LAND REGULARIZATION CHALLENGES OF INFORMAL CHANGES IN THE CADASTRAL ATTRIBUTES OF GOVERNMENT LAYOUTS IN BAUCHI METROPOLIS

Abstract

Indeed, human settlement is dynamic, so also, land use, land value and land ownership. Even in land administration system and planning authorities acknowledged and considered possibilities of land changes in statutory land parcels cadastral attributes. Thus, the Land Use Act of Nigeria set a policy prohibiting any form of change without authorization by relevant authorities. This is to ensure effective control and achievement of government`s spatial development objectives, expressed in physical and land use plans, is not negated and to protect the sanctity and functionality of cadastral records. Data were collected from a low and a medium density layout in which the changes were observed via interviewed purposive samples. Responses of the participants were transcribed and coded into themes using Nvivo 10 Software. This study found that in the government layout studiedin Bauchi metropolis, these policies were contravened. Up to45% beneficiaries of statutory land allocations, informally conducted land transactions that changed the cadastral attributes with informal ownerships. Respondents that attempted to utilize the official windows to regularize the informal changesare challenged by high costs, bureaucracy, obtaining tax clearance, uncooperative attitude of some stakeholders based on limited awareness about the benefits of regularization, and analogue operations of land administration agencies. These challenges have reduced the efficiency of regularization of the informal changes and made efforts at it difficult thereby militating against its derivable benefits. Government should deliberately address the identified challenges to regularization by automating the processes, reducing costs, and deliberately raising public awareness of the benefits of regularization.