A Bill Introduced by the Real Estate Regulatory Council Will Reverse a Negative Trend — HDAN

Apart from cleaning up the housing sector, the Real Estate Regulatory Council Bill, if signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, will aid in reversing the country’s downward trend, according to Mr. Festus Adebayo, Executive Director of the Housing Development Advocacy Network (HDAN).

This was stated by an affordable housing advocate in response to the bill’s recent passage by the National Assembly.

According to Adebayo, the bill will ensure that the best practices available in developed countries are followed.

“We also want to commend the Senate President and every member of the Federal Republic of Nigerian Senate for working together to ensure that the bill passed on the Senate floor,” he said.

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Supporting claims that the bill, if passed into law, will help reverse the country’s negative trend, Adebayo said it will prevent all-comers in the sector from engaging in fraudulent practices.

“We’re in a situation where no one is protecting anyone, not even the subscribers,” he said, lamenting the abuse that has long pervaded the industry, where rules are constantly being bent.

The executive director expressed confidence in President Muhammadu Buhari’s ability to give the bill a speedy assent in order to promote sanity in the sector through appropriate regulatory frameworks.

He stated that his organization had reviewed the bill and was “working assiduously in collaboration with the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) and other professional bodies involved, including government agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to ensure that the sector is safe and protected for investment.”

Adebayo revealed that the bill was presented to the National Assembly two years ago under the leadership of Reverend Ugochukwu Chime, former President of REDAN.

“As a result, we are very pleased that the current REDAN leadership has prioritized the bill,” he said.

According to him, the bill assigns responsibilities to all professional bodies in Nigeria’s construction industries, and it is not intended to take anyone’s job.

“This is something that Professor Akin Mabogunje, who had just turned 90, fought for a few years ago, for the sector to be regulated.” “I’m sure he’ll be pleased that the real estate sector will finally be professionalized and regulated,” he said.