Lagos govt to set up housing fund

Mr Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, Commissioner for Housing, Lagos State, said the government would soon unveil an Affordable Housing Development Trust Fund to bridge housing gap in the state.

Akinderu-Fatai said this in Lagos on Thursday while inspecting ongoing housing projects.

He said the fund, being established in collaboration with Arctic Infrastructures, a Non-Governmental Organisation, was a financial product intended to support property developers and home owners.

“The fund will reduce the challenge of financing housing development and empower people, particularly the low and medium income earners to access housing without undue financial stress.

“When you talk of construction, the development partners are people in business and people who are going to live in these houses,” he said.

He explained that it was not easy to raise funds, hence the state government would collaborate with international partners to deliver homes at low rates.

“We are also looking at how to get mortgages below 10 per cent as well as how people who want funds can access it below 10 per cent.

“Presently it is about 22 per cent and that is not really good in terms of shelter delivery,” the commissioner said.

Akinderu-Fatai said the housing challenge in the state was complex due to uncontrollable influx of people from all over the nation.

He said the government was taking proactive steps to meet the demands resulting from the population upsurge to bridge the housing gap.

He said the trust fund was the state’s response to solve its peculiar housing challenges.

“The ongoing 660 units in Odo-Onosa/Ayandelu, Agbowa Ikosi Local Council Development Area is almost completed and will be delivered within the next one month,” he said.

Akinderu-Fatai further said apart from the ‘Rent to Own’ scheme, which offered an opportunity for repayment over a 120-month period, the government was also opening up hinterlands and developing infrastructure for accessibility.

He, however, said land grabbers and issues of litigation were slowing down the commencement of the construction of two proposed workers’ villages.

He said the government planned to build 500 units of two and three bedrooms in Ayobo, Imota and Ikorodu areas of the state.

According to him, the construction of the two workers’s villages is part of the plan to transform the state into a 21st century economy comparable to other cities in the world.

He listed various ongoing schemes at different completion stages as part of government’s efforts to ensure timely delivery of affordable mass housing for residents while giving investors the enabling environment to thrive.