According to the state government, commercial fee charge is reduced by 50 percent, while owner occupier third-party fee is reduced by 25 percent and the owner-occupier fee charge is reduced by 15 percent.

This was made known after the executive council meeting which was held today at the State House.

Earlier, the Lagos State government had clarified the figures on the rate for the newly reviewed Land Use Charge Law of 2018.

The state government said that many of the numbers were based on several years of arrears on the levy not paid by affected property owners.

Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan, made the clarification to newsmen.

He decried the misconceptions and misinformation about the new law, describing the law as a progressive enactment duly made by the House of Assembly and handed over to the executive for implementation in the overall interest of the people.

The commissioner specifically dismissed the humongous figures being bandied about on the social media, saying many of the calculations were based on arrears of many years of non-payment.

But these clarifications did not go down well with Nigerians as members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch on Tuesday staged a protest over the reviewed Land Use Charge Law in Lagos State.

The lawyers during the protest marched to the Governor’s Office in Alausa, Ikeja, the state capital, carrying a banner and various placards with inscriptions lamenting over the law.

They also chanted solidarity songs expressing their disapproval over the increase in the land use charge.

The lawyers were joined by other civil society groups as they walked from the Bar Centre of the Ikeja High Court and then to the Governor’s office.

Read the statement issued at the end of the meeting below:

The Lagos State Government, in its desire to build world-class infrastructure and improve the well-being of its citizens, reviewed the Land Use Charges payable by all property owners. This exercise was received with mixed feelings by various interest groups who expressed serious concerns.

In line with this administration’s tradition of inclusive governance and civic engagement, and as a Government that is committed to the welfare of its citizens and understands the importance of continuously engaging the populace, we undertook extensive dialogue with various stakeholders on the Land Use Charge (“LUC”) revised Law and its implementation.

Consequently, we received a wide range of responses from our dialogue with various stakeholders on the amended LUC Law 2018. The stakeholders included the Organised Private Sector, Nigeria Bar Association, Real estate investors & developers, Landlord & Resident Associations, Community Development Associations, Civil Society Organisations, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries (LCCI), Nigeria Institute of Estate Surveyors & Valuers and several other professional groups.

These various interactions formed the subject of extensive deliberations at the meeting of the Lagos State Executive Council on Wednesday, March 14th, 2018. The Lagos State Executive Council chaired by His Excellency, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, therefore resolved as follows:

Commercial Property: Commercial Property owners, who are undoubtedly the stakeholders mostly impacted by this amended Law will be granted 50% discount. This means a commercial property valued at N20 million which was earlier billed N91,200 will now pay N45,600 per annum.
Property Occupied by Owner and Third Party & Property Used for Industrial and Manufacturing Purposes: These categories of property will now enjoy 25% discount. This means that a N20 million property expected to pay N30,720 will now pay N23,040 per annum.
Owner-occupied Property: This category of property will enjoy 15% discount. For a N20 million property, this used to be N9,120. Now, it is N7,752 per annum.
The penalty regime for late payment of LUC has been waived completely. Therefore, LUC payers who have received their bills will no longer be penalised for late payment of bills issued in 2018, thereby providing additional relief to LUC payers.
Other rates and reliefs, apart from the ones stated above, will remain unchanged and will be implemented as stipulated by the Law. These include 40% general relief, 10% for 70 years and above, 10% for properties owned by persons living with disability and 10% for properties that are 25 years old and so on and so forth.
Owners of Property across all categories will now be allowed to make payments by instalments. This will help to reduce the burden of taxation on our citizens.
We appreciate and commend property owners of all categories who have performed their civic duties faithfully by paying the LUC. Consequently, as a result of these new measures, those who have paid the original amount will be awarded tax credits to the extent of the excess amount paid and carried forward to next year.
It is our fervent desire to ensure that we empower every property owner with the self-assessment provisions of the law. Therefore, we shall forward to the Lagos State House of Assembly for review and passage the following regulations:

a) The Regulation for review of applicable rates and regime of reliefs on Categories of Properties pursuant to LUC Law.
b) The Regulation for a framework for self-assessment
We implore all stakeholders to participate effectively in the legislative proceedings and sincerely appreciate them for trusting the current administration with the responsibility of investing the revenue from LUC in infrastructure renewal and overall development of our State. We will continue to make your tax work for you.