If you’re searching for what land developers do and finding information about US zoning permits and bachelor’s degree requirements, you’re not alone. Land development in Nigeria involves entirely different processes—from navigating Certificate of Occupancy requirements to developing infrastructure that governments don’t provide.
This guide explains what land developers actually do in Nigeria’s unique context: verifying titles under the Land Use Act, coordinating 6-12 month government approval processes, installing power and water infrastructure, and structuring buyer financing for a market where 98% of purchasers can’t access mortgages.
What a Land Developer Actually Does (Beyond “Buying Land and Building”)
Land developers create functional real estate from raw land by coordinating everything from title verification through completed sales, not just managing construction.
Development in Nigeria involves five distinct phases: land acquisition with title verification, regulatory approval navigation, infrastructure provision, construction management, and sales structuring with proper documentation transfer. Each phase requires specialized knowledge of Nigerian regulatory systems, infrastructure challenges, and financing realities that generic “developer” descriptions from Western markets completely miss.
Western content focuses on zoning compliance and construction permits. Nigerian developers solve fundamentally different problems: confirming that survey plans match land registry records, assessing risks of communal land claims, installing transformers when NEPA connection takes 18 months, and creating payment plans that work for buyers earning ₦200,000 monthly who need 36 months to complete the purchase.
Title Verification and Risk Assessment
Legitimate title verification in Nigeria requires survey plan confirmation with the state surveyor general, land registry searches for existing claims or mortgages, communal land investigation through traditional ruler consultations, and verification of the governor’s consent when the Land Use Act requires it. Developers who skip these steps discover mid-project that their “verified” land has village claims dating back decades or registry encumbrances that prevent selling to buyers.
Navigating Nigerian Regulatory Approvals
Government approvals for estate development in Nigeria require 6-12 months of coordinated applications across multiple offices, not the 2-3 months inexperienced developers expect.
The actual approval sequence involves a Certificate of Occupancy application for land acquired from the government, a development permit from the state physical planning authority, building plan approval covering architectural and engineering drawings, environmental impact assessment for estates above certain sizes, and infrastructure connection permits, where applicable. Each approval depends on the previous one—you can’t get building plan approval before development permit, and you can’t start construction before building plan clearance.
Coordination means multiple visits to government offices, document resubmissions when officials request changes, relationship management with physical planning officers, and payment of official fees. The process differs significantly by location: FCT developments navigate FCDA Development Control, Lagos projects work through state Physical Planning offices, and other states have their own systems with different timelines and requirements.
Dutum Group’s experience with FCT approvals for Dutum Greens Estate demonstrates what proper navigation involves: understanding which officials handle which approval stages, submitting complete documentation that reduces rejection risk, and maintaining relationships that keep applications moving through bureaucratic processes. Developers without this experience cause 6-12 month project delays while they learn procedures through trial and error.
Infrastructure Provision (When Government Can’t)
Power supply is unreliable or non-existent in developing corridors. Water infrastructure requires developers to drill boreholes and install treatment systems. Roads must be constructed and maintained privately. Security provision—gates, guards, perimeter fencing—falls entirely on developers. International content about land development doesn’t address infrastructure gaps because Western markets assume the government provides these amenities.
Infrastructure development involves installing transformers and electrical distribution when power connection takes 18+ months, implementing alternative power solutions, including generator systems and increasingly solar installations, constructing roads to proper standards with drainage and asphalt or interlocking stones, and building complete water systems from borehole drilling through treatment plants to distribution networks.
These costs represent 20-30% of total development budgets. Estates without proper infrastructure face buyer dissatisfaction and difficulty selling remaining units, regardless of building quality.
Construction Management (Coordinating the Build)
Construction management is one component of development, not the entire job. Coordination involves contractor selection in Nigerian markets where reliability varies dramatically, material procurement navigating import duties and quality variation, quality control preventing contractors from cutting specification corners, timeline management across 12-18 month build periods, and budget adherence despite material price fluctuations.
Nigerian construction presents specific challenges: cement and block quality vary by manufacturer, some contractors abandon projects mid-way when better opportunities emerge, finding qualified tradesmen requires established networks, and rainy season delays affect scheduling. Developers without construction backgrounds hire quantity surveyors, civil engineers, or experienced builders to handle technical oversight while they coordinate the broader development process.
Dutum Group’s civil engineering and project management capabilities manage these challenges through established contractor relationships, material supplier networks, and quality control processes that ensure completed buildings meet specifications.
Sales Structuring for Nigeria’s Mortgage-Less Market
98% of Nigerian property buyers can’t access mortgages, so developers must structure multi-year payment plans rather than expecting immediate full payment.
The standard Western model—20% buyer deposit, bank finances 80%—doesn’t work here. Nigerian developers structure initial deposit requirements of 30-40% of property value, installment schedules spreading the remaining balance over 12-36 months, milestone-based payments linking buyer obligations to construction progress, and default management policies for buyers who miss payments.
This creates 18-24 month sales timelines as buyers gradually complete payments, fundamentally different from markets where mortgage approval means immediate full payment to the developer. The financial sophistication required is substantial: developers must finance construction upfront while waiting for buyer payments to arrive over two years, manage cash flow by timing construction spend with incoming installments, and maintain working capital significantly higher than mortgage-based markets require.
Dutum Iconic Estate demonstrates this approach: flexible payment structures making properties accessible to middle-income buyers earning ₦300,000-500,000 monthly who need extended timelines to complete purchase. Inexperienced developers who expect cash buyers discover they can’t sell properties at all.
Post-Sale Documentation and Title Transfer
Developers must ensure buyers receive proper legal ownership documentation, not just building possession. Title transfer involves Deed of Assignment preparation, legally transferring ownership, a governor’s consent application required under the Land Use Act in many states, survey plan allocation for individual plots within the estate, and Certificate of Occupancy processing for buyers. This process takes 6-12 months after buyers complete payment.
When developers don’t handle documentation properly, buyers live in properties they don’t legally own—can’t resell, can’t use as collateral, face uncertainty about ownership security. Comprehensive developers coordinate the entire process, ensuring buyers receive documents proving legal ownership alongside building keys.
Why Property Owners and Investors Hire Land Developers
The Services-to-Profit-Share Evaluation Framework
Fair developer compensation depends entirely on the scope of services provided: comprehensive developers handling the full development cycle justify a 40-50% profit share, while partial-service providers warrant significantly less.
Comprehensive developers verifying titles, navigating all approvals, installing infrastructure, financing construction, structuring sales, and handling documentation earn 40-50% through upfront capital investment and expertise across all phases. Partial-service developers only managing construction without approvals or sales might justify 15-25%. Development consultants coordinating without financing typically work on a fee basis rather than a profit share.
Landowners evaluating partnership proposals should ask: “Are you verifying title and absorbing legal risk? Are you handling all government approvals? Are you installing infrastructure or only constructing buildings? Are you financing construction or expecting me to pay contractors? Are you structuring sales and managing buyer payments? Will you handle title transfer documentation?” Detailed, specific answers reveal genuine, comprehensive expertise versus middlemen connecting landowners with contractors.
When to Hire Versus Self-Manage Development
Property investors should hire developers if they lack experience navigating Nigerian regulatory processes, don’t have relationships with reliable contractors, or can’t dedicate full attention to 18-24 month timelines. Self-management makes sense for investors with Nigerian real estate experience, existing contractor networks, and available time. The hybrid approach—hiring specialists for specific components like town planners for approvals, quantity surveyors for construction, estate agents for sales—splits the difference.
Landowners receiving developer proposals should accept if the developer demonstrates expertise across all phases, has completed similar projects with verifiable references, and proposes profit splits reflecting actual services provided. Reject proposals from developers who can’t answer specific process questions, have no track record, or suggest profit shares without a clear service scope. The alternative: develop independently if you have capital, time, and the willingness to learn, hiring technical specialists for components beyond your expertise.
Warning signs of incompetent developers include dismissive answers about title verification or approval processes, inability to explain infrastructure solutions, vague responses about buyer financing structures, and no references from previous projects.
Questions to Ask When Evaluating Developers
Title and Legal Competence
Ask: “How do you verify there are no communal land claims? What’s your process for confirming survey plan accuracy? Have you had projects face legal disputes, and how were they resolved? Will you obtain the governor’s consent as part of the process?”
Good answers provide specific descriptions of registry searches, traditional ruler consultations, and lawyer involvement in verification. Red flags include “The survey plan is enough” or “We haven’t had legal issues”—dismissive responses indicating inexperience with Nigerian land complexity.
Regulatory Navigation Experience
Ask: “What’s your timeline for obtaining all approvals before construction? Which government offices will you interact with for this project? Have you developed in this specific location before? What happens if approvals take longer than expected?”
Good answers: 6-12 month timeline, specific office names like state physical planning or FCDA Development Control, contingency plans for delays. Red flags: “2-3 months” timelines that are completely unrealistic, “We know people who speed things up,” suggesting irregular processes, or inability to name specific government bodies involved.
Infrastructure Solutions
Ask: “How will you handle the power supply if the power connection takes 18 months? What water infrastructure will you install? What roads and drainage will you construct? How will you provide security for the estate?”
Good answers detail specific infrastructure plans—transformer installation specifications, borehole capacity, road construction standards—with backup solutions and cost allocations in development budget. Red flags: “We’ll handle it when we get there,” indicating no planning, or “Buyers can install their own generators,” passing infrastructure burden to purchasers.
Financial Structure and Buyer Management
Ask: “How are you structuring payments for buyers who can’t access mortgages? What initial deposit do you require? How will you manage buyers who default on installments? When do you expect full sell-out?”
Good answers specify payment plans with deposit percentages and installment schedules, explain default policies, and provide realistic 18-24 month sales timelines. Red flags include “Buyers pay cash upfront”—completely unrealistic for the Nigerian market—vague payment structures, or no plan for managing defaults.
Track Record and References
Ask: “What similar projects have you completed? Can I visit a completed estate you developed? Can I speak with landowners or investors you’ve worked with? What challenges did you face on previous projects, and how did you resolve them?”
Good answers provide specific project names and locations, offer references willingly, and honestly discuss challenges with explanations of solutions implemented. Red flags: no completed projects, reluctance to provide references, or only discussing successes without acknowledging any challenges faced.
Final Thought
Land development in Nigeria involves comprehensive work across six phases: title verification, regulatory approvals, infrastructure provision, construction management, sales structuring, and title transfer documentation. Generic international content describing land development doesn’t address Nigerian realities—Certificate of Occupancy requirements, infrastructure gaps, communal land claims, mortgage-less financing structures.
Understanding what developers actually do enables informed decisions about hiring comprehensive developers, hiring specialists for specific components, or self-managing development. Whether you hire a developer or coordinate development independently, success requires understanding the complete scope of work beyond “buying land and building.”
Contact Dutum Group to discuss your land development project and learn how our comprehensive expertise across title verification, regulatory approvals, infrastructure development, construction management, and sales coordination can transform your land into a successful estate.
Explore Dutum Group’s completed estates to see how professional land development handles every phase from land acquisition through buyer documentation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does land development take in Nigeria?
Complete development from land acquisition through estate sell-out typically requires 24-36 months: 6-12 months for regulatory approvals, 12-18 months for infrastructure and construction, and 18-24 months for full sales completion as buyers complete payment plans.
What’s a fair profit share for land developers in Nigeria?
Depends on the services provided. Comprehensive developers handling title verification, approvals, infrastructure, construction financing, and sales coordination typically take 40-50% of profits. Developers providing only construction management might justify 15-25%. Evaluate based on the actual scope of work and capital invested.
Can I develop land in Nigeria without hiring a developer?
Yes, but requires significant capital, a time commitment of 18-36 months, and expertise across multiple domains. You’ll need to hire specialists: a town planner for approvals, an engineer for infrastructure, a construction manager, and an estate agent for sales. Self-development is possible but involves a substantial learning curve.
Leave a Reply