What is an Approved Layout Plan

You need a government-approved layout plan when constructing new housing estates or homes on a large expanse of land in Nigeria, it is expected that parcels of land would have to be broken into plots as sites for building individual housing units.

In Nigeria, the government expect that you first carry out a land survey on such a project, then you subdivide the lands into plots, by giving provision for essential infrastructure and facilities on the land.

The Fact

Before proceeding with construction work, it is expected that the developer must have the land surveyed and prepare a layout plan for the land, and on the layout plans, the following must be visible;

• The exact size of the land.
• The streets on the land
• Utility Easement
• Community Parks / Playfields
• Etc.

A detailed layout plan that is submitted and approved by the government showing the above information is called Approved Layout Plan.

Before building development can commence in a community or estate or land area that is more than 1 acre, it is fundamental that the project owner is issued an approved layout development plan for his project and must in no way contravene with the standards approved in his layout plan.

Residential developments of ten acres or more that incorporate areas for public, commercial, or industrial use are often defined as planned unit developments – PUD.

The objective of the PUD is to allow for commercial, recreational, and educational facilities located convenient to the housing. The plan may provide for a variety of residential uses, such as a block of flats, detached housing units, terraces, neighbourhood shops, community playfield etc.

Important Note

A Planned Unit Development – PUD requires extensive planning and a large initial investment. It is important to work out arrangements with the appropriate Urban and Regional Planning Authority to obtain approval before commencing any physical development activity on the land.

A Note on Approved Building Plan

For you to build on any land in Nigeria, you need a building plan approval document, it is a mandatory document from the government. Having buildings erected on a large expanse of land without building plan approval is like running a government without regulations guiding it.

You need a permit from the government authority before you can legally build on any land in Nigeria. A building plan approval ensures that the building complies with the Urban and Regional Planning standards of Nigeria, and also ensure that the building structure and arrangement will not cause any harm to the society.

I hope this article helped answer all your questions. If you liked this article, or you would like to ask a question, please feel free, I will appreciate your comment.

Disclaimer:

The contents of this article are for informational purposes only. Always do your research before you take any real estate advice in Nigeria.

ABOUT THE WRITER:

I am Bolaji Afolabi. I created bolajiafolabi.com to teach you about real estate and tech-based business opportunities. I work as a full-time partner at Globalclique, a Real Estate + Technology Consulting Company. I am also a CIO at Ibugbe and Partners, a Real Estate Marketing and Development Consulting Firm in Lagos, Nigeria.

Author Profile

Bolaji Afolabi

I am Bolaji Afolabi, a Partner at Globalclique, and a CIO @ Ibugbe and Partners - Pan African Real Estate + Technology + HR Consulting Group. Bolaji is celebrated for his expertise in seamlessly blending human capital with cutting-edge technologies, and also providing professional advisory services.

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