TRANSACTIONS AFFECTING LAND IN NIGERIA

OUR STORY

Quality, not quantity

We have made quality our habit. It’s not something that we just strive for – we live by this principle every day.

TRANSACTIONS AFFECTING LAND IN NIGERIA

It is a seeming impossibility to have a generally accepted definition of any term and land is not an exception. Land can be referred as the most important and perhaps the only imperishable heritage of man. Land could also be defined under Common law as the hard surface, subsoil things attached to the Earth and other incorporeal enjoyed on the land such as easement.Per times, land are acquired, maintained and sold, hence, the need to examine various transactions affecting land in Nigeria.

The following are transactions affecting land in Nigeria.

1. PLEDGE OF LAND

This exists where a person referred to generally as the ‘Pledgor’ gives or deposits any land or interest in land to another party, referred to as the ‘Pledgee” in which the person depositing the property binds himself to do or forbear from doing a particular thing. In this case, only possession is given as the title or the legal interest in the land is not transferred. In a pledge, land is usually put as a security to get something from the Pledgee.

In an action to prove a pledge of land before a court, it is generally accepted that the person alleging pledge must establish the following as ruled by the Court in Anyaegbunam V. Osaka (a) the pledge itself; (b) the parties to the pledge; (c) the witnesses, time and circumstances of the pledge; and (d) the consideration for the pledge. Notably, the right of the Pledgor to recover possession of the land remains with him and it is never extinguished hence the notorious notion: “once a pledge, always a pledge”.

2. GIFT OF LAND

Gift of land is simply the voluntary transfer or conveyance of any interest in land made gratuitously to a recipient and without any consideration paid by the recipient. The essential quality of a gift is that it lacks the element of bargain based on quid pro quo by which a sale is characterised.

Conditions that must exist to make a gift of land valid are as follows: (a) intention of the donor to make the gift; (b) completed act of delivery to the recipient; and (c) acceptance of the gift by the beneficiary (recipient). Once a gift of land has been made and accepted, the grantor’s right over the land is destroyed and he cannot lay claim to it thereafter.

3. SALE OF LAND

A contract of sale of land is an agreement whereby the vendor promises to sell and the purchaser to buy the land in question. It is a binding agreement that the courts will enforce if necessary. When it comes to sale of land, there is adequate time for the purchaser to investigate the title of the vendor.

4. LEASES OR LEASEHOLD

This connotes a written agreement under which a property owner (landlord) allows another (tenant) to use the property for a specified period of time and rent and known as a Landlord/Tenant relationship. A tenancy is a lease which is three years and below while a lease is one above 3 years.

5. LICENSE

This is simply the express permission to engage in a certain activity, granted by the relevant authority.

6. MORTGAGE AND CHARGE OF LAND

According to the Court in B.O.N ltd. V. Akintoye, this is generally the conveyance of a legal or equitable interest in a property with a provision for redemption, that is, the conveyance shall become void or the interest shall be re-conveyed upon the repayment of the loan. The borrower is called the mortgagor or charger while the lender is the mortgagee or chargee. The lender may sell the security to realize the money advanced where the borrower fails to repay.

7. DONATION OF POWER

This is an agency relationship by which a person gives power to another so that the agent acts on behalf of the principal in respect of specific transactions affecting land, such as to let out premises and collect rent, or to sell property and execute the document of sale.

NB: This article is not a legal advice, and under no circumstance should you take it as such. All information provided are for general purpose only. For information, please contact chamanlawfirm@gmail.com

WRITTEN BY CHAMAN LAW FIRM TEAM

EMAIL: chamanlawfirm@gmail.com

TEL: 08065553671, 08024230080