Analysis of the Factors Affecting Will-Making for Property Transfer and the Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Property Management

Abstract

Despite failing the test of local acceptance, customary law often applies to intestate administration of property rights in Nigeria. The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors affecting will-making for property transfer by descent and the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) of property managers in a city where intestacy is widespread. Using a set of data collected from 306 respondents by survey in Lagos, factor analysis was applied to analyze the variables affecting will-making. Also, data were collected from 114 property managers and analyzed using binary logistic regression to examine the effect of CSR on will-making. The results show that the factors affecting the possibility of making a will for property rights transfer can be classified into three major themes, namely; social impact, family structure, and belief. Only one of the 14 factors analyzed was excluded from the theme due to a poor factor loading (<0.05), which put its effect in doubt. The ownership of a valid will is generally low. None of the low- and middle-income housing respondents had a will, while only 26% of the respondents in the high-income housing had a will. The binary logistic test of hypothesis reveals a significant relationship between property managers’ ethical CSR and will-making at 0.05 α. However, none of the property managers surveyed had incorporated the ethic into property management practice.