Lagos government recovers over N270 million from fraudulent estate agents and developers

Lagos State Government has announced that it has recovered more than N270 million from fraudulent estate agents and property developers on behalf of residents who were victims of real‑estate scams across the state.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu‑Fatai, disclosed the figure during the 2026 Ministerial Press Briefing at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa, Ikeja.

Akinderu‑Fatai said the recovery demonstrates the Lagos State Government’s commitment to protecting residents from exploitation, fraudulent dealings and unethical practices within the real‑estate sector.

He explained that the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA) has continued to strengthen regulatory supervision through stakeholder engagement, public enlightenment campaigns and enforcement operations aimed at rebuilding public confidence in the property market.

“The recovery of N270,020,500 underscores the state government’s commitment to protecting residents from exploitation, fraudulent transactions and unethical practices within the real‑estate sector,” he said. “LASRERA has continued to strengthen regulatory oversight through aggressive stakeholder engagement, public sensitisation campaigns and enforcement operations targeted at restoring confidence in the property market,” the statement added.

Akinderu‑Fatai further revealed that LASRERA partnered with relevant stakeholders to organise sensitisation forums across the 57 Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas in Lagos State. The engagements were designed to educate residents on safe property transactions, discourage illegal activities within the sector and address complaints about arbitrary charges and unprofessional conduct by some operators.

The commissioner also said that LASRERA intensified its public awareness drive through billboards mounted at strategic locations including Surulere, Ikorodu, Epe, Badagry, Marina and Alausa, encouraging residents to transact only with registered real‑estate practitioners.

He added that the agency maintains a comprehensive database of accredited estate agents and property developers to enable residents to verify practitioners before entering into property transactions.

Highlighting measures introduced to improve accessibility and service delivery, Moruf Akinderu‑Fatai announced the establishment of a new LASRERA satellite office in Surulere, bringing the number of satellite offices operated by the agency to four, alongside existing offices in Ikorodu, Agege and Ojodu.

According to him, the decentralisation initiative was introduced to bring regulatory services closer to residents, improve response time to complaints and deepen grassroots engagement with stakeholders across the state.

The commissioner also revealed that LASRERA, in collaboration with the Lagos State Task Force, sealed the office of an alleged unregistered operator, Demeny Ventures, located in Owutu, Ikorodu, for allegedly posing as a registered LASRERA agent.

Akinderu‑Fatai further disclosed that the authority recently hosted the sixth edition of the LASRERA Marketplace, an interactive platform that brought together developers, legal practitioners, estate professionals and residents to discuss compliance with existing regulations and ethical standards within the industry.

He reiterated the commitment of the Lagos State Government to work closely with professional bodies, developers, community leaders and other stakeholders to ensure a transparent, investor‑friendly and properly regulated real‑estate sector in Lagos State.

The commissioner also urged residents to remain vigilant, verify practitioners through official LASRERA channels and promptly report suspicious real‑estate activities to the authority.