Property brokers and introducers in West Africa: status, rules and first steps

This guide is for people who bring buyers and sellers, landlords and tenants together without necessarily running an agency: brokers, introducers, and the informal fixers who want to put their work on a proper footing. It sets out the commercial intermediary status created by the OHADA Uniform Act, then what each country adds on top, citing the text and the article each time. This is not a job advert: imonga does not hire you and pays you no commission. It is an invitation to open a free professional account and present your business. The estate agent's trade as a whole, and how an agency is organised, have their own pages; this one is about intermediation itself.

Broker, introducer, commission agent, commercial agent: what is the difference?

OHADA law groups these trades under one heading, the commercial intermediary. The Uniform Act on General Commercial Law of 15 December 2010 defines it as a natural or legal person who has the power to act, or intends to act, habitually and professionally on behalf of someone else in order to conclude a commercial legal act with a third party (Article 169) [1]. It then recognises three types.

• The broker puts people in touch with each other so as to make it easier for them, or possible for them, to reach an agreement (Article 208) [1]. A broker does not sign for the client; the job is to connect, inform and organise.
• The commission agent concludes the deal in his or her own name but on behalf of the principal (Article 192) [1]. This is uncommon in property.
• The commercial agent is a professional representative instructed on a permanent basis to negotiate on behalf of one or more principals, without an employment contract (Article 216) [1].

The Uniform Act has no article on the "introducer" or "business finder" as such. In practice, someone who passes on a property or a client in return for a share of the fee is brokering: they are putting people in touch. Once they do it regularly, they fall within Article 169 and take on the duties that come with it. Nor does the street word for a fixer carry any legal meaning of its own. What matters is what the person actually does, and how often.

Article 3 of the same Act lists among commercial acts by nature "intermediary operations for the purchase, subscription, sale or letting of immovable property" (our translation of the French text) [1]. Under OHADA law, then, matching people in property deals for a fee is a commercial activity.

Commercial intermediary status across the OHADA area

Article 170 is brief and far-reaching: the commercial intermediary is a trader ("commerçant") [1]. It must meet Articles 6 to 12 on legal capacity, incompatibilities and bans. The same article allows each category of intermediary to be given extra conditions, which is how individual states come to require a card or a licence.

No national statute is needed to bring these rules into force. The OHADA Treaty provides that uniform acts are directly applicable and binding in the member states, notwithstanding any contrary provision of domestic law (Article 10) [2]. Togo, Senegal, Benin and Côte d'Ivoire are all member states.

Who may not trade. Article 9 bars civil servants and staff of public bodies, notaries, lawyers, bailiffs and other officers of the court, and chartered accountants from commercial activity [1]. A government employee who "sorts out" lettings at weekends cannot do so as a business. Article 8 adds that there is no incompatibility unless a text creates one [1].

Bans. A final sentence of at least three months' unsuspended imprisonment for an offence against property, or for an economic or financial offence, closes the door to trading (Article 10) [1].

Registration. A sole trader must apply to the Trade and Movable Property Credit Register (RCCM) within the first month of trading (Article 44) [1]. Until registered, they cannot rely on their status as a trader (Article 60) [1], which makes it harder to sue for an unpaid fee.

The "entreprenant" option. The Act also offers a lighter status. The entreprenant is a self-employed individual who trades on a simple declaration and is exempt from RCCM registration while turnover stays below the thresholds set by OHADA accounting law (Article 30) [1]. They keep a day-by-day book of income and spending, recording cash separately from other payments (Article 31) [1]. Each state sets the tax and social security incentives. Bear in mind that where national law requires a card or licence for property intermediation, a simple entreprenant declaration does not replace it.

What the law expects of a broker during a deal

The Uniform Act gives brokers specific duties that apply in every member state.

Independence. A broker must remain independent of the parties and confine the role to putting them in touch and organising the steps towards agreement. A broker may not take part in the agreement personally without the parties' consent (Article 209) [1].

Information. The broker must give the parties all the information they need to consent freely and with full knowledge (Article 210) [1]. Knowingly presenting one side as having qualities it lacks (a seller who does not own the plot, a buyer without the money) makes the broker liable for the loss.

No dealing on one's own account. A broker may not carry out commercial transactions for themselves, directly, indirectly or through a front (Article 211) [1]. Spotting a cheap plot and buying it yourself instead of showing it to your client is ruled out.

The mandate. Relations between the intermediary and the client are governed by the law of agency (Article 175) [1]. OHADA imposes no particular form: the mandate may be written or oral and can be proved by any means (Article 176) [1]. A written mandate is still the safest course, and some countries insist on one for property: in Benin, an estate agent's mandate must be registered and entered in a register of mandates, or it is void [3].

Limits of authority. Without specific authority, the intermediary cannot sell or charge immovable property, or settle a dispute (Article 178) [1]. Acts beyond that authority bind no one, and the intermediary must compensate the third party who relied on them (Articles 183 and 185) [1].

Accounting to the client. The intermediary performs the mandate personally unless allowed otherwise (Article 182) and must account for it at any time on request (Article 187) [1].

Commission: who pays, when it is earned, how it is lost

Under OHADA law a broker is paid a percentage of the value of the transaction (Article 212) [1]. The same article settles the question that causes most rows:

• if only the seller gave instructions, the buyer cannot be made to pay any part of the commission, which comes out of the agreed price;
• if only the buyer gave instructions, the buyer pays it on top of the price;
• if both did, they share it in proportions agreed with the broker [1].

When it is earned. The broker is entitled to payment once the lead or the negotiation results in a concluded contract. Where the sale depends on a condition precedent, such as a mortgage offer or a land title still to be issued, payment falls due only once the condition is met (Article 213) [1]. Expenses are refunded without a sale only if that was agreed. Where no figure was agreed, the customary scale applies, failing which custom (Article 214) [1].

When it is lost. A broker forfeits both fee and expenses by acting for the other side against the client's interests, or by taking money from the other party without the client knowing (Article 215) [1]. The undisclosed double fee, common in lettings, is precisely what this targets.

National caps. Some countries limit the amount. In Benin, where the agent merely introduces the parties to a tenancy, the commission may not exceed 50 per cent of one month's rent; it is payable only if the agent proves that the introduction was decisive; and where several intermediaries were involved, only the one through whom the deal was finally concluded is paid (Articles 29, 30 and 32 of Law No. 2018-12 of 2 July 2018) [3]. A judge may cut the fee if the parties ended up negotiating directly (Article 33) [3]. In Côte d'Ivoire, a single scale of fees is set by decree (Article 481 of the Construction and Housing Code) [4], and on 19 December 2024 the Council of Ministers adopted a decree setting fees for estate agencies and property brokers [5]. The rates in that decree are not verified yet: the published text could not be found.

Côte d'Ivoire: a licensed status for property brokers

Of the four countries, Côte d'Ivoire regulates brokers most closely. The Construction and Housing Code (Law No. 2019-576 of 26 June 2019) gives them a whole sub-title [4] [5].

Definition. A property broker ("courtier en immobilier") is an independent natural person who carries out operations on other people's property: buying, selling and letting land and buildings, and transactions on business assets (Article 475) [4]. A company cannot be a broker; it falls under the agency regime instead.

Eligibility. The Code requires Ivorian nationality, a minimum age of 21, the baccalauréat or an equivalent level, and no final prison sentence for a crime or offence against honour or probity (Article 476) [4].

Licence and card. A broker may operate only under an authorisation from the minister responsible for housing, and is issued a personal professional card showing the authorisation number and date (Article 477) [4]. The work cannot be combined with paid public employment (Article 478) [4].

Working under an agency. This is what sets the Ivorian broker apart. Brokers work under the cover and financial guarantee of a licensed estate agency, which takes responsibility for the transactions (Article 479) [4]. Deeds, contracts and payments on business the broker brings in are made in the agency's name, and the agency issues the receipts. The agency pays the broker a share of its fees, net of tax, once the deal goes through, and that share is due within three days of the agency receiving its fee (Articles 490 and 491) [4].

Losing the card. The card is withdrawn automatically if the broker closes a deal alone without an agency, takes money and issues receipts in their own or an owner's name, lends the card to anyone even briefly, or strays beyond the permitted operations (Article 480) [4].

Penalties. Practising without authorisation, even as a sideline, carries 15 days to 12 months in prison and a fine of 200,000 to 2,000,000 francs, or either penalty (Article 546) [4]. A disciplinary committee can issue a warning or reprimand, suspend for up to a year, or withdraw the card (Articles 494 and 495) [4].

Applying. The government portal servicepublic.gouv.ci sets out the procedure for practising as an estate agent with the Housing Directorate (financial guarantee of 2,000,000 CFA francs, fee of 100,000 CFA francs), but it never mentions brokers and still cites a 1979 decree that the Code says it repeals [6] [4]. The fee, timescale and document list for a broker's authorisation are therefore not verified yet; check with the housing ministry before applying.

Benin: introducing deals without a card is an offence

In Benin, Law No. 2018-12 of 2 July 2018 on residential tenancies regulates the estate agent, whom it treats as the intermediary who habitually takes part in property transactions [3]. There is no separate broker status, but the law is plain about what an unlicensed intermediary risks.

The card comes first. Practising requires Beninese nationality, eligibility to trade, entry in the register of estate agents kept by the minister responsible for housing, a professional card from the same ministry, and professional risk insurance (Article 21) [3].

Helpers. The agent carries out the work personally but may bring in any colleague or runner ("coursier") of their choosing (Article 27) [3]. An introducer can therefore work alongside a card-holding agent.

Where it stops. That does not give the helper the right to negotiate alone. Article 34 fines anyone who habitually carries out property transactions without a card, even as a sideline, between 50,000 and 1,000,000 CFA francs (rising to 500,000 to 2,000,000 CFA francs and ten days to two years in prison for a repeat offence). It adds that the same penalties apply to anyone who, without being authorised, negotiates, acts as go-between or makes commitments on behalf of a card holder [3]. An introducer who haggles over rent or promises a flat on an agent's behalf without authority is exposed.

Money. The agent may not accept any sum beyond what the parties agreed to (Article 31) [3]. Unagreed "viewing fees" have no basis in this law.

Togo and Senegal: where the law stands

Togo. On 10 June 2026 the government's official portal stated that there is no clear legal framework governing the estate agent profession, leading to informal practices, fraud and mistrust among buyers and sellers [7]. On 1 June 2026 the minister responsible for urban development had announced that a law regulating the profession was being prepared [8]. No adopted text had been found when this page was written, and no conditions for brokers or introducers have been published. Meanwhile OHADA law applies: a habitual intermediary is a trader, registers with the RCCM and follows Articles 208 to 215 on brokerage [1]. GIABA, the ECOWAS body that fights money laundering, noted in 2024 that the estate agent profession in Togo is not even regulated and that many deals there are settled in cash [9].

Senegal. Law No. 1982-07 of 30 June 1982 covers property development, transactions and management. Its explanatory memorandum promised entry conditions, financial guarantees and professional liability insurance, to rein in outfits that lacked the necessary competence and honesty [10]. The articles of the law as enacted could not be read on the official portal, which holds only a scan, so the age, card and guarantee required of a transaction intermediary are not verified yet. Senegal's anti-money-laundering law, by contrast, names "estate agents and brokers in immovable property" among the professions it covers [11].

Money laundering rules that reach brokers too

Across WAEMU (UEMOA), anti-money-laundering law rests on a shared model that each state writes into its own law. On 31 March 2023 the Council of Ministers adopted a new directive and a draft uniform law on money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing, and asked each state to transpose them [12]. Those subject to the rules fall into three groups, one of which is designated non-financial businesses and professions [12].

In Senegal, Law No. 2018-03 of 28 February 2018 lists estate agents and brokers in immovable property among those professions [11]. Among other things it requires them:

• to get to know a client before starting a business relationship (Article 19);
• to identify the parties whenever they carry out, oversee or advise on a property sale (Article 45);
• to see that the price of a sale above a threshold set by the authorities is paid by transfer or cheque (Article 14);
• to report to CENTIF, the national financial intelligence unit, any transaction they suspect comes from crime (Article 79) [11].

Senegal has since passed a new law on the same subject, Law No. 2024-08 of 14 February 2024, published in Official Gazette No. 7716 of 20 March 2024 [13]. The 2024 text could not be read (the file is a scan), so the detail of brokers' current duties is not verified yet.

In Togo, the National Assembly passed a new law at the end of December 2025, built on a risk-based approach and tightening the identification of beneficial owners [14]. Its list of covered professions is not verified yet. GIABA ran a national workshop for estate agents in Lomé from 21 to 24 October 2024, describing real estate as the most exposed sector [9].

Cash and reporting thresholds are set by BCEAO instruction or by national authorities and are not given here, since no such text was read. For a broker, the working rule is straightforward: record who the parties are, refuse to handle large sums in cash, and never lend your name to someone else's deal.

Other countries

Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Cameroon, Gabon. All are OHADA member states [2], so the intermediary status, brokerage rules and commission rules above apply there directly [1]. In Burkina Faso, the National Assembly has published the explanatory memorandum to the bill transposing the 2023 WAEMU directive [12]. No national rule specific to property brokers was found in any of these countries: not verified yet.

Guinea. Not verified yet.

Morocco. Morocco does not apply OHADA law, and no primary text on property intermediaries was read for this page: not verified yet.

Kenya. The trade is restricted to registered practitioners: only agents registered with the Estate Agents Registration Board and holding a current annual practising certificate may act, and the Board gives the registration fee as 1,000 Kenyan shillings [15].

Getting started legally, step by step

1. Check nothing rules you out. No public employment, no incompatible profession, no conviction that bars you from trading [1].
2. Pick your legal form. A sole trader registered with the RCCM, or an entreprenant declaration if your business is small and your country does not demand a card [1].
3. Register at your country's business desk. - Togo: at the Business Formalities Centre (CFE), an individual provides the declaration form, an identity document, a sworn statement of no criminal record, a photo and a hand-drawn location map. The listed fee is 25,400 CFA francs for nationals and ECOWAS citizens and 30,400 CFA francs for others, with an average turnaround of four hours [16]. - Benin: APIEx's monentreprise.bj platform lists 10,000 CFA francs and three working hours for a sole proprietorship, and issues the RCCM extract, the tax identification (IFU) certificate and the legal notice [17]. To act as an intermediary you then need entry in the estate agents' register and the housing ministry's card [3]. - Côte d'Ivoire: you need the housing minister's authorisation and a broker's card, then an arrangement with a licensed agency that covers you [4]. Business registration fees at the one-stop shop are not verified yet. - Senegal: registration fees and timescales not yet verified against an official source.
4. Put mandates in writing. OHADA accepts oral mandates, but a written one stating who pays, how much and when will protect you [1].
5. Keep your books. An income and spending book for an entreprenant, full accounts for a registered trader [1].
6. Make yourself findable. Once you are compliant, show your business where clients look, with your card or RCCM number.

The mistakes that cost most

• Collecting money for the owner. In Côte d'Ivoire, taking payment and issuing a receipt in your own name costs you the card automatically [4]. Elsewhere it invites disputes and money laundering suspicion.
• Drafting the deed yourself. In Côte d'Ivoire, deeds transferring rights in land, leases over ten years and anything subject to land registration must be executed before a notary (Article 460) [4]. A broker sets up the meeting; a broker does not replace the notary.
• Promising what the client never authorised. Acting without authority leaves the deal unenforceable and makes you liable to the other side [1].
• Taking secret fees from both sides. This is the statutory ground for losing your commission [1].
• Negotiating for an agent without authority. In Benin it is punished in the same way as practising without a card [3].
• Claiming a fee with no evidence. Without a written mandate or a record of your involvement, proving that you brought the parties together is hard, and Benin's law requires proof that your part was decisive [3].

What imonga offers

This is not a job advert. imonga does not employ brokers or introducers: the platform invites professionals to sign up so they can present their business, list properties or services and receive enquiries from private clients, in Africa and across the diaspora. Creating an account and a profile is free; the terms for listings are set out on the Pricing page. You remain independent, you set your own fees, and you remain bound by the rules of your country described above.

For an intermediary, the profile is where you show your RCCM or card number and, where relevant, the agency that covers you: that is what separates you from an unlicensed fixer. Create my professional account.

Frequently asked questions

Does an introducer need to register as a business?

If you bring parties together regularly and for a fee, yes. OHADA law treats a commercial intermediary as a trader, who must register with the RCCM within the first month of trading, or file an entreprenant declaration while turnover stays below the thresholds [1]. A one-off introduction does not make you a trader.

Who pays a broker's commission?

Whoever gave the instructions. If only the seller instructed you, the buyer cannot be charged any part of it; if only the buyer did, the buyer pays it on top of the price; if both did, they split it as agreed with you (Article 212 of the Uniform Act) [1].

Do I need a card to work as a property broker in Côte d'Ivoire?

Yes. A property broker works under an authorisation from the minister responsible for housing and holds a personal professional card, operating under the cover and financial guarantee of a licensed agency. Practising without authorisation carries 15 days to 12 months in prison and a fine of 200,000 to 2,000,000 francs [4].

In Benin, can I work with an estate agent without my own card?

You can act as a colleague or runner for a card-holding agent, as the law lets the agent take on helpers. But negotiating, acting as go-between or making commitments on the agent's behalf without being authorised attracts the same fines as practising without a card, from 50,000 to 1,000,000 CFA francs [3].

Is there a law on property brokers in Togo?

No specific law has been adopted yet. In June 2026 the government acknowledged that there was no clear legal framework and announced a law on the estate agent profession [7] [8]. The OHADA rules on commercial intermediaries and brokerage already apply [1].

When is my fee due if the sale depends on a mortgage?

Only once that condition is met. Under OHADA law a broker's fee is earned when the introduction or negotiation leads to a concluded contract, but where the contract is subject to a condition precedent, the fee is due only after the condition is fulfilled [1].

Does signing up to imonga mean I am being recruited?

No. imonga signs no employment contract and pays no salary or commission. You open a free professional account to present your business and receive enquiries; you stay independent and bound by your country's rules, including the OHADA rules on brokerage [1].