Deed of Assignment vs. Deed of Gift: Why They're Not the Same Document
Reviewed by Adebayo Sobayo & Adeyemo Adedeji, Legal Practitioner
"It's basically the same thing, just put whatever price on it" is one of the more expensive sentences in Nigerian property practice. A sale and a gift are different transactions in law, and the deed has to say which one actually happened.
A Deed of Assignment: a transfer for a price
A Deed of Assignment transfers a right of occupancy from the assignor to the assignee in exchange for consideration — a purchase price, stated as a specific figure. That figure isn't decorative: it's what stamp duty is calculated against, it's what the Governor's Consent application is assessed on, and it's the number a later buyer's own title search will measure the property's history against.
A Deed of Gift: a transfer for nothing
A Deed of Gift transfers the right of occupancy with no consideration at all. It's the instrument for a genuine gift — a parent transferring property to a child, a transfer between spouses, or a transfer made as part of settling a family estate. It still requires Governor's Consent, because consent attaches to the alienation of the right of occupancy, not to whether a price was paid. What it doesn't have is a consideration figure to calculate stamp duty from in the way an assignment does.
Why the two get confused, and why that's a problem
The confusion usually comes from trying to make a gift look like a sale, or the reverse — most often to show a lower price than what actually changed hands, or because nobody thought the label mattered as long as the property "moved." It matters for three reasons:
- Stamp duty and consent fees are assessed differently depending on which transaction actually happened, so misdescribing it can misstate what's owed.
- A challenge from other family members or heirs is far easier to bring against a "sale" that was really a gift with an invented price, since the paper trail itself becomes evidence of something irregular.
- A later buyer's title search reads the deed for what it says happened. A mismatch between the deed's story and the real history of the property is exactly what a diligent search is built to catch, and exactly what causes a sale to stall or collapse.
What Pandas LP drafts
We draft each as its own instrument, matched to the transaction actually taking place rather than the transaction it's convenient to describe. A Deed of Assignment is invoiced at 2.5% of the actual consideration; a Deed of Gift, with no consideration figure to calculate a percentage from, is ₦30,000. Neither is relabelled as the other. It will not invent a consideration figure that hasn't been confirmed, and where the facts suggest something more complicated than a straightforward gift or sale — a disputed estate, an unclear chain of prior title — it escalates to a practitioner rather than guessing at the right instrument.
This article is general information about Nigerian land law and is not legal advice on your specific transaction. Stamp duty rates, consent fees, and processing requirements vary between states.
Common questions
What is the difference between a Deed of Assignment and a Deed of Gift?
A Deed of Assignment transfers a right of occupancy in exchange for consideration — a purchase price paid by the buyer. A Deed of Gift transfers it with no consideration at all: a genuine gift, most often between family members. The instruments record two legally different transactions, not two names for the same one.
Does a Deed of Gift still need Governor's Consent?
Yes. Consent under the Land Use Act attaches to the alienation of the right of occupancy itself, not to whether money changed hands. A gift is still an alienation, so it still needs the Governor's consent to be valid, the same as a sale does.
Can I use a Deed of Assignment for a property I'm giving away for free?
You shouldn't. Recording a genuine gift as a sale, often to show a token or reduced consideration figure, creates a document that misstates the actual transaction. That mismatch can surface later in a dispute among the giver's heirs, in a tax query over an understated price, or in a subsequent buyer's title search — and it's the kind of thing that's far cheaper to avoid at drafting stage than to untangle afterward.
Why does the distinction affect stamp duty?
Stamp duty on a Deed of Assignment is generally calculated as a percentage of the stated consideration, so it rises and falls with the sale price. A Deed of Gift has no consideration figure to calculate that percentage from, so it's treated differently. Recording the wrong transaction type doesn't just misdescribe the deal — it can misstate what's actually owed.
Need a tenant to leave, the lawful way?
The notices have to be the right length, in the right order, and served properly. Each tenancy document, including a Notice to Quit, is ₦25,000, reviewed and signed by a licensed practitioner.
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