Nigeria Must End Era Of Fraudulent Property Developers – HDAN

The Housing Development Advocacy Network (HDAN) has called for an end to fraudulent and unprofessional practices in Nigeria’s real estate sector, insisting that individuals must no longer be allowed to operate as property developers without due process, proven competence and accountability.

The organisation said Nigeria could no longer afford a real estate market where individuals acquire parcels of land, advertise estates without proper documentation, collect millions of naira from unsuspecting buyers and abandon housing projects.

The Executive Director of HDAN, Festus Adebayo, made the call in Abuja on Monday while reacting to the National Stakeholders Conference on Real Estate Regulation convened by the House of Representatives Committee on Housing and Habitat at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.

Adebayo described the conference as a potentially historic turning point in efforts to sanitise the real estate industry, protect homebuyers and restore public confidence in the housing sector.

He commended the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and the Chairman of the House Committee on Housing and Habitat, Abdulmumin Jibrin, for championing legislative reforms aimed at addressing fraud, unprofessional conduct and weak accountability in the industry.

“This must mark a new dawn for Nigeria’s real estate sector. The days when anybody can wake up in the morning, acquire a parcel of land, print colourful brochures, advertise imaginary estates on social media, collect millions of naira from innocent Nigerians and automatically declare himself a property developer must come to an end,” he said.

According to him, property development is a serious professional and financial undertaking involving people’s lifetime savings, family security, public safety and the economic future of the country.

He maintained that nobody should be permitted to operate as a property developer without verifiable capacity, appropriate approvals and clearly defined obligations to buyers.

Adebayo expressed concern over recurring complaints of fraudulent land transactions, multiple allocations of the same property, misleading advertisements, abandoned housing projects, unauthorised developments and diversion of funds collected from subscribers.

He said the activities had caused significant financial losses to Nigerians, with some families losing their retirement benefits, cooperative contributions and lifetime savings to questionable property schemes.

“Some families have paid for houses that were never constructed, while others have discovered that the land sold to them was either disputed, improperly documented or unavailable,” he said.

The HDAN executive director stressed that the proposed National Real Estate Regulatory Authority must be established as an effective consumer protection and industry development institution rather than another bureaucracy designed merely to collect registration fees.

He called for a comprehensive regulatory framework that would provide for developer registration and classification, verification of financial and technical competence, disclosure of land titles and planning approvals, protection of off-plan housing payments and transparent property advertisements.

The organisation also advocated enforceable project delivery obligations, appropriate sanctions against fraudulent operators and a publicly accessible digital register through which prospective buyers could verify developers, registered projects and authorised agents before making financial commitments.

Adebayo further proposed regulated escrow arrangements and other safeguards to prevent developers from indiscriminately diverting subscribers’ funds, alongside accessible complaint-resolution and restitution mechanisms for victims.

He, however, cautioned that regulation should not become an instrument for excluding genuine small-scale and emerging developers, discouraging entrepreneurship or increasing the cost of affordable housing.

Rather, he said, the proposed framework should establish proportionate requirements that encourage responsible businesses to formalise their operations while preventing fraudulent and incompetent operators from exploiting Nigerians.

The organisation also called on the Senate to collaborate with the House of Representatives in developing a comprehensive and enforceable national real estate regulatory law.

Adebayo said the proposed reforms should transcend political affiliations, institutional rivalries and individual interests, stressing that protecting Nigerians from property fraud was a national responsibility.

“We commend the House of Representatives for taking this bold initiative. We now appeal to the Senate to join hands with the House and demonstrate that protecting Nigerians from property fraud is a national responsibility that deserves the full attention of both chambers of the National Assembly,” he said.

He urged lawmakers to harmonise existing legislative and policy proposals, engage state governments and relevant regulatory institutions, and develop a framework that respects Nigeria’s federal structure while establishing minimum standards for consumer protection and professional conduct.

HDAN also appealed to civil society organisations, consumer protection advocates, professional associations, anti-corruption institutions, the media, housing cooperatives and credible real estate developers to support the reform process.

It urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Nigeria Police Force and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to strengthen cooperation in investigating real estate fraud, protecting consumers and ensuring that proven offenders face appropriate consequences.

The organisation, however, warned against criminalising genuine commercial disputes or subjecting credible businesses to arbitrary enforcement.

HDAN challenged participants at the national stakeholders’ conference to ensure that the meeting produced a practical legislative roadmap, clear institutional responsibilities, implementation timelines and measurable commitments.

The organisation recalled that it had earlier unveiled a 20-point national real estate reform agenda advocating stronger consumer protection, mandatory project registration, developer accountability, improved land administration, transparent property marketing and a modern regulatory framework.

Adebayo pledged the organisation’s research, policy proposals and advocacy experience to support the National Assembly and other stakeholders working towards the proposed reforms.

He said the success of the conference should not be measured by the number of dignitaries in attendance or the speeches delivered, but by the establishment of a system capable of protecting Nigerians seeking to own homes.

“History will not judge this conference by the number of dignitaries who attended, the speeches delivered or the beauty of the communiqué issued. It will judge us by whether we finally established a system that protects the ordinary Nigerian who works hard, saves money and dreams of owning a decent home,” he said.