Real estate in Korhogo (Côte d'Ivoire): buying land or renting, what the law says

Korhogo is the chief town of the Poro region in Côte d'Ivoire. To buy urban land there, the title to aim for is the arrêté de concession définitive (ACD, final concession order): outside the Autonomous District of Abidjan, the prefect issues it, by delegation from the minister in charge of Construction and Urban Planning. Land held under an ACD is resold by authentic deed. For renting, a residential lease must be in writing, and the advance and deposit are capped. We found no sourced price per square metre or rent for Korhogo, so this guide gives none and says who to ask.

Buying land in Korhogo: the ACD, signed by the prefect

On urban land, the ACD is what makes you the owner. Côte d'Ivoire's Urban Planning and Urban Land Code (Law No. 2020-624 of 14 August 2020, amended by Law No. 2024-351 of 6 June 2024) provides in Article 220, as presented by the Ivorian legal site Loidici, that full ownership of urban land registered in the name of the State is conferred by the ACD, issued by the minister in charge of Construction and Urban Planning. Article 221 of the same code, reproduced in the chapter on land acquisition, adds that the ACD may be issued by prefects, by delegation of power from the minister.

Korhogo falls under that second case. Under Articles 3 and 4 of Decree No. 2021-785 of 8 December 2021, quoted by Loidici, the minister issues the ACD in the Autonomous District of Abidjan; for urban land located outside it, the prefect issues the ACD “by delegation of power from the Minister in charge of Construction and Urban Planning” (our translation). Every application includes a technical file whose content is set by ministerial order.

Article 220 sets three conditions:

• an application with a technical file, lodged with the ministry's competent services;
• payment of the sale price, under the tariff of the advisory commission that sets transfer prices;
• payment of the land title establishment tax, assessed on the market value of the land.

These texts give no amount applicable to Korhogo. Ask the services of the ministry in charge of Construction that cover your plot for a written statement before paying anything. One last point from Article 224: the ACD is in principle issued on plots that come from an approved subdivision (lotissement approuvé). As a general rule, a plot outside any approved subdivision does not lead to an ACD. Have a notary confirm the status of your plot.

Before you pay: the papers to check

The paper the seller shows you tells you where the land stands. The table sums up what each document establishes, based on the Ivorian texts and the sources cited in this section.

ACD: publication in the Land Register

An ACD is checked against the Land Register (Livre foncier). Article 222 of the code, as worded by Law No. 2024-351 of 6 June 2024 and reproduced by Loidici, provides that the ACD is published in the Land Register. Article 223 adds that plots taken out of the State's private domain by an ACD may be transferred, and states: “The transfer is made by authentic deed” (our translation of « La cession se fait par acte authentique »). A certificate of transfer of land ownership is then issued by the Registrar of Land Ownership and Mortgages.

In practice, that deed is signed at a notary's office. The Minister of Construction put it this way to Fraternité Matin on 9 December 2021: “After the ACD, the transfer of the land is not done with us (at the ministry). It is done before a notary” (our translation). A receipt from a démarcheur (informal broker) or a private agreement does not replace that deed. Ask the notary for a written quote covering fees and duties: see our article on purchase costs, notary fees and registration.

ADU and village attestation

A village attestation is no longer enough. According to Fraternité Matin of 2 July 2024, the customary right of use attestation (ADU) now replaces the village attestation, and it is produced by the land administration with a unique land identifier for Côte d'Ivoire (Idufci). The minister asked the public to require the ADU for every land transaction from 1 July 2024. Holders of an old-format village attestation had to file their ACD application with the land one-stop shop (Guichet unique du foncier) before 1 January 2025, with later applications due to be rejected. The code is blunt about the weight of such rights (Article 272): “The existence of customary rights over a plot does not amount to ownership” (our translation).

Rural land around Korhogo

Land in the rural land domain follows a different text. Law No. 98-750 of 23 December 1998, amended by Law No. 2019-868 of 14 October 2019 (new Article 4, reproduced by Loidici), provides that ownership of land in the rural land domain is established from the registration of that land in the land register, and that, in the customary domain, customary rights are recorded by the land certificate. Before buying a field or an orchard, have a notary or a lawyer determine whether the land is urban or rural. Our guide to land checks before buying a plot and our article on property scams set out the habits to adopt.

Renting in Korhogo: what Ivorian law provides

A residential lease must be in writing, in Korhogo as in the rest of Côte d'Ivoire. The page “Demander un bail à usage d'habitation et professionnel” on the servicepublic.gouv.ci portal, consulted on 9 October 2026, refers to Article 414 of Law No. 2019-576 of 26 June 2019 establishing the Construction and Housing Code: the contract is written, for a fixed or an indefinite term.

On the money asked for at move-in, the same servicepublic.gouv.ci page, consulted on 9 October 2026, reads: « Le bailleur ne peut exiger le paiement de plus de deux mois de loyer d'avance et de caution au candidat à la location » (the landlord may not require payment of more than two months' rent in advance and deposit from the applicant). It adds that breaching this rule is a criminal offence punished by a fine of 200.000 F.CFA. Check the penalty currently in force with a lawyer, as tax laws may have changed it.

The page also states that the landlord carries out major repairs unless the tenant is at fault, that the rent may be revised every three years, and that a tenant who does not pay the rent can only be evicted after a court decision. Insist on a signed lease and a receipt for every sum paid. For the rest (inventory of fixtures, notice), see our article on leases, deposits and notice, and have a lawyer review any unusual contract.

Korhogo in figures, and why we give no prices

Korhogo is a large urban centre. According to the portal of the Directorate General of the Economy, which cites INS (ANStat) and the 2021 census (RGPH 2021), consulted on 9 October 2026: Korhogo (chief town) has 440 926 inhabitants and 81 738 households, an average of 5.4 people per household. The Korhogo department has 748 393 inhabitants and the Poro region 1 040 461.

The same portal of the Directorate General of the Economy describes Korhogo as the capital of national cotton production and a livestock centre. It lists the Peleforo Gon Coulibaly public university, the only public university in the region, and a 340 ha industrial zone in the department, of which 224 ha is land reserve (2022 figure from the ministry in charge of Industry).

We found no official source that publishes a price per square metre or a rent for Korhogo, and no Imonga listing data for the city was available for this article as of 9 October 2026. So we write no figure. To gauge a price, compare several offers within the same subdivision, ask the seller for the number of the ACD or ADU, and ask a notary about recent sales. To compare with other Ivorian cities, see our guides to Bouaké, Yamoussoukro and Abidjan.

Frequently asked questions

Who signs the ACD for land in Korhogo?

The prefect. Decree No. 2021-785 of 8 December 2021 (Articles 3 and 4) provides that the minister issues the ACD in the Autonomous District of Abidjan and that, for urban land outside it, the prefect issues it by delegation of power from the minister in charge of Construction and Urban Planning. A notary can confirm the route that applies to your plot.

Can you buy on a village attestation alone?

No. According to Fraternité Matin of 2 July 2024, the ADU has replaced the village attestation, and the minister asked that it be required for every transaction from 1 July 2024. Article 272 of the Urban Planning and Urban Land Code states that customary rights over a plot do not amount to ownership. See a notary before you pay.

Do you need a notary to buy land held under an ACD?

Yes. Article 223 of the Urban Planning and Urban Land Code, as amended by Law No. 2024-351 of 6 June 2024, provides that the transfer is made by authentic deed, and the Minister of Construction recalled in December 2021 that it is done before a notary. The certificate of transfer is then issued by the Registrar of Land Ownership.

What does land or rent cost in Korhogo?

None of the official sources we consulted publishes a price per square metre or a rent for Korhogo, and we do not invent one. Prices are negotiated plot by plot. Compare several offers in the same subdivision, check the title shown (ACD or ADU) and ask a notary what recent sales look like.

These rules apply to Côte d'Ivoire only: they differ in other countries, as our guide to land status in Togo shows.

Sources

• Loidici, Urban Land Code, chapter 3 (acquisition of ownership of ordinary State land): Articles 217 to 224, ACD, delegation to prefects, approved subdivision. Consulted on 9 October 2026.
• Loidici, Article 220 of Law No. 2020-624 of 14 August 2020: full ownership conferred by the ACD and the three conditions for issue. Consulted on 9 October 2026.
• Loidici, Law No. 2024-351 of 6 June 2024 amending the Urban Planning and Urban Land Code: Articles 222, 223 and 272. Consulted on 9 October 2026.
• Loidici, which authority issues the ACD: Articles 3 and 4 of Decree No. 2021-785 of 8 December 2021. Consulted on 9 October 2026.
• Loidici, Law No. 2019-868 of 14 October 2019 amending Law No. 98-750 on the rural land domain: new Article 4, registration and land certificate. Consulted on 9 October 2026.
• servicepublic.gouv.ci, residential and professional lease: written lease, cap on advance and deposit, fine, eviction only by court decision. Consulted on 9 October 2026.
• Fraternité Matin, 2 July 2024: the ADU replaces the village attestation, Idufci, 1 January 2025 deadline. Consulted on 9 October 2026.
• Fraternité Matin, 9 December 2021: after the ACD, the transfer is done before a notary. Consulted on 9 October 2026.
• Directorate General of the Economy, Poro region profile: 2021 census population, households, economy, university, industrial zone. Consulted on 9 October 2026.