Lagos Govt. warns public against patronising fake estate agents

The Lagos State Government has warned residents to beware of fake estate agents advertising government housing units that are no longer available for sale or rent.

The state Commissioner for Housing, Mr Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, gave the warning in a statement by the ministry’s Deputy Director of Public Affairs, Mr Ganiu Lawal, on Friday in Lagos.

He said the government was aware of a social media video advertising flats at the Egan-Igando Mixed Housing Estate, which was recently inaugurated by the state.

According to him, the estate has been fully allocated and any claim that the flats are for sale or rent is false and fraudulent.

“The advertised estate has been fully allocated, and its purported availability for sale or rent as stated in the online video is therefore a fraudulent act by the agent,” he said.

According to Akinderu-Fatai, Lagos State Government does not use agents to sell, rent or lease housing units in its estates.

He said that the Estate Department of the Ministry of Housing handled outright sale of homes, while the Lagos State Mortgage Board was in charge of allocations under the mortgage and rent-to-own schemes.

The commissioner advised members of the public to contact the state Ministry of Housing directly to verify any information about government housing estates before making payments.

He said that the government would not be responsible for losses suffered by those who patronised fraudsters.

“Anyone caught in this criminal act will be brought to justice,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr Abdulhafis Toriola, has directed all allottees of the Egan-Igando Mixed Housing Estate to take possession of their flats without delay.

He said that failure to do so might lead to revocation of their allocations.

He said that the measure would help to prevent impersonators from misleading members of the public into thinking that the flats were still available.