Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Power, Works and Housing
The Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, Tuesday advocated a change of unhelpful attitudes in the real estate sector and willingness to accept home ownership responsibilities like payment of rates, levies and property taxes as some of the viable means to rebuild the nation’s economy through the real estate sector.
Fashola, who spoke as Special Guest of Honour at the Oriental Hotel, Lekki Expressway venue of the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce Advocacy Business Roundtable, said in order to enhance the enormous opportunities offered by the nation’s housing challenges to rebuild her economy, there must be willingness among Nigerians to change their attitudes towards such home ownership responsibilities.
Represented at the Roundtable with the theme, “The Nigerian Real Estate Sector: A Reform Agenda”, by his Special Adviser on Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Abiodun Oki, Fashola said the willingness to change attitude towards the sector had become expedient in order to enhance the quality of life of the citizens as exemplified in economies where there is credit in the real estate sector.
According to the Minister, there is need for landlords to embrace the attitude of rent collection weekly or monthly in arrears instead of yearly in advance while there should be easy access to low interest mortgage loans where the mortgage schemes exist.
Urging the Association of Estate Agents to look in the mirror and see their own contribution to the access of real estate acquisition while landlords should step up to offer credit to Housing as their private sector contribution to increasing access to housing and shelter by agreeing to collect their rents monthly in arrears and not in multiples of yearly rent paid in advance, Fashola also focused on the responsibilities of tenants.
Tenants, the Minister said, must dutifully …Read More
Source:: PM Newspaper
