The role of Development Control in housing devt – Yahaya Yusuf

In a paper entitled “Issues of Regulation Enforcement and Control in Nigerian Housing Delivery” Tpl Yusuf Yahaya noted that the housing delivery comes with the challenge of rapid urbanization which has led to other related challenges such as crime, overcrowding, pollution and unemployment.He said, “The legal provisions and scope for development control practice in Nigeria […]

In a paper entitled “Issues of Regulation Enforcement and Control in Nigerian Housing Delivery” Tpl Yusuf Yahaya noted that the housing delivery comes with the challenge of rapid urbanization which has led to other related challenges such as crime, overcrowding, pollution and unemployment.
He said, “The legal provisions and scope for development control practice in Nigeria stem from the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Act 1992 that allows for all tiers of government to exercise development control; other sources of control and enforcement include bye-laws, regulations, guidelines, official gazettes, circulars and the National Building Code.
“Other urban regional planning tools were said to include any urban master plan, environmental impact statement and for an approval in most state Urban development agencies, the basic requirements for issuance of permits other than compliance to the land use plan are: Availability of genuine land title document, complete set of designs to include site plan, architectural, structural, mechanical and electrical engineering designs, which must be stamped and sealed by relevant professionals, submission of site analysis report and/or EIA, soil test report depending on the scale and magnitude of the proposed development.”
He said that the difficulties of enforcing development control for sustainable housing development in Nigeria, includes: “Delays in approval processes, development without genuine land titles, professional negligence and mediocrity, recalcitrance on the part of the developers, the use of court injunction to prevent enforcement, and improved economic base, slow pace of resettlement activities, work hazards, and a general abuse of mass housing objectives.”