Nigeria’s quantity surveyors want off-plan buyers’ money held in escrow and released in stages only after independent verification that the work has actually been done. They also want compulsory independent cost certification on housing projects.
The Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors set out both proposals at a news conference on Wednesday, ahead of its 2026 conference in Ilorin.
What is proposed
| Proposal | What it would do |
|---|---|
| Escrow for off-plan | Buyers’ payments held, released in stages against independently verified completed work |
| Compulsory cost certification | Mandatory independent certification and project verification for housing projects |
| SEC engagement | Make certification by registered quantity surveyors a standard requirement for capital-market-funded projects |
| Regulator memorandum | A submission to the House Committee on Housing and Habitat on the proposed National Real Estate Regulatory Authority |
The proposals came from NIQS President Dr Aminu Bashir.
Why escrow is the more important idea
Nigerian off-plan buying runs on the buyer funding the construction. That is normal in emerging markets, and it is also the structure behind most of the losses readers write to us about: money paid, building not finished, developer uncontactable.
Staged release against verified work changes the incentive at the exact point it matters. Today, a developer receives the bulk of the money before the structure is up. Under escrow, each payment follows an inspection. The buyer’s exposure at any moment is limited to the value of work certified so far, not the whole price.
The practical question is who certifies, and how quickly. A verification process that takes months defeats the purpose – developers cannot build on money they cannot draw. This is where most escrow regimes in other markets have struggled, and where a Nigerian scheme would be judged.
The deficit figure, and a number that disagrees with it
Bashir put Nigeria’s housing deficit at nearly 15 million units.
That is worth flagging, because we published a different official figure three weeks ago. On 28 October 2026, the government put the effective housing deficit at 28 million units. Lagos State separately reports 3.3 million for the state.
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Housing deficit | nearly 15 million | NIQS, November 2026 |
| Effective housing deficit | 28 million | Federal Government, 28 October 2026 |
| Lagos State deficit | 3.3 million | Lagos State, 29 October 2026 |
These are not necessarily contradictory – “effective deficit” counts households that cannot afford formal housing as well as those without shelter, which is why it runs higher. But anyone quoting a single deficit number should say which one. A gap that a reader takes as 15 million and a policy analyst treats as 28 million produces very different conclusions about how much needs to be built.
The diagnosis on cost
Bashir attributed the persistence of the deficit to rising construction costs, expensive land, inadequate infrastructure and limited access to long-term financing.
Our own reporting this month has produced the receipts for each of those: iron rods up 587% since 2024, cement at ₦11,000–15,000 a bag, developers borrowing at 20–46%, and Obajana’s $180 million budget becoming a $1 billion build because the plant had to provide its own power, gas and fuel.
His sharpest line was about design: houses built without regard to buyers’ incomes will remain unaffordable. That is the point the whole sector avoids. A developer can build to a specification nobody on the local income distribution can buy, and call the result a housing project.
The criticism of how government projects are run
He raised a specific concern: quantity surveyors have limited involvement in Federal Government legacy projects, with design, costing, certification and payment responsibilities concentrated in one professional.
That concentration is exactly the structure in which a project can be certified as complete and paid for while the work is not done. Separating the people who design, the people who cost, and the people who certify that work is finished is basic governance – and the proposal is to require it rather than assume it.
He also noted the pressure on contractors: unpredictable government funding, delayed payment for certified work, and prolonged project suspensions. Those are the mechanics behind the stalled sites readers see. He asked government to release funds on time, pay certified work within contractual periods, and finish existing projects before starting new ones.
What a buyer should take from it today
None of this is law yet. These are proposals from a professional body, some of which need SEC or legislative action. But they describe the protections that should exist, which makes them a checklist for what to demand now:
Ask for a cost breakdown certified by a quantity surveyor. If the developer’s numbers came from the person selling you the property, they are a price, not a cost.
Structure payments against stages you can inspect. Even without a formal escrow, you can agree a schedule tied to visible milestones – foundation, decking, roofing, finishing – with a retention held back. Get it in the contract.
Insist on independent verification before each payment. Your own surveyor or project manager, not the developer’s site manager, confirming the stage is complete.
Be sceptical of a design that ignores local incomes. If the units cannot be sold to people in the area at the price required, the exit is a discount, a stall, or a buyer left holding an unfinished block.
What is not established
These are proposals announced at a news conference. No draft legislation, SEC rule, escrow framework or implementation timetable has been published.
The cost of certification, who would pay for it, how quickly verification would happen, and how existing projects would transition are all unstated.
The 15 million deficit figure is the NIQS President’s. No methodology or source for it was given, and it differs from the government’s 28 million effective deficit and Lagos State’s 3.3 million, as noted above.
No date has been given for the memorandum to the House Committee on Housing and Habitat, or for the SEC engagement.
Frequently asked questions
What is NIQS proposing for off-plan buyers?
Escrow accounts, with buyers’ payments released in stages after independent verification that construction work has been completed.
Is cost certification compulsory yet?
No. NIQS is proposing it, and wants the SEC to require it for capital-market-funded housing projects.
What is Nigeria’s housing deficit?
It depends which measure. NIQS says nearly 15 million units; the Federal Government’s effective deficit figure, published 28 October 2026, is 28 million; Lagos State reports 3.3 million for the state.
Would escrow protect me if a developer stalls?
It would limit your exposure to work already certified, rather than the full price. How well it works depends on the verification speed and the release rules, neither of which has been published.
Last updated: 13 November 2026. The escrow proposal, compulsory independent cost certification, the SEC engagement, the National Real Estate Regulatory Authority memorandum, the nearly 15 million unit deficit, the diagnosis of rising construction costs, expensive land and limited long-term financing, the criticism of professional concentration in federal legacy projects, the contractor payment concerns and Dr Aminu Bashir’s remarks are from Daily Trust’s report of 13 November 2026, covering a news conference on Wednesday 11 November 2026 ahead of the NIQS 2026 National Conference and AGM in Ilorin, Kwara State. The 28 million effective deficit is the Federal Government figure reported 28 October 2026; the 3.3 million Lagos figure is the state’s, reported 29 October 2026. Material price movements and the 20–46% borrowing range are from our earlier reporting. These are proposals, not law.
