THE Lagos State Government in collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association has proposed a scheme for financiers that would pay landlords annually on behalf of tenants who, in turn, will be repaying the rent monthly.

The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Housing, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka, disclosed this, according to a statement on Thursday, during a real estate stakeholders’ forum organised by Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority and the NBA, in Ikoyi.

She said, “On the monthly rental scheme, we will not legislate on it, but we will continue to work towards the scheme being generally accepted by residents.

“What we are proposing is a scheme whereby we are going to bring in group of financiers. They will finance this scheme by paying up the landlord on a yearly basis and the tenant gets the opportunity to repay on monthly basis. It is a scheme with a single digit of payment that is going to be managed by the private sector and supported by the government.

“Real estate transactions have relevant processes with necessary documents required for the preparation of specific property business transaction in the sector. In real estate transactions, lawyers and real estate agents offer completely different services. Real estate agent is involved in the process of buying/selling properties or rental services while all paper works are handled by a lawyer as prescribed by the law.”

Benson-Awoyinka noted that the scheme would alleviate the suffering of residents in search of shelter.

“The scheme is a social investment programme of the Lagos State government to alleviate the suffering of residents seeking comfortable shelters and the state government would not compel any landlord to subscribe to this initiative.”

“However, this idea of payment will have insurance and legal coverage to guarantee consistent pattern of payment by the tenant,” she added.