HavenGuardHow diaspora owners can avoid property and land fraud in Nigeria
Owners abroad are a favourite target because they can’t easily visit. These checks close most of the gaps.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. For a specific purchase, title or dispute, use a lawyer and a registered surveyor you have chosen yourself.
The scams that target owners abroad
- Selling land that isn’t the seller’s, or selling the same plot to several buyers.
- Fake or forged documents presented as a Certificate of Occupancy or a registered deed.
- Land under government acquisition sold as if it were free to build on.
- Encroachment: someone builds on, fences or resells your empty plot while you’re away.
- Inflated or invented repairs, and rent collected but not passed on.
Before you buy
- Search the title at the land registry of the state where the property is, through your own lawyer, to confirm who owns it and whether there are encumbrances.
- Get a charting of the survey plan by a registered surveyor to check the land isn’t under government acquisition or a road setback.
- Visit, or send someone independent, to confirm the land exists where the documents say, and talk to neighbours and the community about ownership.
- Understand what you’ll receive: for example a deed of assignment, and whether the Governor’s Consent will be needed for the transfer to be perfected. Ask your lawyer how long and how much.
- Pay to traceable accounts against signed agreements, never in cash to an agent.
While you own it
- Keep copies of every document, receipt and survey plan somewhere you control.
- Have the property or land visited regularly, with photos that show the date and location. For land, check the beacons and boundaries.
- Don’t give anyone more authority than they need. A caretaker doesn’t need your original documents; a manager doesn’t need unlimited spending.
- Keep a record of rent due and rent received for each tenancy.
When someone manages it for you
Most problems come from not being able to check. Ask for evidence for every visit and every naira: inspection photos with the time and place, quotes before repairs, finish photos after, and receipts. Use a second pair of eyes, a relative or an independent inspector, to check the manager’s reports now and then.
HavenGuard gives each person limited access, stamps inspection photos with time and GPS location, keeps a record of approvals and payments, and keeps your documents in a private vault. It doesn’t verify titles for you: that’s a job for your lawyer and surveyor.
Start free with one property or read how to check on your property from abroad.
Start with one property, free.
Add your property, invite the people who look after it and request your first inspection today.