Types of land documents and land title options in Nigeria

Here’s a list of different documents available that show ownership of land.

THE CONTRACT OF SALE

This is the contract between the two or more parties where the seller agrees to sell, and the buyer agrees to buy the real estate property. The contract outlines the terms and conditions for the purchase and sale of the property.

DEED OF ASSIGNMENT

This is the document that shows that the buyer is now the new owner of the land/ property. It is an agreement between seller and buyer showing evidence that the seller has transferred all his/her titles, interests’ ownership, and rights to the buyer.

RECEIPT

This land document is an acknowledgment from the seller that he/she has received money for the sale of the land. It is the simplest of the documents but is very important in future transactions

SURVEY PLAN

The survey plan is a document that measures and defines the boundaries of the land. It gives an accurate measurement and description of the land. It states the coordinates of the land.

CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT ( Cof D)

This is a document issued in the step towards getting a certificate of occupancy. This document is proof that the landowner has met at the steps on the application towards a certificate of occupancy.

RIGHT OF OCCUPANCY

The statutory right of occupancy confers the holder with exclusive possession of the land against all persons other than the Governor. Some areas such as the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, issue the Rights of Occupancy certificate as a distinct step prior to the Certificate of occupancy.

CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY (C OF O)

This is a land document issued by the State Government to officially lease land within the state to the landowner. All lands belong to the Nigerian Government, but a C of O officially recognizes that the landowner has rights to the land. A Certificate of Occupancy is usually granted for a 99-year fixed term in the case of a residential property and a 25 year fixed term in the case of Agricultural land.

After the expiration of the fixed term, the landowner may apply for renewal of the C of O.

There are different types C of O i.e., Residential, Industrial, Commercial, Agricultural C of O.
There are also kinds of C of O, there is a normal C of O which refers to that issued by the State Government for the land as described above.

A global C of O is one that obtains in a multi-unit development for instance an estate development where one main C of O is obtained over the entire development land and then shared by all the individual plots. Each plot owner gets a copy of the Global C of O, plus the other land documents for his/her specific unit (Receipt, deed of sale, deed of assignment, survey plans, etc)

GOVERNOR’S CONSENT

This is a land document that is obtained when a buyer buys land that already has a C of O. By this document, the Governor and the general public are made aware that ownership of the land in question has changed.

EXCISION

The government owns all the land and can acquire the land from the community for a purpose. Whenever the Government changes its mind and decides to return the land to the original owners, the land is Excised. This means that the acquisition of a Certificate of occupancy is now possible on the land.

GAZETTE

This is an official record book that details and records all government lands. It shows the communities and villages which have been granted excision and the area (acres, hectares, or square kilometers) the Government has given to them.

LAND ALLOCATION

Government allocation of land is one of the ways a person or organization can acquire land in Nigeria. Land allocation means the allocation of land parcels to individuals or organizations.

This means that the governor of the state (or a local Government chairman up to 500 hectares for agricultural land and 5,000 hectares for grazing land) has the power to grant Statutory Rights of Occupancy to any person for all purposes, the implication is that both Nigerians, foreigners, companies and organizations registered under CAMA, can apply and get a grant of land anywhere in any state from the governor of the state and in the case of the FCT, from the minister in charge of FCT, or the Area Council chairmen

The Government issues Allotment papers to back the allocation.

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