Lagos state Government has declared 176 estates as illegal for failing to secure mandatory layout approvals. The pronouncement, made by the Permanent Secretary of the Office of Physical Planning, Oluwole Sotire, gives the developers of these estates a 21-day ultimatum to regularize their documents or face sanctions.

According to the statement, the estates, which were deemed illegal due to the failure of the owners to obtain layout approvals from the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, were listed in a document published by the ministry yesterday.

Sotire said the illegal estates compromised the sustainable development ethos and the T.H.E.M.E.S+ agenda of the government by operating without approved layouts.

Some of the identified illegal estates include Adron Homes, Elerangbe; Aina Gold Estate, Okun-Folu; Diamond Estate, Eputu; Prime Water View Garden, Ikate-Elegushi, and Royal View Estate, Ikota, among others.

Sotire urged the owners of the estates to submit the necessary documents to the Ministry of Planning and Urban Development Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, to process their layout approvals.

He stated that this exercise was a routine function of the ministry, in line with its mandate to regulate the development of public and private estates in the state by processing and granting layout approvals to foster a functional, organised, orderly, and resilient smart city, as encapsulated in the T.H.E.M.E.S+ agenda of the Lagos State government.

The permanent secretary, therefore, urged all developers and real estate practitioners to register with the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA), which is responsible for regulating, coordinating, and monitoring real estate practitioners in the sector.