed in the next 24 months, we would have a total of 86 projects, including the 12 ongoing ones across the state to be delivered on a mortgage finance basis to residents,” eh disclosed.

He added that government would continue to partner with the private sector, under the Public Private Partnership (PPP), to provide decent housing for residents.

His vision is that the state’s Home Ownership Scheme (HOMS) would allow beneficiaries occupy government built houses while still paying for them.