The federal government has put in place various interventions in the housing sector aimed at making the process of owning houses easy for the citizens, Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, said on Wednesday.
The minister said this while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.
He said the Ministry of Works and Housing presented over a 280-page report to the council on the interventions in the housing sector.
The minister said various housing projects are ongoing in different parts of the country with 186 housing units already completed, while 2,300 others are still under construction.
He said the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) had since inception delivered 45,000 housing units in 81 estates across the country, adding that the agency delivers no fewer than 1,000 housing units every year.
The minister said any worker who contributes to National Housing Fund (NHF) domiciled in the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria for six months is qualified to access the fund to buy houses of their choice.
He said the ministry had also made the process of obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) easier for those who prefer to build their own houses, stressing that a total of 3,290 Certificates of Occupancy have been given out in recent times.
He said for those who want to obtain loan to build their houses, it is very important that their landed property must have titles.
He said a major reason physical assets are not allowed as collateral for accessing loan to buy or build houses is because anyone who desires to access the NHF must be a certified contributor to the housing fund.
He said the process of accessing loans is a difficult, resulting in delay for some months, because some investigations need to be carried out after applications have been submitted to ensure that claims made by applicants are genuine.
