Nigeria Has No Freehold Land, and Lagos Caps Foreign Leases at 25 Years

Guides · Nigeria

Nigeria has no freehold, and in Lagos a foreign buyer usually needs the Governor’s written approval before any deal. This guide explains the titles, the checks, the costs and the currency risk as of September 2026.

How land ownership works in Nigeria

Anyone buying property in Nigeria starts from the Land Use Act of 1978, a federal law that vests all land in each state in that state’s Governor. The Governor holds it in trust and grants rights to use it. There is no freehold, even for Nigerian citizens.

What a buyer acquires is a right of occupancy. In cities this is usually a statutory right of occupancy, granted by the state and commonly issued for up to 99 years. Rural land held under customary rights sits with local governments and families.

Section 22 of the Act bars the holder of a statutory right of occupancy from selling, mortgaging or otherwise transferring it without the Governor’s consent. A transfer made without that consent is treated as incomplete. This single rule shapes most property paperwork in the country.

Section 46 lets the National Council of States, a federal advisory body of current and former leaders, make regulations on transfers to non-Nigerians. Lawyers at Gresyndale Legal wrote in 2025 that the question still awaits such regulations. States have filled the gap with their own laws.

The Lagos rule for foreign buyers

Lagos, the commercial capital and the main market for foreign buyers, applies the Acquisition of Lands by Aliens Law. It is Chapter A1 of the Laws of Lagos State 2015 and dates back to 1971.

Section 1 says an alien may not acquire any interest in land from a Nigerian unless the transaction was approved in writing by the Governor beforehand. The approval is discretionary. Interests of less than three years, including renewal options, fall outside the law.

Regulations under the law cap an alien’s interest at a lease of 25 years, including any option to renew. The lease must start within one month of approval. Nigerian law firm analyses published between 2021 and 2025 describe the same 25-year ceiling.

If an alien’s interest is later sold by court order, it must be offered to the Lagos State Government first and then to a Nigerian citizen. The law defines an alien as anyone who is not a native of Nigeria. Companies count as aliens unless Nigerians hold the majority.

The courts take the limits seriously. In Huebner v Aeronautical Industrial Engineering and Project Management Co Ltd, decided in 2017, the Supreme Court dismissed a German investor’s claim to land in Kaduna State. He had placed title in a company’s name; the court held that as an alien he lacked capacity to hold the interest.

The company route and its limits

Many foreign buyers therefore use a Nigerian company. A company registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the federal company registry, can be fully foreign-owned. Section 20 of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) Act requires firms with foreign participation to register with the NIPC as well.

The NIPC lists a processing fee of 150,000 naira (about US$113) and a target of 48 working hours for that registration. The company then buys in its own name and applies for consent like any Nigerian buyer.

The route is not a clean exemption in Lagos. Because the aliens law treats a foreign-majority company as an alien, a lawyer may still advise seeking the Governor’s approval. A joint venture with Nigerian partners or a straightforward lease are the other common structures.

Title documents: what each one proves

A Certificate of Occupancy, or C of O, is the original title the state issues to the first holder of a statutory right. A later buyer does not receive a new C of O. Instead the buyer obtains Governor’s consent to the transfer, endorsed on the deed.

A deed of assignment is the contract that transfers the seller’s remaining interest to the buyer. It becomes effective against the state only after consent is granted and the deed is registered at the Lagos Land Registry. A registered survey plan fixes the boundaries and coordinates.

Much Lagos land was once compulsorily acquired by the state. Excision is the release of part of that land back to the original community or family, published in the Lagos State Official Gazette. A gazette shows the community’s land was released; it is not an individual buyer’s title.

Estates on excised land often sell plots with a deed of assignment and a promise to process consent later. That promise is only as good as the developer. Buyers should confirm that their specific plot lies inside the excised area and outside any government acquisition.

Due diligence before any money moves

Resolution Law Firm’s May 2026 guide lists four core checks. The first is a search at the Land Registry for the root title, mortgages, caveats and earlier consents. The second is charting the survey plan at the Office of the Surveyor-General to see whether the land is under government acquisition.

The third check is a physical inspection of boundaries, occupants and access. The fourth is a litigation search for pending cases or receiverships involving the seller. A Lagos lawyer, not the agent, should run all four and report in writing.

Verify that the seller is the person or company named on the title, and that family land sales carry the signatures of the recognised family heads. Pay into a lawyer’s client account or in stages tied to documents, never in cash to an intermediary.

What a purchase costs in Lagos

The Lagos State Lands Bureau sets four statutory charges on a consent application. They are a consent fee of 1.5%, capital gains tax of 0.5%, stamp duty of 0.5% and a registration fee of 0.5%. The total of 3% dates from a January 2015 cut from 13%.

Those percentages apply to the state’s assessed value, not the price on the contract. Lagos sets that value in its Fair Market Value document, known as the Blue Book. A revised Blue Book took effect on 1 May 2026, replacing the 2021 edition.

Reports in BusinessDay and Legit.ng in May 2026 put the increase at as much as 300% in some high-value areas. In Lekki Phase 1, they compared consent charges of 12 million to 18 million naira in 2015 (about US$9,000 to US$13,500 at today’s rate) with the 2026 level. The new range is 40 million to 90 million naira (about US$30,000 to US$68,000).

Applications filed before 1 May 2026 are assessed on the 2021 values. Older fee tables found online predate this change and understate the current bill. The state’s stated target is 30 days, but WithinNigeria reported in July 2026 that three months is the practical minimum.

Professional fees come on top. Lawyers and agents each commonly quote around 5% of the price, and both are negotiable. Recent Lagos guides put total purchase and perfection costs at roughly 10% to 15% of the price.

Tax on resale changed on 1 January 2026, when the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 took effect. According to PwC Tax Summaries, individuals now add gains to their income and pay progressive rates of 0% to 25%, replacing the old flat 10%. The 25% band applies above 50 million naira (about US$37,600) of income.

Companies now pay tax on gains at the company income tax rate, currently 30%, while small companies defined by turnover and assets pay 0%. A gain on a principal private residence, a dwelling with up to one acre of land, is exempt, but only once per person. The 0.5% capital gains tax in the Lagos consent charges is a separate levy on assessed value; a tax adviser can explain how the two interact.

Lagos price levels in 2026

Nigeria Property Centre, a large listings portal, publishes monthly median asking prices. Asking prices are not transaction prices, and negotiated discounts are common. Figures here are converted at 1,330 naira to US$1, the Central Bank of Nigeria central rate of 21 September 2026.

In August 2026 the median Lagos house listing was 416.7 million naira (about US$313,000), up 27.6% on a year earlier. The median flat was 278.5 million naira (about US$209,000), up just 1.9%.

Ikoyi, the old colonial residential district, led with a median house listing of 2.39 billion naira (about US$1.8 million). Victoria Island houses listed at 705.2 million naira (about US$530,000) and Ikeja, on the mainland, at 464.4 million naira (about US$349,000).

Lekki, the eastern corridor with the largest inventory, showed a median house listing of 386.5 million naira (about US$291,000). Flats there listed at 243.9 million naira (about US$183,000), against 933.5 million naira (about US$702,000) in Ikoyi.

Further out, flats in Ajah listed at 82.2 million naira (about US$62,000) and in Ikorodu at 55.3 million naira (about US$42,000). May 2026 reports on the revised Blue Book put Ikoyi land values at 2 billion to 4 billion naira (about US$1.5 million to US$3 million).

Naira risk for a dollar buyer

Nigeria unified its exchange rate windows in June 2023. Central Bank of Nigeria data show the naira at about 462 per US$1 in early June 2023. It was roughly 1,620 in early September 2024 and about 1,329 on 21 September 2026.

A property bought for a fixed naira sum in mid-2023 therefore lost well over half its dollar value within about 15 months, before any recovery. Rising naira asking prices partly reflect that depreciation and the inflation that followed, rather than real gains.

Foreign buyers should bring money in through an authorised dealer bank and keep the bank’s inflow documents. Nigerian lawyers point to NIPC Act guarantees on transferring capital and returns through authorised dealers. Those records are what a bank asks for when the money goes back out.

What this means for your plans

For most foreigners, buying property in Nigeria is a leasehold decision with a state approval attached. In Lagos, plan for a 25-year lease or a company structure, and budget time as well as money for consent.

Price the deal on the Blue Book value, not the contract price, because the 2026 revision raised the charges sharply. Ask the lawyer for a written consent estimate before signing.

Treat the naira as part of the investment. A local-currency asset bought with dollars carries exchange risk in both directions, and resale can take months. Renting first, while titles and neighbourhoods are checked, is a common and sensible step.

Rules differ by state, and the Governor’s approval remains discretionary. Every figure here reflects the position as of September 2026 and should be confirmed with a Lagos-licensed lawyer before any payment.

More: Africa coverage from The Rio Times.

Sources: Resolution Law Firm: buying property in Nigeria as a foreigner (May 2026), Gresyndale Legal: foreign ownership regulations (2025), The Trusted Advisors: acquisition of real estate by aliens, Acquisition of Lands by Aliens Law of Lagos State (text), Huebner v AIEP Supreme Court case note, Lagos State Lands Bureau: Governor’s consent, Banwo & Ighodalo: Lagos Blue Book revision (May 2026), BusinessDay: Lagos land transaction fees (May 2026), WithinNigeria: Governor’s consent in 2026, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission: business registration, PwC Tax Summaries: Nigeria individual developments, PwC Tax Summaries: Nigeria corporate capital gains, Nigeria Property Centre: Lagos house prices, Nigeria Property Centre: Lagos flat prices, Central Bank of Nigeria: exchange rates