tenure
Tenure is the length of time and the terms under which you hold or occupy a property, whether you own it outright, lease it, or borrow to pay for it.
In plain English
Here is the surprising part. In Nigeria, when people say a plot of land is theirs, what they often mean is that they hold it for ninety nine years, not forever. That is tenure at work, and most owners never think about it because ninety nine years feels like forever when you are thirty five.
Tenure simply answers one question. On what terms, and for how long, do you get to call this land or building yours? It could be freehold, where you own the land and whatever is on it with no expiry date attached, common in places like Lagos Island family land once properly perfected. Or it could be leasehold, where the state or a private owner grants you rights for a fixed period, ninety nine years being the usual stretch in many Nigerian states, after which the term can be renewed if the paperwork and the goodwill line up.
A Nigerian buying land in Lekki might find the certificate of occupancy says the tenure is ninety nine years starting from a date decades ago. That matters when you want to sell, because a buyer will ask how many years remain, more than how nice the compound looks.
In the United Kingdom, tenure works the same way but the words show up more in everyday property talk. A flat in London might be leasehold with seventy years left on the tenure, and that number alone can lower the price, because mortgage lenders get nervous about short leases.
For someone in the diaspora sending money home to buy land for a parent, tenure is the detail worth asking about before the transfer, not after. A beautiful photo of the land tells you nothing about whether you are getting ninety nine years or a much shorter, calmly expiring arrangement.
A family buys a plot in Abuja with a certificate of occupancy showing a ninety nine year leasehold tenure that started in 1996, meaning around seventy years remain, and this number affects both resale value and how banks view it as collateral for a loan of ₦15,000,000.
Questions people ask
Is leasehold tenure the same as renting?
No. Leasehold tenure usually runs for decades, often ninety nine years in Nigeria, and you can sell, inherit, or mortgage that right. Renting is a much shorter arrangement, often a year at a time, with far fewer rights attached.
What happens when a leasehold tenure runs out?
In theory the land reverts to the original grantor, often the state government in Nigeria. In practice, renewal is common if you apply in good time and pay the required fees, but leaving it too late can create real problems when you want to sell.
Does tenure affect how much a property is worth?
Yes, significantly. A property with ninety years of leasehold tenure left will usually be worth more, and easier to mortgage, than a similar one with only ten years remaining, because buyers and banks both think about how much time they are actually paying for.
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