Land Law :- Notable Provisions Of The Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Regulations On Planning & Renovation Permits.

In light of the recent spate of demolitions carried out by the Lagos State government, away from the politics of it all, it is important that to be sure that before acquiring a piece of land and developing, a clear understanding of the provisions of the physical planning laws of the state should be had by a buyer.

This article will be looking at important provisions of the Lagos State Planning Permit Regulations & will be focused on the topics of :-

– Planning Permits.

– Renovation Permits.

What do the regulations say on applications for planning permits?

– Any person, be it an individual or corporation, or government agency intending to carry out any development on any land within the state shall make an application to the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) for a grant of a planning permit for such development.

– All physical developments in the state shall have an approved planning permit.

– All planning permits to be granted shall be within the context of an approved operative development plan (master/local plan) where available. Where there is no operative development plan, an application shall be considered on the result of the planning information application process.

What is the procedure for applying for a planning permit?

– Applications for development shall be made as appropriate by the developer in a regulatory form prescribed by LASPPPA .

– Applications are to be accompanied by :-

1). 1 set of architectural drawings.

2). Duly signed survey plans.

3). Land Title Documents.

– A duly completed application form shall be submitted by the applicant or through appointed registered professionals in the building industry to the authority, with the following documents :

1). 1 survey plan copy with relevant survey reference number.

2). 5 sets of screened architectural drawings of the proposed development prepared, signed, sealed and stamped by an architect registered to practice in Nigeria which shall include the site plan indicating details including the following :-

a). Area covered by the subject site.

b). The beacon numbers or pillars indicating the property boundary and linear dimensions.

c). Land Use Planning & Analysis Reports (LUPAR).

d). Front, rear, left & right side elevations of the building, the height, floor levels & others that may be required.

What are the provisions of the regulations on renovation permits?

Alteration, Addition & Repair

– No building shall be renovated in the state without renovation permits granted by the LASPPPA.

– Applicants shall be issued letters of renovation permits subject to satisfying certain conditions as specified in the regulations.

– Any person intending to renovate a building shall before carrying out such renovation, submit to the authority an application, stating the details of renovation and evidence or previous planning permits if any. The process shall attract 25% of the prevailing processing fees.

Alterations & Addition

– No building shall be altered or added or redeveloped in the state without planning permits from the authority through an application containing details which include :

a). As-built drawings

b). The proposed alterations, repair, development, drawing & super-imposed on the as-built drawing.

c). A certificate of structural fitness within indemnities issued by a registered civil/structural engineer.

d). A civil or structural engineer’s undertaking to supervise the alteration, addition or repairs. 

Land Law :- Requirements For Fencing & Demolition Permits In Lagos State

This article will be focused on fencing and demolition permits in Lagos state & their requirements as prescribed by the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Regulations/”The Regulations” (LASPPPA). 

What are the provisions of the regulations on fencing permits?

– No fencing work shall be allowed on any land in the state without a permit from LASPPPA.

– Any person who intends to carry out fencing work shall submit the following documents :-

a). An application & drawings (architecture and/or structural designs).

b). 1 sun-print survey plan of the subject site.

c). Evidence of title documents.

d). Receipts of prescribed fee payments.

– A fence line shall be recessed by a minimum of 900mm from the front property boundary for purposes of landscaping/beautification.

– The front fence line shall be made of a maximum of 3.0 mtrs consisting of 1.5 meters solid wall from ground level and remaining height shall be a minimum of 1 meter see-through made of any material.

– The party walls between adjacent properties shall maintain a maximum height of 3 meters from existing road level.

What are the provisions of the regulations on demolition permits?

– Any developer who intends to demolish any existing structure shall apply in writing to the authority for the issuance of a demolition permit as provided in these regulations.

– No site with existing structure shall be demolished in the state without a demolition permit granted by the authority to remove the structure.

– Any intending applicant for a demolition permit shall submit an application to LASPPPA accompanied with the following documents :- 

a). evidence of title documents;

b). photographs of existing structures.

What is the applicable fee for demolition permits?

– Regulatory demolition permit fees in Lagos State are charged at 250 Thousand Naira.

What are the provisions of the regulations on Land Use Zones & Complementary uses?

– The following shall be permissible developments under the regulations in all the approved Land Use Zones as specified therein.

A seventy-year-old Nigerian man has been on the lips of bloggers and netizens for the past one week now. The man by the name “Francis Van Lare” in celebration of his seventieth birthday published on his Facebook wall the names of all the women he alleged to have had sex with since he started engaging in sexual activities from the 1960s. 

Some of the names he published looked familiar because he didn’t just publish first names, he published both the first and last names of the persons. 

Some persons who claimed they are the bearers of the names he published are threatening to sue him for libelous defamation but this is why the suit for libel from some of the women against Mr Francis Van Lare may likely not succeed in the court of law. 

What then is libel? Libel is a “published” “false statement” that is “damaging” to a person’s reputation. Once it is a written or published defamation it becomes a libel but it is merely spoken or verbal, it is slander. 

For a suit of libel to succeed in court it must be; 

1. Published 
2. It must be a false statement 
3. It must be damaging to one’s reputation or defamatory 
4. It must not just be a mere opinion expressed as an opinion. 
5. It must be specifically addressed to a particular person or group of persons

This is to say that for a claimant suit to succeed, the statement must be written or published, the statement must be seen to be damaging to the claimant’s reputation, the statement must be false and it must not be an opinion and it must be addressed to or about a specific person and not a generalized statement. 

For instance, if I post or publish that Mr John Doe is a thief, for Mr John Doe to successfully bring a suit for libel against me, there must not be any evidence or proof showing that Mr John Doe have stolen before or that he is truly a thief; if my statement of him being a thief is true then he cannot succeed in an action for Libel against me because my statement is not false. Again, if I post on my wall a generalized statement that I have slept with Mrs Jane Doe, anybody or everybody bearing the name “Jane Doe”, cannot bring up an action against me because I did not specify the Jane Doe I’m talking about even though my statement could be false and defamatory to every Jane Doe out there. 

Back to the Facebook publication of Mr Francis Van Lare; As already highlighted that one of the core ingredients of libel or slander is that the defamatory statement must be addressed to a particular individual. If Mr Francis Van Lare published on his wall that he has slept with Mrs Jane Doe, and one Mrs. Jane Doe decides to sue Mr Francis Van Lare for libel, Mr Francis Van Lare’s defense could be that he never referred to that particular Mrs Jane Doe as there are a lot of persons bearing Mrs Jane Doe. So a claimant must show that the libel was addressed to him or her specifically. 

So most of the ladies threatening to sue may not succeed in the libel claim because it will be difficult for them to show in court that the is truly theirs and not any other person out there because those names, although common and popular names are not exclusive to anybody but the case will be different if after publishing the names of the ladies and he went further to add other personal details to specify the ladies he is referring to.

Libel is both a civil wrong and a crime in Nigeria. If convicted, it is punishable with a 1-2 years jail term as provided in section 375 of the criminal code act