FG Cracks Down On Unlicensed Housing Developers

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Engr. Muttaqha Rabe Darma, has announced plans to reform Nigeria’s housing sector through a new regulatory framework aimed at protecting homebuyers, restoring investor confidence and promoting a more transparent and accountable real estate market.

The Minister made this known while delivering a keynote address titled: “Nigeria’s Housing Sector at a Crossroads: Confronting the Mortgage Failure, the Rent Crisis, the Unregulated Market, and the Road to a Sector That Finally Works for Nigerians”, at the BusinessDay Abuja Real Estate Conference 2026, held in Abuja on Thursday.

He decried that many Nigerians continue to lose their life savings to unlicensed developers, while buyers remain largely unprotected due to the absence of escrow arrangements and other regulatory safeguards.

He also noted that despite the real estate sector contributing about 13.36 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), making it one of the country’s largest economic sectors, the absence of a comprehensive regulatory framework continues to undermine investment and public confidence.

According to Darma, the Ministry is developing a National Housing and Built Environment Regulation Policy that will introduce developer licensing, escrow protection for buyers’ funds, construction quality assurance, professional registration and a National Housing Industry Data Observatory to improve transparency and accountability across the sector.

He explained that under the proposed reforms, developers will no longer be permitted to sell housing units off-plan without obtaining the necessary licence and securing buyers’ payments in regulated escrow accounts, describing the initiative as a critical step towards protecting Nigerians from fraudulent practices and bringing the country’s housing market in line with international standards.

The Minister also announced plans to expand access to mortgage finance by directing the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) to increase mortgage disbursement, raise the loan ceiling to N85 million, facilitate the booking of at least 2,000 mortgages annually and allow National Housing Fund (NHF) contributors to access up to 25 per cent of their Retirement Savings Accounts as equity for home ownership.

Darma said the Ministry is proposing measures that include a National Rent Registry, registration of large-scale landlords, stronger enforcement against the unlawful conversion of residential buildings and model tenancy legislation to promote fairness for both landlords and tenants.

Darma also announced that the Ministry will begin a formal stakeholder engagement process next week on the proposed regulatory reforms, inviting developers, investors, financial institutions, professional bodies, tenant associations and other critical stakeholders to contribute to the process.

“The projects that will define Nigeria’s housing future are not yet built. The capital that will fund them is not yet fully mobilised. But the policy framework that will make them bankable, safe, and worth investing in is being written now. Come and help write it”, he said.