Before Consulting a Lawyer on Buying Land or Property in Nigeria
A practical, client-friendly guide to help you prepare, reduce risk, and save time and money before your legal consultation.
Introduction: Why Preparation Matters
Buying land or property is a major investment. In Nigeria, the process can be technically demanding due to overlapping claims, unperfected titles, government acquisition, family or community rights, as well as survey and planning compliance. Preparing before you consult a lawyer will help you identify early red flags, save professional time, reduce costs, and strengthen your negotiation position. This guide shows you what to do first, what to bring to your lawyer, and what to avoid so that your transaction is legally sound and defensible.
Quick Start: First Checks You Can Run
- Visit the land or property location and speak with immediate neighbors or the community leadership. Note landmarks, access roads, and any visible encroachment or boundary markers.
- Collect copies or clear photos of documents in the seller’s possession: survey plan, Deed of Assignment or Lease, Certificate of Occupancy where applicable, receipts, allocation letters, or court orders.
- Ask the seller to confirm their capacity to sell: individual owner, family representatives with principal members, community, company signatories, or a government agency.
- Do not make full payment. If any money must change hands, keep it as a refundable deposit clearly made “subject to legal due diligence and registration.”
- Engage a licensed surveyor for a quick check to confirm if the coordinates chart cleanly at the Surveyor General’s office and whether the land falls in a committed or acquisition area.
Detailed Steps Before You See a Lawyer
1. Identify the property and the true seller
Clearly capture the plot or building details: location, size, neighborhood, near roads or landmarks. Confirm who owns it and who is selling. For family or community land, you usually need the signatures of the head and principal members. For company-owned property, insist on company documents and the board resolution authorizing the sale.
2. Conduct preliminary field checks
- Speak to neighbors, caretakers, and local leaders about ownership history and disputes.
- Look for signs of encroachment, broken fences, multiple beacons, or two different sets of beacons indicating overlap.
- Ask about access roads, drainage, power lines, pipelines, waterways, or right-of-way issues.
3. Confirm planning and zoning intent
Ask whether the land is residential, commercial, agricultural, or industrial. Check the relevant physical planning authority for zoning, set-back rules, height limits, or special approvals. Confirm if your intended purpose aligns with the planning map and whether change-of-use is realistic if needed.
4. Gather document copies upfront
Politely insist on clear copies or high-quality photos. If the seller hesitates, that is informative. Your lawyer will later validate authenticity and run official searches at the Land Registry and related agencies.
5. Plan your payment structure and escrow
Avoid paying the entire purchase price until due diligence is complete. Use staged payments with escrow or a stakeholder arrangement. Release funds when verifiable milestones are achieved, like successful registry search, execution of valid transfer instrument, stamping and lodging for registration, and possession handover.
6. Line up professionals
Shortlist a licensed surveyor, a valuer if needed, and an experienced real estate lawyer. Professional oversight reduces risk far more than it costs, especially when disputes are costly to cure later.
Evidence and Documents to Gather
Bring originals where possible, with photocopies or scans. If you only have copies, ensure they are legible and complete.
Core title documents
- Certificate of Occupancy where applicable, Governor’s Consent for subsequent transfers, or registered Deed of Assignment or Lease.
- Deed of Sublease or Deed of Gift where relevant.
- Court judgments or orders affecting title, Letters of Administration or Probate if inherited.
Survey and mapping
- Survey plan with coordinates signed by a licensed surveyor.
- Evidence that the survey can be charted and does not fall within a committed acquisition or road alignment.
Ownership and compliance evidence
- Receipts for past purchases, land use charge or property tax receipts, utility bills, or tenancy history for developed property.
- Company documents if the seller is a company: CAC status report, Memorandum and Articles or status constitution, board resolution, and ID of authorized signatories.
- Community or family land sales need proof of consent of principal members, not just one signature.
Financial and identity records
- Draft receipts or offer letters, any deposits made, and evidence of funds for the balance.
- Valid identity cards for seller and buyer, passport photographs, and address details.
- Survey plan and any prior charting reports.
- Deed of Assignment or Lease or other transfer instrument in draft or executed form.
- Certificate of Occupancy where applicable or other root of title evidence.
- All receipts, allocation letters, or correspondence proving possession or payments.
- Seller’s identity documents, company records or community consents.
- Your written notes from field checks and neighbor interviews.
Red Flags and Common Mistakes
- Paying full price before searches, stamping, and registration milestones.
- Accepting a single family head’s signature on family land without principal members.
- Not charting the survey or ignoring visible overlaps and conflicting beacons.
- Assuming possession or fencing equals incontestable ownership.
- Skipping Governor’s Consent where a prior title exists that requires it.
- Ignoring planning controls, pipelines, power lines, or waterways bisecting the land.
- Do not sign an undated or blank transfer document.
- Do not pay cash without traceable receipts and proper conditions written on the receipts.
- Do not rely on unlicensed surveyors or unverifiable coordinates.
- Do not take possession where there is an ongoing lawsuit or known rival claim without legal advice.
Common Misconceptions
- “A community receipt alone makes me owner.” A receipt shows a transaction but is not a perfected legal title without a valid transfer and registration steps.
- “If I quickly start building, my title becomes secure.” Physical development without a defensible title can still be challenged and halted.
- “Governor’s Consent is optional.” Where the law requires consent for subsequent transfers, skipping it weakens your title and future resale value.
- “Any lawyer can fix a bad deal after the fact.” Some defects are expensive or impossible to cure. Prevention is better than cure.
Preparing for Your Consultation
What to organize
- A folder of all documents and photos, clearly named by date.
- Your written timeline of events: first contact with seller, inspections, any deposits, and assurances given.
- A map or simple sketch showing the property and neighboring features.
Questions to ask your lawyer
- What is the actual root of title and how strong is it on a scale of risk?
- Does the property fall within any government acquisition, committed area, or right of way?
- Which transfer instrument is appropriate and what consents are required?
- What are the total costs beyond purchase price: stamp duties, consent fees, registration, professional fees, survey, valuation, and planning permits?
- What is a safe payment and possession plan to avoid disputes?
Expectations to set
- Due diligence can reveal issues that require renegotiation or walking away.
- Registration timelines and agency responses vary by state and workload.
- Your lawyer will prefer escrow or staged payments tied to verifiable milestones.
Practical Insights and Examples
You receive a receipt from the family head. Your lawyer then discovers that two principal members did not consent. The fix is to procure a fresh Deed of Assignment with all required signatories and witnesses. Without this, your title is open to challenge.
Two surveys chart to the same plot with different coordinates. The safe path is to reconcile coordinates through licensed surveyors, verify original beacons on ground, and adjust boundaries before any payment. Rushing to build leads to costly demolition or litigation.
Your quick charting shows the land is within a committed area reserved for public use. The legally prudent decision is to walk away. No bargain price compensates for a title that cannot be perfected.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can I buy land without a lawyer if the seller is trustworthy?
You can, but it is risky. Even honest sellers may not understand legal requirements. A lawyer protects you against defects, missing consents, and future disputes.
2. What if the land has no Certificate of Occupancy?
Lack of a C of O is not the end. Your lawyer will evaluate the root of title, the state’s practice, and advise the right instrument and consents for a defensible transfer and registration.
3. Do I really need a licensed survey?
Yes. Licensed surveys and proper charting confirm location, size, and whether the plot is free from acquisition or overlaps. Unlicensed work is a common cause of boundary disputes.
4. When should I pay the balance?
After due diligence is satisfactory and the transfer instrument is executed, stamped, and lodged for registration, unless escrow or stakeholder processes set safer staged releases tied to milestones.
5. Can foreigners buy property in Nigeria?
Yes, subject to state laws and practical structures such as long leases. Your lawyer will advise on the most secure approach for your situation and location.
Final Thoughts
Safe property acquisition is a process, not a single payment event. Your preparation helps your lawyer verify authority to sell, run registry and survey checks, secure the right transfer instrument, and perfect your title. Take the time to collect documents, set clear conditions for payment, and plan a registration path that stands up to challenges. That is how you protect your investment.