“That is not the right thing at all; they should find a way of encouraging investors.”
The plan by the Federal Capital Territory Administration to tax unoccupied buildings in Abuja might have sent shivers down the spines of major stakeholders in the real estate sector.
Apart from being chased about by creditors, the crunch in luxury apartments market where this category of buildings fall within, many of the landlords said they are now living in false projections and may lose their investments to creditors. But property manager and former chairman, Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria, , Elder William Odudu, said the policy could be to discourage property vacancies, as they are so many vacant properties, especially in highbrow areas. A lot of properties in Asokoro and Maitama, he said, are vacant because people cannot afford to buy them.
Odudu stressed that Government can still put a law in place that if a property is vacant or not vacant you pay tax on it, so that people will find a way of getting them occupied. But former Africa President, International Real Estate Federation , Chudi Ubosi, thinks that the practice, which is fairly common, worldwide is a good step in the right direction and could serve several purposes.
“The tax will help generate more funds for the Territory especially as regards running their affairs. Finally Abuja has an issue with high rents. Maybe the law will force many of these Landlords to put their houses in the market for lease thereby flooding the market with accommodation which may in the long run force down rents”, he said.
According to him, “We have some buildings within the city that are not occupied by anybody and the government is looking in that direction. Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, disclosed this in Abuja while playing host to the Senate Committee on Housing led by its Chairman, Sam Egwu. According to him, the proper way to go is for enumeration to form an asset register nationwide to be done by the appropriate professionals who would make appropriate recommendations as per the upgrade needed to restore the properties to an acceptable standard.
“We call on state and other tiers of government to emulate the minister and follow it all the way as the era of government assets nobody’s asset is over”, he added.
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