The Lagos State government has warned practitioners in real estate in the state that it is an offence to engage in the business without registering with the Lagos State Real Estate Registration Agency (LASRERA).

The Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, gave the warning on Thursday during a ministerial briefing held in Ikeja, to commemorate the first anniversary of the second term in office of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

While calling on the practitioners in the sector to follow the path of the law, he admonished residents to be wary of the activities of dubious individuals and organisations who parade themselves as registered real estate agents in the state.

The commissioner said: “It is an offence for an individual or organisation to engage in real estate business in Lagos State without being registered with LASRERA. Let us act responsibly and follow the path of the law.

“As a centre of excellence, the real estate market’s cycles would be a greater opportunity for the economy as a whole. The state will also emerge stronger if all of us can key into the state government’s vision towards a greater Lagos Rising.”

Akinderu-Fatai maintained that the state judiciary, in collaboration with LASRERA, has promised to expedite actions on court matters relating to real estate to obtain timely justice for defrauded members of the public.

In March, the Special Adviser to the governor, Barakat Odunuga-Bakare, disclosed that LASRERA has received over 1,577 petitions regarding real estate fraud from 2020 till date.

“We have received well over 1,577 petitions from the inception of the agency in 2020 till date, we have been able to resolve 1,027, and we have eight qlcases in court concerning real estate fraud,” she said while briefing journalists.

Recently, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Oluyinka Olumide, told journalists that over 80 percent of estates in the Ibeju Lekki and Epe areas of the state have no approval.