The Lagos State House of Assembly has exempted Churches, Mosques, public cemeteries and burial grounds from the Land Use Charge Bill it passed into law yesterday.
The lawmakers also passed the Embedded Power Supply Bill into law, stating that the new law would provide for development and management of sustainable power supply in the state.
However, the Land Use Charge Bill entitled “a Bill for a law to provide for the consolidation of property and land-based charges and make provisions for the levying and collection of land use charge in Lagos State and for connected purposes” was passed into law yesterday.
The law now empowered local governments in the state as collecting authorities which would also levy and collect tenement rates within their areas of jurisdiction.
Also exempted from the law were property owned and occupied by a religious body and used exclusively as a place of worship or religious education including public cemeteries and burial grounds as well as property used as a registered educational institution certified by the Commissioner to be non-profit making.
Others were property specifically exempted by the Executive Governor by notice published in the State Official Gazette and all palaces of recognized Obas and Chiefs in the state.
However, the law made it clear that an exempted property should become liable for Land Use Charge if the use of such property changes to one that would not qualify for an exemption.
“The land use charge Demand Notice may be delivered to the owner or occupier and can also be requested for by either the owner, occupied or authorized agent of the property at any of the Land Use Charge offices or via electronic platform,” the law reads.
