The Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA, has embarked on public sensitization to inform residents that all buildings in the state must have valid building approval plans.
Making this known in Lagos on Thursday, Mr Olalekan Shodehinde, the General Manager, LASBCA, said that almost all the structures within the metropolis which were initially for residential purposes, had been converted to commercial purposes without requisite approval plan or due regularization with the agency.
According to him, a total of 145 converted buildings were identified and served with the planning permit and post-construction notices. According to him, a 14-day ultimatum had been given to the owners of the affected buildings to visit LABSCA district offices to do their regularization. “Virtually all buildings within this axis of Oyingbo, Yaba and Oyingbo were initially for residential purposes, but have now been converted to commercial purposes without an approval of the agency.
“Many of those structures do not have approval plan even at the inception of the buildings before their conversion, which implies they are illegal buildings from the beginning. Regularizing the buildings on or before the 14 days grace will attract no penalty. But at expiration of the duration, LABSCA will come to completely seal the buildings,” Shodehinde said.
He, therefore, called on every owner/developer within the area, whose property was not covered by a planning permit, to regularize the property with the agency as regularization and validation of buildings are necessary to avoid disruption of trading activities by the agency.