Buying land in Lomé, Togo: what the law says, what to check, what you pay

To buy land in Lomé, start from Togo's Land and State Property Code (Law No. 2018-005 of 14 June 2018): a property sale must be preceded by registration of the land, and a contract that ignores this is void ("nullité absolue"). The deed that transfers ownership is a notarial deed. The Land Registry of the Office Togolais des Recettes (OTR) then records the buyer's name on the land title (titre foncier). Before paying anything, check three things: the title and its owner (via a registry extract called an état descriptif), the boundaries on the ground (via a licensed surveyor) and the plot's status at the cadastre. The amounts below are those published by the OTR, a Togolese notary and the Togolese business press. Ask for written quotes on everything else.

What Togolese law says

Two articles of the Land Code matter most to a buyer. Article 161 reads: « Tout transfert de droit de propriété immobilière en zone urbaine, péri urbaine ou rurale est subordonné, sous peine de nullité absolue du contrat, à l'immatriculation de l'immeuble qui en est l'objet. » In English: any transfer of property rights over real estate, in urban, peri-urban or rural areas, is conditional on registration of the property, on pain of absolute nullity of the contract. Article 162 reads: « Toute vente immobilière doit être précédée de l'immatriculation du fonds de terre ou de l'immeuble qui en est l'objet. » In English: any property sale must be preceded by registration of the land or building concerned. The text is reproduced by a Lomé estate agency, and Afrik.com (16 November 2018) reads it the same way.

The land title is therefore the key document. According to Kwami Obossou, head of the OTR's cadastre and land registry, « Le titre foncier donne un droit réel de propriété sur le terrain » (a land title gives a real property right over the land). He also says title applications have risen from about 400 a year to more than 13,000 a year since 2015 (republicoftogo.com, 28 November 2024).

A notary is mandatory. Article 26 of Law No. 2001-009 of 16 November 2001 on the status of notaries in Togo provides that « sont notariés (…) les actes constitutifs ou translatifs de droit réel immobilier » (deeds creating or transferring real property rights are drawn up by a notary), as quoted by the office of notary Komi Tsakadi. A receipt handed over by a middleman is not a notarial deed.

In practice, many plots have no title yet. The OTR describes a registration procedure whose first step is a sale receipt (reçu de vente). If the seller has no title, ask the notary to set out in writing how the sale and the registration will be handled, and who pays for them.

Checks to run before you pay

Pay after checking, never before. The points below come from the OTR and a Lomé notary.

• The title and its owner. The seller must be the owner named on the land title. Ask for the état descriptif: it shows the owner, the surface area and any mortgage. If there is a mortgage, insist on a release (mainlevée). If the land comes from an estate, the heirs' representative needs a notarial mandate (Tsakadi notary office).
• The plot on the ground. A licensed surveyor (géomètre agréé) certifies the boundaries and position of the plot (OTR, via republicoftogo.com).
• Its status at the cadastre. At the cadastre desk, check that the plot is not an administrative reserve, a road or a flood-prone area (same source).
• Older titles. The OTR is georeferencing titles issued before 2007 that have not been georeferenced yet, at an announced cost of 35,000 FCFA. Since 1 August 2024, every plot gets a unique parcel number (NUP) (Togo First, 26 May 2025). Ask whether the title you are shown has been georeferenced.

The steps and the published fees

Step	What happens	Who is involved
1. Checks	État descriptif, surveyor's report, cadastre check	Notary, licensed surveyor, OTR
2. Sale	Signing of the notarial sale deed, sale receipt issued	Notary
3a. Buying a whole titled plot	Full transfer (mutation totale): the notary files a request with the registrar, and the buyer's name goes on the existing title	Notary, Land Registry
3b. Buying part of a plot	Subdivision (morcellement): approved surveyor's plan, registration of the contract, filing at the one-stop land desk (guichet foncier unique), joint boundary survey with the notary present, then a new title	Surveyor, notary, OTR

These steps are described by the Tsakadi notary office. Two recent rules apply on top. Since 1 March 2025, land formalities require advance payment of a provision covering all fees, and requests without it are not processed (Togo First, 18 February 2025). Since 17 August 2026, licensed surveyors file plot plans online through the one-stop land desk (Togonews via AllAfrica, 18 August 2026).

Published amounts:

• Full transfer for a price: a fixed duty of 35,000 FCFA (OTR webinar of 18 June 2026, reported by First News Media). This flat fee replaced a 4% charge on market value (Togo First, 29 March 2019).
• First registration: proportional fees that can reach 1.5% of the property's value (First News Media, same article).
• Urban boundary survey: 63,000 FCFA for 0 to 6 ares, plus 2,000 FCFA per extra are, according to the Tsakadi office.
• Capital gains: 7% of the gain between purchase and sale price for a property acquired less than 5 years earlier, with no allowance; for a property held more than 5 years, an allowance applies. The tax is paid by the seller, according to the same office.
• État descriptif: 10,000 FCFA in 2019 (Togo First, 29 March 2019). Check today's rate at the desk.

Notary and surveyor fees are not published in these sources: get a written quote from each.

Finding land on Imonga

Land listings in Lomé are grouped on the land for sale in Lomé page, and finished homes on houses for sale in Lomé. A listing is not proof of ownership: every plot you shortlist still goes through the état descriptif, the surveyor and the cadastre before any payment. For an overview of the city's market, see property in Lomé and property in Togo. Our guide to land status in Togo is available in French.

Frequently asked questions

Can I buy land in Lomé that has no land title?

Articles 161 and 162 of the Land Code require the land to be registered before it is sold, on pain of absolute nullity of the contract. In practice, the OTR describes a registration process that starts from a sale receipt. Before paying for an untitled plot, have the notary put in writing how the deal is structured, when registration will happen and who pays for it.

Can a foreigner buy land in Togo?

For companies, the OTR says a foreign company needs prior authorization, except French companies covered by the 1996 Franco-Togolese establishment agreement. The sources we consulted do not set out the conditions for a foreign individual. Ask the notary before paying anything, and ask for the reference of the text that applies to you.

Can I buy from abroad without travelling to Lomé?

The sale deed is still a notarial deed, and the checks happen on the ground: état descriptif, surveyor's report, cadastre check. A diaspora buyer therefore needs a representative. Ask the notary what form of mandate they accept, and pay into an identified account (the notary's, for example), never in cash to a middleman.

How long does a title transfer take?

In March 2019, Togo First reported an average of 7 days for a transfer, down from 10 days a year earlier. We found no more recent official figure. Since March 2025, a file is only processed once the fee provision has been paid, so an incomplete or unfunded file simply waits.

Who pays the fees, buyer or seller?

According to the Tsakadi notary office, the capital gains tax falls on the seller: 7% with no allowance for a property acquired less than 5 years earlier, with an allowance for a property held more than 5 years. For other costs (transfer duty, boundary survey, professional fees), the sources we consulted set no split. It is negotiated, and it should be written into the sale deed, with amounts, before signing.

Rules differ in other countries of the region: see our guides for Cotonou, Abidjan and Dakar.

Sources

• Cabinet immobilier Dalmas (GoAfrica): text of Articles 161 and 162 of the Land Code. Accessed 30 October 2026.
• Afrik.com, 16 November 2018: reading of Articles 161 and 162 (no sale of unregistered property). Accessed 30 October 2026.
• republicoftogo.com, 28 November 2024: registration steps per the OTR cadastre director, effect of a land title, application numbers. Accessed 30 October 2026.
• Office of notary Komi Tsakadi: Article 26 of Law No. 2001-009, checks, steps, boundary survey rates, transfer duty, capital gains. Accessed 30 October 2026.
• First News Media (OTR webinar, 18 June 2026): 35,000 FCFA fixed duty, registration fees up to 1.5%, rules for companies. Accessed 30 October 2026.
• Togo First, 29 March 2019: flat fee replacing 4% of market value, average transfer time, 2019 état descriptif fee. Accessed 30 October 2026.
• Togo First, 18 February 2025: mandatory advance fee provision since 1 March 2025. Accessed 30 October 2026.
• Togo First, 26 May 2025: georeferencing of pre-2007 titles, cost, NUP since 1 August 2024. Accessed 30 October 2026.
• Togonews via AllAfrica, 18 August 2026: online filing of plot plans through the one-stop land desk. Accessed 30 October 2026.