The price on the listing is not the price you pay. On a Lagos purchase you should budget an additional 8 to 15 percent of the purchase price in fees, taxes and professional costs, and on a complicated title it can run higher.
Most published guides on this subject are written around a ₦15M land purchase, where the percentages behave differently. This one is written for the ₦250M and above segment, where a single percentage point is millions of naira and where the negotiable items are worth actually negotiating.
Total transaction costs as a share of purchase price. Roughly 4 to 8 percent is government-related and effectively fixed. The remainder is professional fees, and much of that is negotiable.
The full cost stack
Every line below is a real cost on a typical Lagos residential purchase. Some are unavoidable, some are negotiable, and a few are frequently quoted at rates above the legal or conventional standard.
| Cost | Typical rate | Paid to | Negotiable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agency commission | 5% of price | Selling and buying agents | Yes, especially at high value |
| Legal fees | 5–10% at low value, 1–3% at high value | Your solicitor | Yes, and should be at this level |
| Stamp duty | 1.5% of assessed value | FIRS | No, rate is fixed |
| Governor’s Consent | ~1.5% of assessed value | Lagos State Lands Bureau | No |
| Registration fee | ~0.5% | Lagos State Lands Registry | No |
| Capital gains tax component | ~0.5% of assessed value | Collected in the consent process | No |
| Survey and search fees | ₦150,000 – ₦500,000 | Surveyor, Lands Registry | Partly |
| Deed preparation and perfection admin | ₦50,000 – ₦250,000 | Various registries | No |
| Service charge deposit or first year | Varies by building | Facility manager | Timing only |
Rates reflect prevailing Lagos practice at the time of the review date shown on this page. Statutory rates and the assessed values used to calculate them change. Confirm current rates with your solicitor before you budget a specific transaction.
The legal fee trap at high value
Legal fees in Nigeria are conventionally quoted as a percentage, and at land-purchase values of 5 to 10 percent that is broadly reasonable for the work involved. At ₦500M it is not. Ten percent of ₦500M is ₦50M for a title search, a deed and a consent application, which is not a ₦50M job.
At this level, negotiate a fixed fee or a capped percentage. Serious firms expect this conversation from serious buyers. If a solicitor insists on a straight percentage with no cap on a nine-figure purchase, that is information about the firm.
Worked example: a ₦250M purchase
Entry-level premium. A Lekki Phase 1 or Oniru apartment, clean title, developer sale.
₦250,000,000 purchase, straightforward title
Transaction costs of ₦27.9M, or 11.2 percent on top of the purchase price. A buyer who budgeted ₦250M and has ₦250M cannot complete this purchase.
Worked example: a ₦500M purchase
Mid-premium. An Ikoyi or Victoria Island apartment, resale rather than developer sale, title requiring consent.
₦500,000,000 purchase, resale with consent required
Transaction costs of ₦48.6M, or 9.7 percent. Note that negotiating agency down one point and fixing the legal fee saved ₦9M against the default rates. That negotiation takes one conversation.
Worked example: a ₦1B purchase
Upper premium. Banana Island or prime Old Ikoyi, where percentage-based fees become genuinely large sums.
₦1,000,000,000 purchase
Transaction costs of ₦82.8M, or 8.3 percent. The percentage falls as value rises, because professional fees compress while statutory rates stay flat. At the default 5 percent agency and 5 percent legal, the same purchase would have cost ₦1,140,800,000. The difference is ₦58M.
What is fixed and what is negotiable
| Item | Status | What to do about it |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp duty | Fixed by statute | Nothing. The rate is the rate. The assessed value can occasionally be queried. |
| Governor’s Consent fee | Fixed by the state | Nothing on rate. Budget for the timeline as well as the cost. |
| Registration fee | Fixed | Nothing. |
| Agency commission | Convention, not law | Negotiable above ₦250M. Three to four percent is achievable on large transactions. |
| Legal fees | Fully negotiable | Ask for a fixed fee. Get the scope in writing: search, deed, consent, registration. |
| Survey and searches | Cost-based | Do not cut these. They are the cheapest protection in the entire transaction. |
| Who pays consent fees | Convention varies | Genuinely negotiable between buyer and seller. Raise it early, not at completion. |
Costs specific to diaspora buyers
Buying from abroad adds a layer of cost that Nigeria-based buyers do not face. Budget for it rather than discovering it.
- Foreign exchange spread. The gap between the rate your bank gives you and the rate you could get elsewhere is often the largest single diaspora-specific cost. On a ₦400M purchase, one percent of spread is ₦4M. Compare providers before you move funds.
- International transfer fees. Usually modest in absolute terms, but check whether intermediary bank charges are deducted from the amount received rather than added to what you send.
- Compliance documentation. Large inbound transfers attract source-of-funds questions from both the sending and receiving bank. Budget time, not just money.
- Power of attorney. If you cannot attend completion, a POA must be drafted, executed and often notarised and legalised abroad. Expect several hundred pounds or dollars plus a fortnight of turnaround.
- Independent representation. Instructing your own solicitor in Nigeria rather than relying on the seller’s or agent’s is not optional when you cannot inspect the process yourself.
- Property management set-up. If the property will be let, factor a management agreement from day one rather than after the first tenant problem.
The timeline, and why it costs money
Cost is not only cash. Governor’s Consent in Lagos routinely takes months, and during that period your title is not perfected. That has practical consequences: you cannot cleanly resell, and financing against the property is constrained.
| Stage | Typical duration | What is happening |
|---|---|---|
| Offer to acceptance | 1–3 weeks | Negotiation, terms agreed, deposit discussed |
| Due diligence and searches | 2–4 weeks | Registry search, survey verification, encumbrance check |
| Deed execution and payment | 1–2 weeks | Deed of Assignment signed, balance paid |
| Stamp duty assessment and payment | 2–6 weeks | Value assessed, duty paid, documents stamped |
| Governor’s Consent application | 3–12 months | Lands Bureau processing, inspection, approval |
| Registration | 4–8 weeks after consent | Title registered in your name |
Durations are typical rather than guaranteed and vary considerably with the completeness of the documentation submitted and the current state of the registry. A well-prepared application moves faster than a contested one, which is where good legal representation earns its fee.
Off-plan purchases work differently
Buying off-plan changes the cost profile in ways worth understanding before you compare an off-plan price to a completed one.
- Payment is staged. Typically a deposit of 20 to 30 percent followed by instalments over the construction period, which changes your cash flow and your FX exposure if you are earning abroad.
- Consent often comes later. On developer sales the title is frequently perfected at or after handover, so your consent costs arrive well after your deposit.
- Agency commission may be built in. Developer prices often already include the sales commission, which is why an off-plan headline price can look higher than a comparable resale.
- Completion risk is a real cost. A delayed project costs you rent you are not earning and, for diaspora buyers, exchange rate movement across a longer exposure window.
- Fit-out is frequently excluded. Check whether the price includes kitchen, wardrobes, air conditioning and flooring. Shell delivery is common and expensive to finish.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I budget on top of the purchase price?
Budget 12 percent as a working assumption at the ₦250M level and 9 to 10 percent above ₦500M, then work to bring it down through negotiation on agency and legal fees. If you budget the minimum and hit a complication, you stall mid-transaction, which is the worst position to negotiate from.
Who pays the agency commission, buyer or seller?
Lagos practice varies and it is genuinely negotiable. On many transactions the buyer pays, on others it is split, and on developer sales it is usually embedded in the price. Establish who is paying what at offer stage rather than at completion, and get it in the terms.
Can I skip Governor’s Consent to save money?
You can delay it. You cannot skip it and still have a perfected, cleanly transferable title. Unperfected title is the single most common source of dispute and loss in Lagos property, and it will surface when you try to sell, when you try to borrow against the property, or when a competing claim appears. Treat consent as part of the purchase, not an optional extra.
Is capital gains tax payable by the buyer or the seller?
Capital gains tax is legally a tax on the seller’s gain. In practice a CGT-related component is commonly collected within the consent and perfection process and, depending on how the deal is structured, is often borne by the buyer in effect. Clarify explicitly who is settling it, in writing, before completion. Take advice from a Nigerian tax solicitor on your specific position.
Do foreigners pay more than Nigerians?
The statutory rates are the same regardless of nationality. What differs is documentation and verification, which can add to professional fees and to the time the transaction takes. Non-Nigerians should also take advice on ownership structure, since holding through a Nigerian company is sometimes preferred for practical reasons.
What is the cheapest legitimate way to reduce these costs?
Negotiate the professional fees, which are roughly half the total. Fixing the legal fee and taking agency commission down one or two points on a large purchase saves more than every other tactic combined. What you should never economise on is the searches and the survey, because those are what stop you buying a problem.
Should I use the seller’s lawyer to save fees?
No. The saving is small relative to the transaction and the conflict of interest is real. Your solicitor’s job is to find reasons not to proceed. A solicitor acting for both sides has a structural incentive to get the deal done, which is not the same objective.
Methodology and sources
How these figures were compiled
Statutory rates are taken from prevailing Lagos State and federal practice: stamp duty under the Stamp Duties Act, Governor’s Consent under the Land Use Act 1978, and Lagos State Lands Registry registration fees. Professional fee ranges reflect what BCR observes across transactions in the ₦250M and above segment and cross-referenced against published guidance from Nigerian legal and property practitioners.
Important limitations. Statutory rates change, and the assessed value the state uses to calculate duty is not always the same as the purchase price. Worked examples are illustrative models built on the stated assumptions, not quotations. Nothing on this page is legal or tax advice, and BCR is neither a law firm nor a tax adviser. Instruct a Nigerian property solicitor for your specific transaction.
Review cycle. Reviewed quarterly and whenever a statutory rate changes.
Working through a specific purchase? We model the complete cost stack for the exact property, corridor and title type as part of every BCR investment brief, before you commit to anything.
Oluwaseyi Adaralegbe
Oluwaseyi leads BCR’s market intelligence practice across Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Banana Island, Lekki Phase 1 and Oniru. Figures published here are drawn from verified transactions and documented building data, not asking prices.