Amity Multi Housing Estates: The Title You Are Promised at Ejioku Is Not a C of O

If you subscribe to a plot at Amity Estate in Ejioku, Ibadan, the document you are promised is not a Certificate of Occupancy. Amity Multi Housing Estates Limited answers the question directly in its own frequently asked questions. Asked "What title would be given to subscriber?", the answer is four words: "Deed directly from Oyo State Housing Corporation."

That is an unusually clear disclosure, and it is the most important fact about the scheme. The land is not Amity's to convey, the counterparty on the title document is a state corporation, and the instrument is a deed rather than the statutory title most Nigerian buyers are told to demand.

Why a deed from a housing corporation is not a C of O

Under the Land Use Act of 1978, all land in each Nigerian state is vested in the Governor, who grants rights of occupancy, and a Certificate of Occupancy is the evidence of that grant. When a private developer sells land it holds under a C of O, a buyer typically ends up with a deed of assignment plus Governor's Consent, with the C of O behind the chain.

Amity's structure differs because the land already belongs to a state agency. Its own site states the position: the site is "The Oyo State Housing Corporation's land at Km 22 Iwo-Ibadan Road at Lagelu Local Government Area," and the arrangement is set out in the FAQ as a "Public Private Partnership (PPP) between Oyo State Housing Corporation & Amity Multi Housing Estates Limited."

So a subscriber is not buying Amity's land. The subscriber is buying into a scheme on government land and taking a deed from the corporation that owns it. The FAQ indicates the instrument is a lease: subscribers may "commence the construction of their houses immediately full payment is made and deed of lease issued in their favor."

None of that is irregular. State housing corporations across Nigeria have run sites-and-services schemes this way for decades. But a deed of lease from a corporation raises different questions from a C of O: the term of the lease, what happens at expiry, whether the corporation's own title is registered and unencumbered, and whether the deed is registrable at the state lands registry. Amity's published material answers none of those four, and no Certificate of Occupancy, Governor's Consent, excision, gazette or registered survey is claimed anywhere on the site.

Buyers comparing title claims across Oyo State schemes may find it useful to read our analysis of Zenith Real Estate and Properties and its eleven estates and of the title question behind Hastom Nigeria's farmland sales in Ogbomoso.

What the scheme actually is

Amity describes a sites-and-services model rather than a sale of completed houses. Its project page calls the scheme a "Special site and service scheme" in which "fully serviced plots are allocated to subscribers for development within a period of time," with Amity providing "necessary support services to all subscribers through planning, finance support and building materials acquisition at affordable prices."

In other words the subscriber builds the house. Amity delivers roads, services and an allocated plot, and brokers access to materials and finance. Its about page frames the business as "a quest to contribute to the development of the housing sector through the provision of top grade serviced plots with amenities of a modern community."

The estate is given as "Amity Estate, Ejioku, Ibadan, Oyo State," on 22 hectares, with unit types described as "3 Bedroom and 4 Bedroom Bungalows; Detached and Semi-detached Duplexes," at Km 22 Iwo-Ibadan Road in Lagelu Local Government Area. Much of the infrastructure cited in support of the location, including "the proposed dualization of the Ibadan/Iwo/Oshogbo Road by the FGN and the planned Circular Road by OYSG," is described as proposed or planned rather than built.

Two price schedules that disagree

The FAQ gives a two-tier price: "N2,500,000 (Two million, five hundred thousand naira only) - 450 Sq. meters" and "N3, 500,000 (Three million, five hundred thousand naira only) - 700 - 750 Sq. meters." It specifies what is covered: "The price of land as indicated above include the premium on land, development levies, survey fees, deed issuance fees and ground rent for one year." Three payment options are offered, at discounts of 7.5 percent for full payment, 5 percent for half down, and 2.5 percent over twelve instalments.

A different page on the same site states a single flat figure: "The cost of a plot of land in the estate is N3.5million." Both pages are live. Get the current price confirmed in writing rather than relying on either, and note that the quoted price covers ground rent for one year only, which implies a recurring obligation afterwards.

Delivery is stated as a target, not a record

Every delivery statement on the site points forward. The implementation page describes "Phasing the project into two phases and ensuring the delivery of Phase One comprising 100 serviced plots within 12 months of MOU execution." Elsewhere completion is targeted "within a period of 24 months upon sale and allocation," and capacity is given as "residences for more than 180 families."