The Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) has renewed its commitment to preventing building collapse and promoting a safer and more sustainable built environment across the state.
The agency said it would strengthen its strategies, embrace new innovations and work more closely with professionals and other stakeholders to improve building standards in Lagos.
The General Manager of LASBCA, Mrs Florence Gbaye, made this known while speaking with property and environment writers in Lagos. She explained that the agency’s responsibility covers the entire building lifecycle, from design and construction to post-construction activities.
According to her, the goal is not simply to regulate construction sites. Rather, LASBCA wants to ensure that buildings remain safe throughout their useful life.
Gbaye said the agency would continue to ensure that buildings are constructed according to approved plans. It would also deepen collaboration with professionals, promote a stronger maintenance culture and encourage building insurance to reduce potential losses when incidents occur.
The renewed focus comes amid continued concerns over building collapses in Lagos and across Nigeria. Building failures have repeatedly resulted in deaths, injuries and significant financial losses. Consequently, stakeholders in the built environment have increasingly called for stronger enforcement of construction standards and greater responsibility from property owners and developers.
Maintenance, professional oversight and insurance remain critical
One of the areas LASBCA is placing greater emphasis on is building maintenance.
Gbaye noted that building owners in Lagos are expected to carry out maintenance every five years. She said the agency is working to improve compliance with this requirement because maintaining a building is an important part of preventing structural deterioration.
She also disclosed that LASBCA now has Certified Accreditors drawn from the private sector. These professionals form part of the agency’s broader strategy of improving oversight and accountability within the construction industry.
The involvement of professional bodies, she explained, could strengthen accountability because professionals are expected to confirm their ability to carry out construction-related responsibilities properly.
Furthermore, Gbaye stressed the importance of having professionals involved throughout the construction process.
According to her, consultants and relevant professionals should meet and work together at construction sites. Their presence can help identify problems with building designs or construction practices before such issues become serious.
This approach is particularly important because building safety begins long before a structure is completed. Problems arising from poor design, unsuitable materials, inadequate supervision or deviations from approved plans can become more difficult and expensive to correct as construction progresses.
LASBCA also plans to strengthen certification requirements for completed buildings. Gbaye said the agency would ensure that buildings receive the appropriate certificate of completion and fitness after construction.
This means developers and building owners should not view regulatory approval as an administrative hurdle that ends once construction begins. Instead, compliance should continue through construction and into the building’s operational life.
Insurance is another area the agency wants stakeholders to take seriously.
Gbaye urged developers and property owners to insure their buildings, including structures under construction and completed properties. She specifically highlighted occupier’s liability insurance, which can provide protection where incidents involving a property result in liability.
While insurance cannot prevent a building collapse, it can provide financial support when an unfortunate incident occurs. Therefore, property owners who ignore insurance may expose themselves to substantial financial consequences after an accident.
Gbaye also appealed to developers to construct buildings according to the approvals they receive.
She warned that developers should not obtain approval for one type of development and subsequently construct something different. Such deviations can create regulatory and safety problems, particularly where changes affect structural integrity, building use or approved planning conditions.
She stressed that building safety is not solely the responsibility of government.
Rather, developers, building owners, professionals, consultants, artisans and other stakeholders all have roles to play. The shared responsibility, she noted, requires everyone involved in construction to do the right thing.
LASBCA, she added, is not established simply to demolish buildings. Its primary responsibility is to ensure that construction standards are followed at every stage.
She explained that buildings are removed where there is non-compliance with approval standards. Therefore, the agency’s enforcement activities should be understood within the broader objective of achieving a safer building environment.
Gbaye further maintained that professionals must always be present on construction sites to ensure that work is properly supervised.
For property investors, this has important implications. Engaging qualified professionals may increase initial project costs, but it can help reduce the much larger financial and safety risks associated with defective construction.
Another major development highlighted by the LASBCA general manager is Lagos State’s Electronic Physical Planning Process System (EPPPS).
The digital platform was recently introduced by the state government to automate and streamline building permit applications and urban planning approvals.
Gbaye said the system is designed to make the approval process easier and faster for developers, consultants and government agencies.
Importantly, applicants can track the progress of their applications at different stages without having to depend entirely on physical visits to government offices.
The system is expected to support Lagos State’s ambition of developing a modern megacity that operates in line with planning and approval systems obtainable in other parts of the world.
For developers, the digitalisation of the approval process could improve transparency and reduce some of the delays associated with traditional paper-based procedures. It could also make it easier for applicants to know the stage of their applications.
However, the success of such a system will ultimately depend on effective implementation, user compliance and the ability of the relevant agencies to process applications efficiently.
Meanwhile, the Property and Environment Writers Association of Nigeria (PEWAN) has also pledged to support efforts aimed at improving safety and responsibility within Nigeria’s property sector.
The Chairman of PEWAN, Okwy Iroegwu-Chikezie, said members of the association would remain committed to promoting responsible property development and a healthy and safe building environment.
She made the commitment through accurate, ethical and solution-driven journalism.
This role is significant because public understanding can influence how Nigerians approach property development. Accurate reporting can help prospective buyers understand the risks associated with poorly constructed properties while also encouraging developers to comply with relevant standards.
Iroegwu-Chikezie also called for urgent action on three interconnected challenges facing Nigeria’s built environment: the housing crisis, climate crisis and safety crisis.
Her position reflects the reality that building safety cannot be separated from wider housing and environmental concerns. As Lagos continues to expand, the pressure to provide housing and other infrastructure will increase.
However, the speed of development must not come at the expense of safety.
The PEWAN chairman therefore called for stronger commitment from critical stakeholders to end building collapses. She emphasised that the ultimate objective should be a Lagos where neither children nor adults lose their lives because of a building collapse.
For property owners and investors, the latest position from LASBCA provides a clear reminder that compliance should begin before construction and continue throughout a property’s lifecycle.
Investors should therefore verify approvals, engage qualified professionals, monitor construction quality and ensure that completed buildings receive the required certification. Existing property owners, meanwhile, should not wait for visible signs of deterioration before carrying out maintenance.
For developers, adherence to approved building plans is equally important. Cutting corners or making unauthorised changes may appear cheaper initially, but the consequences can include enforcement action, financial losses and, most seriously, loss of life.
Ultimately, LASBCA’s renewed commitment places greater emphasis on prevention rather than reaction. By combining professional oversight, digital approvals, maintenance, certification, insurance and enforcement, the agency hopes to strengthen safety across Lagos’ built environment.
The responsibility, however, extends beyond LASBCA. Government agencies can provide regulations and enforcement, but developers, professionals, property owners and occupants must also comply with established standards.
As Lagos continues to attract property investment and expand its housing stock, the quality and safety of that development will remain just as important as its speed. The message from LASBCA and PEWAN is therefore straightforward: sustainable property development must be built on compliance, professional responsibility, proper maintenance and a collective commitment to protecting lives.