Abuja Land Owners: Unpaid Ground Rent Can Cost You Your Plot

If you own land or a house in Abuja, your right of occupancy comes with yearly ground rent and other land charges. Since 2025 the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has been revoking titles where these were not paid.

What has happened so far

• In March 2025, the FCT Minister revoked 4,794 land titles over unpaid ground rent, some of which had gone unpaid for decades.
• In May 2025, the President stepped in and gave defaulters 14 days to pay their arrears plus a penalty. The penalty was ₦5 million in the Central Area; ₦3 million in Maitama, Asokoro, Wuse II and Guzape; and ₦2 million in Wuse I, Garki I and Garki II.
• In November 2025, after a final grace period, the FCTA revoked 1,095 titles in Asokoro, Maitama, Garki and Wuse, for unpaid ground rent and for unpaid violation and land use conversion fees.
• In January 2026, the FCTA said a task force would keep enforcing ground rent, certificate of occupancy charges and other land fees.

The legal basis

Land in the FCT is held through a right of occupancy under the Land Use Act 1978. The FCTA has relied on section 28(5) of the Land Use Act, which allows a right of occupancy to be revoked where the holder breaks its terms, and on the terms of each certificate of occupancy, which require ground rent to be paid.

Changing how you use your land

Using land for a purpose other than the one in your title, for example turning a residential plot into offices or shops, needs approval. Unpaid land use conversion fees were among the reasons for the November 2025 revocations.

How to protect your property

1. 1.Ask the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS) for your current bill for ground rent and other charges on your plot.
2. 2.Pay through official channels only and keep every receipt.
3. 3.If you are buying, ask the seller for proof that ground rent and land charges are fully paid, and do a search at AGIS before you pay anything.
4. 4.Check that the approved use of the plot matches how it is being used.
5. 5.If your plot appears on a revocation list, see a lawyer quickly. The steps to regularise or challenge a revocation are time sensitive.