How your rights are protected before your survey can be registered
Off-plan Mall Purchase
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATEINVESTOR EDUCATION
The Timing Gap: How to Secure Your Legal Rights in a Lagos Mall Unit Before Construction Completes
When purchasing an off-plan mall unit in Lagos, one of the documents required to perfect title — the composite survey plan identifying your specific unit — can only be prepared after the physical structure has reached a stage where the unit can be spatially defined.
A surveyor cannot delineate or measure a unit that does not yet physically exist. Until walls, dimensions, and internal layouts are materially established, the survey process remains incomplete.
This creates a timing gap between purchase and title perfection in off-plan developments. The relevant question for an investor is therefore not whether the document exists on day one, but how their legal position is protected during the period before it can be validly prepared.
Off-Plan Due Diligence
This post is part of a wider guide on investing in off-plan commercial units in Lagos. For infrastructure requirements, leasing structures, CAM charges, and the Right of First Refusal clause, read the main guide here →
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Why the composite survey cannot exist yet
The composite survey plan for individual units is based on physical measurement of the completed structure. This composite survey plan records the spatial boundaries of each unit as built and verified on site. In an off-plan project, as you must have already made out, those conditions are not yet present.
A surveyor produces this document by measuring the finished construction: the walls, columns, floor plates, and partition lines. These measurements are then processed through the Office of the Surveyor-General as part of the official land records for the development.
These three factors explain some of the reasons why a composite survey cannot be provided, before purchase for off-plan projects:
I
No Measurable Unit Boundaries
For a survey to be made, fixed physical points are required. Until the structure is completed to the level where unit boundaries are defined, there are no reference points for registration. Architectural drawings provide the design intent. Survey registration requires as-built conditions.
II
Final dimensions can only be confirmed at completion
Adjustments happen during construction — major and minor. These may include changes to wall positions, column dimensions, service ducts, or circulation layouts. Most of these happen because certain realizations are only capable of being made once the construction has begun. Therefore, pre-completion layouts differ, in the least slightly, from the final built form. And the survey must reflect the final configuration to the centimetre.
III
Government bodies will only accept documentation from completed structures
During construction, the relevant authorities recognise the development only through the parent survey plan and approved building drawings. Subdivision through composite survey documentation is processed after the structure reaches the stage where the units have been demarcated.
Because of this timing gap in off-plan developments, it is not possible to perfect your title at the time of purchase. This then begs the question: how do you protect your financial position and property rights during this time?
What sophisticated investors hold during construction instead
Because a Deed of Assignment for an individual unit generally requires a completed composite survey plan, and because that survey can only be prepared after the building has been physically completed, off-plan purchasers in Lagos instead rely on a series of contractual and registration-based instruments during the construction phase.
While these instruments do not confer the strength of rights as in a registered legal title, they provide documented contractual rights and establish a clear record of the purchaser's investment into the property.
Link Payments to Construction Milestones
1
A typical structure may include:
Initial deposit — paid after confirming the developer's underlying land title and reviewing approved development approvals and plans.
Progress payments — released upon completion of clearly identifiable stages such as foundation works, completion of a specific floor slab, roofing, or other agreed milestones.
Retention payment — typically 10%–15% of the purchase price, withheld until physical handover and delivery of all agreed title documentation, including the final composite survey plan where applicable.
A milestone-based payment structure aligns the release of funds with measurable and observable construction progress. Each payment becomes conditional upon the completion of a defined stage of work.
The retention amount remains one of the purchaser's strongest practical protections during the final stage of the transaction because its release remains tied to the developer's completion obligations.
Execute a Contract of Sale with Unit-Specific Attachments
2
Common supporting documents include:
The architectural floor plan showing the specific unit, unit number, floor location, and layout, signed by both parties.
A provisional allocation letter identifying the purchaser and allocating the specified unit pending final survey delineation after completion.
During construction, the primary transaction document is typically the Contract of Sale. To ensure that the purchased unit is clearly identified, it is advisable to attach documents that define the exact space being acquired.
Together, these documents create a contractual record of the particular unit being acquired and reduce the scope for uncertainty regarding location, size, or position within the development.
Register the Purchaser's Interest Against the Parent Title
3
A signed contract establishes rights between the purchaser and the developer. In high-stakes transactions, additional means of protection may be obtained by creating a public record of your interest. Registering a purchaser's interest in Lagos involves filing a caution or caveat against a developer's parent title at the Land Registry, providing public notice of your legal claim. This protective measure is typically initiated by your legal counsel immediately after executing a contract of sale to prevent unauthorized dealing with the property by third parties. This action prevents fraudulent resale or unauthorized use of the property as collateral.
Include Delivery Obligations and Delay Provisions
4
Common provisions include:
Specific performance rights, allowing the purchaser to demand completion and transfer of the agreed unit where appropriate under law.
Delay compensation provisions, which may require the developer to compensate the purchaser if delivery extends beyond an agreed completion period and grace period.
Construction projects can encounter delays. The transaction documents should therefore plainly address completion obligations and the consequences of extended delays.
These provisions establish the expectations for both parties and provide pre-defined remedies if delivery timelines are not met.
A note on the developer's standard template: these four instruments — milestone payments, spatial addendums, public registration, and specific performance — will almost never appear in the a developer's standard contract of sale. They are often introduced during legal review and negotiation before execution.
For that reason, you should ensure that your solicitor reviews all transaction documents before signing and that they consider whether additional protections are appropriate for the specific development and transaction structure. The precise form of these protective measure will depend on the project, the developer, and the your objectives, but their purpose remains to document your interest explicitly and maintain appropriate safeguards until a registered title can be completed after construction.
The Legal Lifecycle of an Off-Plan Property Purchase
Understanding your legal position — your rights and obligations — at each stage of the transaction makes your progression much smoother.
During Construction
Documentation: Contract of Sale, signed floor plans, and allocation letter.
What the developer has: The parent title to the development, subject to its contractual obligations to purchasers.
Your position: A documented and legally enforceable claim to the unit you purchased.
Main concerns: Construction delays, project completion, and protection of your claim during the development period.
Key objective: Ensure all contractual protections are in place before substantial payments are made.
After Completion and Registration
Documentation: Registered Deed of Assignment supported by the composite survey plan
What the developer has: The remaining interests that have not been transferred to purchasers.
Your position: Registered ownership recognised by the State Government.
Main concerns: Completion of title transfer and registration requirements.
Key objective: Ensure all title documents are delivered and registration can proceed.
What this means for how you approach the purchase
An off-plan transaction lies between contract formation and registration. While construction is still ongoing, your ownership is not recorded in the land registry. You hold contractual rights to the defined unit, evidenced by the contract of sale, attached plans, allocation documents, and any registered notice on the parent title. These instruments fix identity of the unit and bind the developer to delivery. The developer retains the registered title until completion and execution of transfer documents.
Registration occurs after completion of the survey and execution of the Deed of Assignment or Deed of Sub-lease. After that process, the land registry reflects ownership in your name and the contractual structure terminates into registered title.
So between these two states, enforceability depends on the preciseness of your documentation and any registered notices. Where unit definition is unclear or nothing is registered against title, enforcement is left purely contractual and third-party visibility is absent. Where documentation is meticulously defined and notice is recorded, your claim is visible on search and binding on the developer.
Related reading
Title Documentation for Lagos Mall Investors
The complete list of the document evidences to check — what to verify at the Lands Registry before committing to any mall unit purchase.
Back to the series
Buying 90sqm–150sqm in an Off-Plan Lagos Mall
The main investment guide — infrastructure, leasing structures, CAM charges, and the KVA question every investor should ask.
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