Experts warn Nigeria's planned property regulation risks duplication instead of order
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As Nigeria's housing ministry moves to license estate agents and developers under a new national framework, property professionals argue harmonisation with existing state and federal regulators matters more than adding another layer.
The Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is pushing to regulate and license estate agents and property developers to curb sharp practices in Nigeria's real estate sector, but industry stakeholders are questioning whether the proposed framework will close regulatory gaps or duplicate existing institutions, The Guardian Nigeria reports.
The proposed National Housing and Built Environment Regulation Policy includes mandatory licensing of property developers and estate agents, compulsory escrow arrangements for buyers' funds, registration of professionals, enforcement of the National Building Code, improved land administration and a national housing data centre. Housing Minister Dr Muttaqha Darma has also proposed a National Housing Industry Regulatory Commission to oversee the sector, with the plans presented during a stakeholders' validation workshop on the National Housing Data Programme and regulation of the built environment in Abuja.
Proponents argue stronger regulation is needed to protect homebuyers and investors. The Guardian reported a surge in fraud cases reported to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission since 2022, alongside cases of fraudulent developers and agents who swindled homebuyers of millions of naira in Lagos, Abuja and other cities. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, real estate contributed about 5.2 per cent to 6.1 per cent of GDP as of the first quarter of 2026.
Experts caution, however, that Nigeria's property market is already governed by multiple laws, agencies, professional bodies and state-level regulators with overlapping responsibilities spanning land administration, development control, valuation, planning and consumer protection. Under the Land Use Act, land in each state is vested in the governor, while physical planning operates across federal, state and local government levels, meaning a federal developer licence cannot substitute for state planning approvals and title documentation.
The debate echoes an earlier clash in Lagos, where the state's estate agency regulatory framework drew objections from the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON) and the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), which argued that registered practitioners were already regulated under federal legislation. ESVARBON Acting Chairman Prof. Dugeri Terzungwe lamented that Nigeria has continued to enact laws without adequate regard for existing legislation, noting that state laws cannot supersede federal laws and that professionals are already legally empowered to undertake agency work as part of estate surveying practice.
Stakeholders also flagged financing risks: if developers must lock buyers' money in escrow while facing high interest rates, volatile construction costs, foreign-exchange pressures and expensive building materials, project financing could tighten and ultimately push up the price of housing. The central question, analysts say, is what exactly a new federal regulator will regulate and how its licensing function will relate to existing professional regulation and state-level real estate agencies.