UNDERSTANDING LAND SIZES AND MEASUREMENT

Most people who purchase land in Lagos and elsewhere don't really understand the meaning of these Real Estate terms. As a potential buyer wishing to buy a land or build a new house you must be conversant with a few of these figures. The first hurdle is to understand the system of Land measurement in Nigeria.

In Nigeria today, Land is measured in Hectares, Acres, Meters and Feet. These measurements are affected by factors, which include development pattern, human and environmental factors.

Let's start by asking what is the size of a standard plot in Nigeria?

According to the dictionary meaning of a plot: A plot is a marked out piece of Land for the purpose of building or farming. The word 'plot' is an arbitrary term used to describe a land division carved out for property development.

The size of a plot can vary for different reasons but according to Nigeria's land division, the appropriate plot for a house construction is 50 x 100ft which can accommodate a standard house with a small compound. To better understand land divisions used in Nigeria, different units of area are used as follows:

HECTARE

A hectare is one of the least known metric units and one which potential buyers and Estate developers seem to struggle with -

It is a land measuring:

👉🏿100m x 100m OR

👉🏿328ft x 328ft OR

👉🏿10,000 sqm OR

👉🏿Two and half acres OR

👉🏿15 plots.

ACRE

An Acre is a standard unit of measurement used by Land sellers and it is almost equivalent to the size of a standard football field. An Acre is a product of any rectangular plot of land giving a total of:

👉🏿4,046sqm OR

👉🏿43,560 sq ft OR

👉🏿6 plots (each measuring 60ft x 120ft)

PLOT

In Lagos State, the standard size of a plot is 60ft x 120ft (18m x 36m i.e. 648 sqm), while in some other cities of the country, plots are measured in 50ft x 100ft