How to Buy Property in Nigeria From the UK

You can buy property in Nigeria while living in the UK, but you need five things in place before money moves: a Nigerian property lawyer who acts only for you, an independent surveyor and inspector on the ground, a power of attorney signed in the UK and legalised for use in Nigeria if anyone will sign for you, money sent in stages through a firm authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and a UK paper trail for your bank and HMRC. The Nigerian checks are the same as for a buyer living in Lagos or Abuja. What changes is how documents are signed, how money crosses borders and who reports to you.

One limitation up front: Smart Estate MLS identity-verifies agents, not properties. A property's title is only checked through a TitleSecure order, which is available for Lagos State and Ogun State only.

Table of contents

• What is different when you buy from the UK
• Step 1: Write your brief and full budget
• Step 2: Appoint people who report to you
• Step 3: Find and inspect the exact property
• Step 4: Check title in the state where the land is
• Step 5: Sign a power of attorney in the UK
• Step 6: Send money through regulated channels
• Step 7: Keep a UK-side record
• Step 8: Complete, then perfect the title
• Where Smart Estate MLS fits
• Frequently asked questions

What is different when you buy from the UK

A buyer in Nigeria can walk the land, sit in the lawyer's office and sign in person. From the UK you do each of those things through someone else, so the risk moves from the property to the chain of people and documents between you and it. Watch for three gaps in particular: one person who controls the property, the paperwork and the payment instructions; a power of attorney wider than the job needs; and a payment sent to account details that changed by message.

The table below splits the work by where it happens. Keep the two columns separate in your planning, because different people are responsible for each.

Stage	Done in the UK, by you	Done in Nigeria, by people you appoint
Brief and budget	Set the ceiling, currency plan and timeline	Lawyer and surveyor give fee quotes in writing
Team	Check identities, engage in writing, agree how they report	Lawyer, surveyor and inspector do the work
Property	Approve or reject on the evidence	Live inspection of the exact parcel or building
Title	Read the written search report, ask questions	Searches at the state land registry, survey checks
Authority	Sign a power of attorney before a UK notary, legalise it	Representative uses it only for the listed acts
Money	Send through an FCA-authorised provider, in stages	Lawyer confirms each beneficiary before you pay
Records	Keep transfer, source-of-funds and tax records	Lawyer keeps originals, receipts and filings

Step 1: Write your brief and full budget

Before you search, write one page that says what you are buying and why: a home for family, a rental, land to hold, or a property for later retirement. Name the acceptable areas, property type, the most you will spend in total, and the date you need to complete by. A clear brief stops a representative or agent from steering you towards whatever they happen to have.

Budget for the whole acquisition, not the asking price. That includes the lawyer's fee, survey and inspection, the cost of title searches, consent and registration costs in the state, stamp duty, repairs, service charges on an estate, currency conversion and transfer charges, and a contingency. Ask your Nigerian lawyer for a written list of the state charges that apply to your transaction, because they vary by state and by type of interest. Do not rely on a figure quoted by the seller's side.

Use Smart Estate neighbourhood guides to shortlist areas, then treat every claim about roads, flooding, power and security as something your inspector confirms at the property.

Step 2: Appoint people who report to you

Your team in Nigeria normally needs a property lawyer, a registered surveyor and, for a building, an inspector or engineer. Each should be engaged by you, in writing, with a defined scope and fee, and should send their findings to you directly, even if a relative helps with access.

Check the firm behind each professional. For a company, the Corporate Affairs Commission public search shows whether the entity is registered, though registration does not prove professional competence or that a person may sell a property. For the agent presenting the property, you can find an identity-verified agent on Smart Estate MLS: these agents have had their national identity and business registration checked and name-matched. In Lagos, an agent may also hold registration with the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA); the guide on checking a Lagos agent's registration explains how. LASRERA applies in Lagos only.

Do not let the person who found the property also choose your lawyer. A lawyer recommended by the seller's agent may be competent, but you want advice from someone with no interest in the sale closing.

Step 3: Find and inspect the exact property

Search current property listings and send enquiries through the platform rather than chasing a phone number found elsewhere. Save the listing as you first saw it: price, location, description, photographs and the agent's name. Every later document and inspection should match it.

Ask your own inspector, not the agent, to do a live video walk-through. It should start from a named public road, follow a continuous route to the property, and show boundaries, access, neighbouring buildings, drainage and any occupants. For land, ask about fill, flooding and whether anyone farms, builds or stores goods on it. For a building, look at the roof, walls, damp, wiring, plumbing, water and waste. Edited clips sent by the seller's side are for orientation only.

The guide to checking a listing before paying sets out warning signs: copied photographs, a price that changes, refusal of a daylight inspection, and requests for money to "hold" the property.

Step 4: Check title in the state where the land is

All land in a state is vested in the Governor under section 1 of the Land Use Act, and section 22 says the holder of a statutory right of occupancy may not transfer, mortgage or sublease it without the Governor's consent first obtained. Section 26 makes a transaction that does not follow the Act null and void. In practice, your lawyer will want to see the seller's root of title, search the state land registry for the exact parcel, check whether the land is affected by government acquisition, and plan for Governor's Consent after you buy. The guide to Governor's Consent explains what it is and why it matters.

Procedures differ between states. Lagos, for example, offers an online property search and Certified True Copy (CTC) requests through its housing and lands services. A CTC is a copy of a registered document certified by the registry as matching its record. Other states have their own registries and processes, so ask your lawyer to set out in writing what was searched, where, on what date, what was found and what remains open.

Do not accept phrases such as "C of O in process", "family land with receipts" or "excision done" as answers. A Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) is the state's grant of a right of occupancy; your lawyer should explain what each document in the chain proves about this parcel. The land title guide covers the chain of documents in more detail.

Step 5: Sign a power of attorney in the UK

A power of attorney lets someone in Nigeria act for you: attend a search, sign a contract, collect documents or apply for consent. It is also the document most often misused in remote purchases. Ask your Nigerian lawyer to draft it for this transaction only, listing the acts allowed, the property by description, an end date and how you can revoke it. Avoid a general power over "all my affairs".

Signing it in the UK usually involves three layers, and you should confirm each one before you book appointments:

1. Sign before a UK notary public. The UK Legalisation Office service on GOV.UK legalises documents that have been certified by a UK public official such as a notary or solicitor. A notary will check your identity and witness your signature.
2. Get the UK Legalisation Office certificate. That office checks the notary's signature and seal against its records and attaches an apostille certificate.
3. Check whether Nigeria needs more. Nigeria is not listed as a party to the Apostille Convention on the Hague Conference status table, so an apostille on its own may not be enough for use in Nigeria. The Nigeria High Commission in London lists "Notary Public and legalisation of documents" among the duties of its immigration section. Contact the High Commission for its current requirements, fees and timing before you sign, and ask your Nigerian lawyer what form the document must take to be accepted in the state where the property is.

Your lawyer will also tell you whether the power of attorney must be stamped or registered in Nigeria before it can be used for a land transaction. Keep a copy of every version, and if you revoke it, give written notice to everyone who has seen it.

The guide to appointing a representative without losing control covers how to limit a representative's authority in more detail.

Step 6: Send money through regulated channels

Use a bank or money transfer provider that appears on the FCA Financial Services Register, the public record of firms authorised or registered by the FCA. The register also helps you spot "clone firms" that copy a real firm's name. Avoid informal currency dealers, however convenient, because you lose the record and the protection.

Then control who receives the money:

• Pay in stages tied to documents your lawyer has approved, not to a viewing or a promise.
• Confirm every beneficiary's name and account by calling a number you already hold, not one in the message asking for payment.
• Treat any change of account details as a warning sign. Stop and reconfirm with your lawyer before you send anything.

UK Finance's Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign sums this up as Stop, Challenge, Protect: take a moment before parting with money, ask whether a request could be fake, and if you think you have been scammed, contact your bank immediately and report it to the police at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040.

Payment event	What must be true first	Stop if
Deposit or reservation	Lawyer has explained refund terms and confirmed the beneficiary	You are pressed to pay before documents are reviewed
Contract payment	Agreement signed in the approved form, searches complete	Names, plan or property description differ
Change of account details	Reconfirmed by phone on a known number and approved by your lawyer	The request is urgent or arrives by message only
Balance at completion	Originals ready, possession arrangements agreed	Originals are "with someone else" or occupiers remain

Step 7: Keep a UK-side record

Keep one folder for the UK side of the purchase: proof of where the money came from, every transfer receipt, the exchange rate you were given, the signed power of attorney and its legalisation certificates, and correspondence with your lawyer. Your UK bank or transfer provider may ask about large payments abroad, and a clear file makes that quicker.

Think about tax before you buy. GOV.UK's page on tax on foreign income says that if you are UK resident you will normally pay tax on your foreign income, and lists rental income on overseas property among the kinds of foreign income covered. It also says you may be able to claim relief if you are taxed in more than one country. If you plan to let the property, get advice from a UK tax adviser and a Nigerian one before completion, not after the first rent arrives. This article does not give tax advice.

Step 8: Complete, then perfect the title

At completion your lawyer should hand over, or hold for you, the signed deed or assignment, the seller's title documents, receipts, the survey plan and keys. Agree in writing who holds each original and where. Possession should be clear: no tenants or caretakers who did not know about the sale.

Buying is not the end. In most states the transfer still needs Governor's Consent, stamping and registration, and those steps can take time. Ask your lawyer for a written list of the remaining steps, who will do each one and what evidence you will receive when it is done. A purchase that is never perfected leaves you holding a document that may not protect you.

1. Brief and budget
2. Team engaged by you
3. Live inspection
4. Title and survey checks
5. Everything matches?
   • NoPause or withdraw
   • YesPower of attorney legalised
6. Power of attorney legalised
7. Staged payments, beneficiary confirmed
8. Completion and title perfection

Where Smart Estate MLS fits

Smart Estate MLS keeps one record per property, so the same home is not reposted by several agents with different prices. The listing agent declares their mandate, and a disputed mandate goes through a claims review. Agents can be identity-verified, and enquiries go through the platform. Read how Smart Estate MLS checks agents and titles and what an MLS means in Nigeria for more. None of this checks the property itself, its title or its condition.

For property in Lagos State or Ogun State, you can order a TitleSecure title check on a specific property. Basic (₦20,000) is a title check on land, with results in 24 hours and no Certified True Copy. Advanced (₦50,000) is a full property check that includes a CTC of the title document and a written legal opinion, in 3 to 5 days. TitleSecure is not offered on rentals, does not guarantee title and does not replace your own solicitor. For property in other states, TitleSecure is not yet available; rely on your lawyer's search at the state land registry and a registered surveyor.

For a wider view of buying from abroad, see the diaspora property investment page.