A recent report by the World Bank classified Nigeria as the most difficult place to register a property in Africa, in a further reflection of the sorry state of housing development in the country.

The World Bank Doing Business 2010 Report ranks Nigeria last among the 46 countries surveyed in the continent on the ease of registering property, and 178 out of 183 countries in the world, using criteria such as procedures, time and cost involved in transferring commercial real estate. On the average, the report noted that it requires 13 procedures, takes 82 days, and costs 20.9 percent of property value to register a property in Nigeria.

According to the report, anyone seeking to invest in property in Africa would encounter fewest encumbrances in Mauritius (17 in the world), Ghana (33), Sudan (37), Rwanda (38), and Botswana (44), in that order, as the five best property-investment friendly countries in the continent.

The reported noted that it only takes 5 procedural steps to register a property in Ghana, 4 in Benin, 5 in Cameroun, 8 in Kenya, as against 13 in Nigeria. Also, whereas property registration costs 20.9 percent of property value in Nigeria, it only costs 1.1 percent in Ghana, 4.2 percent in Kenya and 11.8 percent in Benin. Registering property, according to the report, takes an average 34 days to complete in Ghana, 23 days in Namibia and 26 days in Mauritius. The average sub Saharan data is 6.7 procedural steps, 80.7 days and a cost of 9.9 percent of property value.

On the global level, Saudi Arabia is ranked number 1, involving only 2 procedural steps, 2 days and 0.0 percent cost of property value to complete the registration process, while the average data for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries is 4.7 procedural steps, 25.0 days and costs 4.6 percent of property value.

According to the World Bank report, the procedures involved in registering property in Nigeria include: Conduct a Property title search at the Land Registry; Obtain Application Land Form 1C; Obtain Certified True Copy (CTC) of title document; Obtain a Survey plan; and Execution of Deed of Assignment/Conveyance and Land Form 1C.

Others are: Payment of the Charting Fee, Administrative Fees, Endorsement fee at a designated bank; Submit application for Governor's Consent to the Assignment; Obtain notice of Stamp duty , Registration fees, Consent fees, Neighbourhood improvement charge at the Land Registry; Payment of Stamp duty , Registration fees, Consent fees, Neighbourhood improvement charge at a commercial bank; and Submit the Receipts of the Registration fees, Consent fees, Neighbourhood improvement charge, Stamp duty. In addition, one has to: Obtain file from the Land Services Department; Stamping of the deed of assignment; and Registration of Certificate of Occupancy or Deed and Title conferred

The property registration methodology adopted by Doing Business starts with obtaining the necessary documents, such as a copy of the seller's title if necessary, and conducting due diligence if required. The transaction is considered complete when it is opposable to third parties and when the buyer can use the property, use it as collateral for a bank loan or resell it.

lity of the seller or the buyer or must be completed by a third party on their behalf. Local property lawyers, notaries and property registries provide information on procedures as well as the time and cost to complete each of them.

In his reaction, Managing Director, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Mr. Ahmed Abdulsalam, concurred with the report, noting that apart from the dearth of basic infrastructure, which adds up to 30 percent of housing development costs as well as the high cost of building materials, the other major challenges to mortgage financing in Nigeria include bureaucratic and costly land administration by state government registries, high cost and procedural difficulty to foreclose on defaulting mortgages.