Tax relief, property levy crucial for affordable housing: Stakeholders

Stakeholders in the housing sector have called for reforms like property tax to address the growing issue of unoccupied houses.

News Agency of Nigeria • December 16, 2024

Photo of Houses used to illustrate this story (Photo Credit: @dabiodinMFR)

Stakeholders in the housing sector have called for reforms like property tax to address the growing issue of unoccupied houses and tax relief to encourage developers to build more houses.

The stakeholders said this at the sixth edition of the African Housing Awards organised by the Housing Development Advocacy Network (HDAN) in Abuja. They said that the reforms would aid in tackling the nation’s housing deficit.

The convener of the event, Festus Adebayo, said that property tax could encourage property owners to either sell or rent out their vacant properties thereby reducing the number of unused houses.

Mr Adebayo, the executive director of HDAN, said that the economy was not encouraging the private and government sectors to deliver affordable housing, thus the need for reforms.

Mr Adebayo said that the organisation had been using the hall of fame platform as a watchdog on the government to create awareness of the benefits of building houses.

He said that this had translated into getting more states to go into housing development, adding that states like Sokoto and Nasarawa had keyed into it and are delivering houses in their states.

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, said the federal government has not rested on its oars in delivering affordable housing to Nigerians.

According to Mr Dangiwa, under the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme, the government currently has 14 active construction sites nationwide for 10,112 housing units.

Also speaking, Shehu Osidi, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria CEO, commended HDAN for its unwavering commitment to promoting sustainable housing development.

Mr Osidi said that HDAN was also driving impactful conversations around affordable housing.

Mr Osidi said FMBN would continue to expand access to affordable housing through strategic partnerships, innovative financing models, and stakeholder engagement.

He said FMBN had provided N100 billion off-takers guarantee to facilitate the development of the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates.

According to him, the bank is also introducing new products like rent assistance, non-interest mortgages and diaspora housing fund mortgages.

(NAN)

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