Governor Fashola Launches Affordable Mortgage Home Scheme in Lagos

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, has inaugurated the Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (HOMS), which is aimed at providing affordable housing for residents in the state. During the ceremony on February 3rd, the governor stated that the home scheme is structured in a way that it enables buyers to pay back within a period of not less than 10 years. It is estimated that the housing deficit in Lagos is about a million units. The types of houses under the home scheme are 1, 2, and 3 bedrooms. The one bedroom houses are expected to cost around N4.3 million. Governor Fashola explained the rationale behind the mortgage approach, stating that it was borne out of the challenge of paying out rightly for houses. “This approach in part explains the reason why a large number of ordinary middle class and working class people cannot afford to acquire homes on the basis of their legitimate income derived from hard work that rewards the dignity of labour. “Our view of a home is that it is something you pay for gradually and it is a place of safety, well built, safe and sound, to protect you and your family from the hazards of nature such as rain and heat, a place that will not flood or suddenly  collapse. “Today as we flag off this scheme there are 1,104 completed homes while another 3,156 units are at various stages of construction and we intend to start more. As against this, we are starting the construction of 4,554 housing units across the state.”