CORRECTING MISTAKES ON TITLE DOCUMENTS

Deed of Rectification

The picture above is a screenshot from a WhatsApp message I received from one of my readers.  His complaint goes thus:

My name is Mr. (Name withheld) I own three plots of land at Abijo area Ajah Lekki Epe Express Way. I bought this land In 2010 (7 years ago) this year, I decided to sell a portion of the land. Few months after I put the land out for sale, I got a buyer (a female). From the discussion I had with her, she sounded like some one that has had several dealings in land. We discussed, and she showed her interest to buy my property.

After negotiating and agreeing on the amount to be paid, she insisted on seeing my title document which I gave to her. After the meeting, she told me that she would get back to me, claiming she had to conduct her own search on the property before she can purchase. Frankly, I did not understand why she wanted to conduct another search on a property that had its title document… but I agreed and gave her time.

We met a month later only for her to tell me that she cannot buy my land because the coordinate on my property survey plan is different from what is on the title document. Please ibejulekkilawyer what does this mean, does this mean I do not have title to my land that I purchased 7 years ago?

To my reader above, what this means is the coordinate on paper and of the land are not the same. The land mentioned above is not where it is physically. The result of this is that technically, the land at Abijo is not yours because the title document does not represent the exact land.

This is usually a huge challenge in the real estate sector, this error occurs most time even among people that call themselves experts in the real estate business. However, there is a solution to this defect. To solve this issue, you must first understand that there are errors on the title document which must be corrected before the property can be sold.

I have encountered several errors when assessing title documents of a landed property most especially survey documents. Most surveyor in the bid to meet up with deadlines or pressure from work, make mistake on survey plan used to obtain title there by putting the owner of the land at risk of losing his property.

In the case of my reader above, a Deed of Rectification will be used to correct the errors made on the title document. A Deed of Rectification is used to correct mistakes made on a property that already has a title and an error was later discovered.

When correcting mistakes on title documents, the first step is to apply for a Deed of Rectification, then prepare another survey plan in the name of the original owner wishing to transfer title, for example, my reader above will have to prepare another survey plan in his name. After this, the Deed of Rectification should be submitted, lodged and recorded in the land registry. Only when this is done can the title be transferred to the new buyer with the rectified survey plan.

According to Lagos State Government Lands Bureau, there are laid down requirement for Rectification of Title to Land

REQUIREMENTS FOR RECTIFICATION

• Application letter addressed to the Permanent Secretary, Lands Bureau.
• Deed of Rectification
• 2 Nos. Sunprint Survey plan for survey rectification
• Newspaper publication (half page) in a widely circulated
• Means of identification (National ID, Driving License, Voter’s Card or data page of valid International passport
• Sworn affidavit with photograph attached
• Receipts evidencing payment of rectification charges:
  1. 5% aggregate broken down into;
  2. Rectification Fee @ 0.75% of assessed value,
  3. Stamp duty @ 0.375% of assessed value and
  4. Registration @ 0.375% of assessed value

WORKFLOW FOR TITLE RECTIFICATION

• Submission of application/request (with attached documents)
• Evaluation of Deeds and documents submitted
• Survey Charting (Surveyor-General)
• Investigation of site by other Agencies of Government, where necessary
• Recommendation for approval
• Stamping and Registration by Land Registry
• Collection of registered deed at Land Services

Hence, to avoid errors in your title document, most of all your survey documents, it is important you seek the help of an expert to chat a valid survey title document to avoid future embarrassment.

For further assistance or consultation on this article or other issues, feel free to send me an email on ibejulekkilawyer@gmail.com or WhatsApp/Call 08034869295.  Click here for more interesting articles.