E-SERVICE · PROPERTY

Land use charge

One annual charge on developed property, replacing ground rent, tenement rate and neighbourhood improvement charge. It is assessed on capital value, billed in March and due by 30 June, with a fifteen per cent discount for early payment.

What the charge consolidates

Before the State Land Use Charge Law, a property owner could face three separate demands on the same building: ground rent from the Ministry of Lands, tenement rate from the local government, and a neighbourhood improvement charge. Each was assessed differently, billed at a different time and collected by a different office. The land use charge replaces all three with one assessment, one bill and one payment.

The charge is computed from the capital value of the property — the land value plus the building value, determined from the area, the type of construction, the age of the building and the professional valuation rates published annually for each zone of the State. That capital value is multiplied by a relief-adjusted rate that depends on how the property is used: residential, commercial or industrial.

Liability rests on the owner in the first instance. Where a property is let, the parties may agree that the occupier pays, and the Law permits the occupier who does so to deduct it from rent. What the Law does not permit is for the charge to go unpaid because owner and occupier disagree: the charge is a debt secured on the property and follows it on sale.

Rates and reliefs

Property use	Annual rate	Applied to	Revenue head	Typical charge on a ₦40m property
Owner-occupied residential	0.076%	Assessed capital value	11020002	₦30,400
Residential let to tenants	0.128%	Assessed capital value	11020002	₦51,200
Commercial — offices, shops, hotels	0.394%	Assessed capital value	11020003	₦157,600
Industrial — factories and warehouses	0.256%	Assessed capital value	11020004	₦102,400
Vacant developed property	0.076%	Assessed capital value	11020002	₦30,400
Property owned and occupied by a pensioner aged 60+	Exempt	—	—	Nil

From assessment to payment

Enumeration and valuation

Properties are enumerated with geo-coordinates and photographs, measured and classified. The valuation applies the published rate for the zone, the construction type and the age of the building.

Demand notice issued in March

The notice shows the property identification number, the measurements used, the capital value, the rate applied, any relief and the amount payable.

Check the assessment

Compare the measurements and the use classification against the property. Most successful objections turn on an incorrect floor area or a property classified as commercial when it is residential.

Object within 30 days if it is wrong

File a notice of objection with evidence — a survey plan, photographs, a tenancy agreement showing use. Objections are decided within thirty days.

Pay by 30 June

Payment within thirty days of the notice attracts a fifteen per cent early payment discount. Payment by 30 June avoids penalty.

Keep the receipt

The receipt is required to perfect a transfer of the property, to obtain a certificate of occupancy and on any subsequent land transaction.

Exemptions

Set out in the State Land Use Charge Law. Exemption is claimed, not automatic — apply with evidence.

Property used exclusively as a place of worship or for religious purposes.
Public cemeteries and burial grounds.
Property used by a registered charity exclusively for charitable purposes.
Property used exclusively for a public library or a non-profit educational institution.
Property owned and occupied by a pensioner aged sixty years or above, as their sole residence.
Property owned by a person with a certified disability and occupied as their sole residence.
Palaces of recognised traditional rulers.
Property used exclusively for agriculture, excluding commercial processing plants.
Federal Government property, subject to the reciprocal arrangement in force.

Discounts, penalties and recovery

A fifteen per cent discount applies where payment is made within thirty days of the demand notice.

Payment after 30 June attracts a penalty of twenty-five per cent of the charge; after 30 September, fifty per cent; and thereafter one hundred per cent, together with interest.

An unpaid land use charge is a debt secured on the property. It must be settled before a certificate of occupancy is issued or a transfer perfected, and the Service may apply for a court order for recovery against the property itself.

Property owners ask

I already pay ground rent. Am I being charged twice?

You should not be. The land use charge consolidates ground rent, tenement rate and neighbourhood improvement charge for developed property. If you receive both a ground rent demand and a land use charge demand for the same developed property, raise it with the Service — one of the two is in error. Undeveloped land continues to attract ground rent only.

My tenant is paying. Am I still liable?

Yes. Liability rests on the owner. An agreement with an occupier is a private arrangement between you; it does not transfer the statutory liability, and the debt remains secured on the property.

The floor area on my notice is wrong.

Object within thirty days and attach a survey plan or an architect’s drawing. Measurement errors are the most common ground of objection and are corrected without difficulty where evidence is supplied.

My building is under construction. Is it charged?

A property that is not yet habitable is not charged the land use charge; the land continues to attract ground rent until the building is completed and assessed.

I am 63 and live in my own house. Do I pay?

No, provided it is your sole residence and you occupy it. The exemption must be claimed with proof of age and of ownership; it is not applied automatically.

Check your property assessment

Enter your property identification number to see the assessment, the valuation basis and any balance outstanding.