The Oyo State Government has launched a digitised Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O) issuance platform to make the processing and collection of title documents faster, easier and affordable.
This is contained in a statement issued on Sunday, May 3, 2020 in Ibadan, the state capital, by Mr Abdu-Raheem Abiodun, the state’s Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development.
He said the state government would ensure that all land owners in the state have digitised title documents by December 2022 through accelerated provision of digitised title documents.
Abiodun explained that the processing and collection of C-of-Os would take only 60 days under the Oyo State Home Owners Charter (OYHOC) scheme.
He added that government would bear the cost of survey, planning permission and all other relevant documents for applicants who do not have them under the OYHOC scheme.
The commissioner emphasised that all C-of-Os issued under the improved OYHOC would not only be digitised for ease of authenticity confirmation, but would also have the status of legal instrument.
“Property owners can now easily use their properties as collateral for any financial transaction as well as having their documentation on the digital database of the ministry for ease of confirmation and transfer,” he said.
Abiodun said records had shown that majority of residential landed properties in Oyo State have no registered title documents thereby exposing owners to risks.
He urged all eligible property owners without approved documents to take advantage of the opportunity.
Abiodun said application forms could be obtained at the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development at the state secretariat, all Local Government Authority Offices as well as Local Council Development Authority offices.
The commissioner also pointed out that the first 2,000 applicants would enjoy a 15 per cent discount.
By David Adeoye
