By Ado Oyeyemi
The Lagos State Government has recovered more than N270m from fraudulent estate agents and property developers for residents who fell victim to real estate scams across the state.
The Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, disclosed this during the 2026 Ministerial Press Briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa, Ikeja.
According to a statement made available on Tuesday, the commissioner said the recovered sum represented the state government’s determination to shield residents from exploitation, fake property transactions and unethical activities in the real estate sector.
Akinderu-Fatai explained that the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority had intensified efforts to strengthen regulatory oversight through public enlightenment campaigns, stakeholder engagement and enforcement operations aimed at sanitising 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,” the statement partly read.
He noted that the agency had partnered with relevant stakeholders to organise sensitisation forums across the 57 Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas in Lagos State.
According to him, the engagements were designed to educate residents on safe property transactions, discourage illegal practices and address complaints relating to arbitrary charges and unprofessional conduct by some operators in the sector.
The commissioner also revealed that LASRERA had expanded its awareness campaigns through billboards strategically mounted in Surulere, Ikorodu, Epe, Badagry, Marina and Alausa to caution residents against dealing with unregistered agents and developers.
He added that the authority maintained a comprehensive database of accredited practitioners to enable residents verify estate agents and developers before engaging in transactions.
In a bid to improve service delivery and accessibility, Akinderu-Fatai announced the establishment of a new LASRERA satellite office in Surulere.
He said the office brought the number of LASRERA satellite offices to four, alongside existing offices in Ikorodu, Agege and Ojodu.
The commissioner explained that the decentralisation initiative was introduced to bring regulatory services closer to the people, improve response time to complaints and deepen grassroots engagement.
Akinderu-Fatai further disclosed that LASRERA, in collaboration with the Lagos State Task Force, recently sealed the office of an alleged unregistered operator, Demeny Ventures, located in Owutu, Ikorodu, for allegedly parading itself as a registered LASRERA agent.
He also said the authority hosted the sixth edition of the LASRERA Marketplace, a platform that brought together developers, legal practitioners, estate agents and residents to discuss compliance with existing laws and ethical standards in the sector.
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Reaffirming the government’s commitment to a transparent and investor-friendly property market, the commissioner urged residents to remain vigilant, verify practitioners through official LASRERA channels and promptly report suspicious activities to the agency.
