Property manager and syndic: management mandates, tenancies, deposits and co-ownership

If you collect rent for landlords, draw up tenancy agreements, carry out check-in inspections, or a block of flats has appointed you as its syndic, this page is written for you. It brings together the written rules on letting management and on running a co-owned building in Togo, Senegal, Benin and Côte d'Ivoire. Sales and the running of an agency are covered on separate pages; this one deals with other people's money, the tenancy and the common parts.

Every rule is tied to an official text we have read, and anything we could not find in an official source is labelled 'not verified yet'. One point before you start: imonga has no property management vacancies and employs nobody. The page invites management professionals to open a free account on the platform so that landlords and owners' associations can find them.

Letting agent, property administrator, syndic: who does what?

The International Labour Organization's classification of occupations puts property managers in the same unit group as estate agents, 3334. The tasks it lists include drawing up leases, collecting rent and bond money on behalf of owners, inspecting properties before, during and after tenancies, and arranging maintenance [1].

The region's laws draw the same line between two jobs. The first is letting management: the professional runs a home 'in the name and on behalf of the landlord', as Benin's 2018 tenancy law puts it [2]. The second is the syndic: in a building split into units, the syndic is, under Côte d'Ivoire's Construction and Housing Code, 'a natural or legal person responsible for managing the co-ownership' [3].

The two roles overlap but are not the same. A letting manager works for one owner and deals with one tenant. A syndic works for a collective body, the owners' association, and answers to its general meeting. The Ivorian code lists both activities, alongside sales, among the operations reserved for licensed professionals: property management, acting as syndic for housing estates, and acting as syndic for co-owned buildings [3].

The management mandate: what it must say and in what form

Everything starts with the mandate the owner signs. Without one, you have no right to take a single month's rent.

Benin. Law No. 2018-12 of 2 July 2018 is the most detailed in the region. The mandate is drawn up in as many originals as there are parties, then registered, and each original carries its number in the register of mandates that the agent keeps; each of these steps is required on pain of the mandate being void [2]. It must state how you may receive funds, how you will account for them and how you are paid, naming who bears that cost [2]. It must be limited in time, again on pain of nullity, and any extension must be in writing [2]. The owner may revoke it, but only with thirty days' notice sent by recorded delivery or by bailiff [2].

Côte d'Ivoire. The agency must hold a written mandate setting out the scope of its tasks, its authority to receive money 'in the course of management' and the amount of its fee [3].

Togo and the OHADA framework. Togo's decree of 5 January 2022 says rent is paid to the landlord or to the landlord's duly authorised representative [4]. For business premises the OHADA Uniform Act uses the same wording [5]. Your mandate is what makes you that representative. We found no text in Togo or Senegal that sets the form of a management mandate, so this point is not verified yet.

One precaution holds everywhere: a written, dated mandate with an end date, which states plainly whether you may collect money, protects the owner as much as it protects you.

Drawing up the residential tenancy for the landlord

In all four countries a residential tenancy must be in writing.

• Benin: the tenancy agreement is written and signed by the parties or by their duly authorised representatives, in as many copies as there are parties; the state and the town halls supply standard forms [2].
• Côte d'Ivoire: the agreement is written and must be registered with the tax authority; within thirty days the landlord or the landlord's representative hands the tenant a copy of the registration [3]. The government has issued a secure model contract, sold among other places in the town halls of the Abidjan district and at the land registry's one-stop office [6].
• Togo: residential tenancies are written and must follow the standard contract drawn up by the housing ministry, available from town halls [4]. The ministry summed it up for the mayors of Greater Lomé: verbal tenancies are over [7].
• Senegal: Decree No. 2023-382 applies to residential tenancies governed by the Code of Civil and Commercial Obligations [8]. We have not read that code's articles on the form of a tenancy, so this is not verified yet.

Rent reviews. The caps differ sharply. In Benin a review clause cannot raise the rent by more than 2% of the initial annual amount [2]. In Côte d'Ivoire rent may be reviewed every three years, with at least three months' notice [3]. In Togo it may be reviewed every three years within a band of no more than 10% of the current rent [4]. In Senegal the 2023 decree cut residential rents from 1 March 2023: by 15% up to 300,000 CFA francs, by 10% from 300,001 to 500,000, and by 5% above that [8].

Banned clauses. Togo's decree treats unfair terms as unwritten, for instance a ban on the tenant having relatives to stay, or a clause making the tenant automatically liable for any damage [4]. The Ivorian code strikes out any clause requiring rent in advance or any payment other than the deposit [3]. Benin's law forbids refusing a tenant on grounds of origin, sex, religion or disability [2].

Deposits, guarantees and rent in advance: the caps in each country

This is the rule most often broken, and the one that exposes the manager most, since the manager is usually the person who takes the money.

Côte d'Ivoire. A landlord may not ask for more than two months' rent in advance, and the deposit may not exceed two months' rent [3]. The deposit earns no interest and must be returned within one month of the keys being handed back, less any sums owed and shown to be owed [3]. The government says the tax penalty for overcharging was raised to 300% of the excess by the 2020 finance annex [6].

Togo. The deposit is capped at three months' rent, and the rent guarantee, which covers arrears and above all the notice period, at a further three months [4]. An insurance policy or a bank guarantee can replace both. The deposit is returned against a receipt within one month of the keys coming back; after that it bears interest at the statutory rate [4]. A landlord who asks for more faces a fine of twice the unlawful excess [4]. The decree applies first to Greater Lomé [4], and in 2022 the government reported professionals saying the rules were still rarely applied [9].

Benin. The security may not exceed three months' rent, and the deposit paid when the keys are handed over equals three months [2]. It cannot be changed during the tenancy and covers damage, or arrears if the parties agree [2].

Senegal. For rents up to 500,000 CFA francs a month, the deposit is capped at two months; only one month is payable on moving in and the rest is spread over twelve months. Rent may not be paid in advance: it falls due at the end of each month of occupation [8]. Above 500,000 francs this decree sets no cap, so the rule there is not verified yet.

When the home is sold. In Côte d'Ivoire and Togo the new landlord must repay the deposit [3] [4]. In Benin, unless agreed otherwise, the tenant can claim it only from the original landlord [2]. A manager who takes over from another owner needs to know who is holding the deposit.

Inventories, rent receipts and the move-in statement

Three documents settle most disputes, and the manager is the person who produces them.

The inventory. In Benin it is drawn up jointly when the keys change hands, either privately or by a bailiff, and the check-in inventory is attached to the tenancy [2]. In Côte d'Ivoire it is compulsory at the start and the end of the tenancy, in the presence of the tenant or the tenant's representative, and an interim inspection is allowed [3]. In Togo it is drawn up by the parties or, failing that, by a recognised professional, with the cost split; without one, the tenant is presumed to have received the home in good repair [4].

The rent receipt. In Benin rent is paid to the landlord or the landlord's representative in return for a receipt [2]. In Côte d'Ivoire the landlord must issue one; if not, the tenant may prove payment by any means [3]. In Togo payment is made against a valid and final receipt [4]. The Ivorian code adds that every payment to an agency must be receipted at once, and that sums above 500,000 francs go by cheque or bank transfer [3].

The statement. The Ivorian code requires the move-in statement to show separately the rent and the period it covers, the deposit, disbursements and fees [3]. In Benin, before the first payment, the landlord gives the tenant a dated and signed breakdown of the rent [2].

Service charges. In Côte d'Ivoire only certain costs can be passed on to the tenant: the tenant's own energy and water, routine upkeep, minor repairs and taxes linked to use; where they are included in the rent, the tenant must be given the breakdown [3].

Your management fees: what the law caps

A manager's fee is free only within limits, and those limits vary a great deal between countries.

• Benin: when you run the home on the landlord's behalf, your monthly fee may not exceed 10% of the monthly rent. When you only introduce the parties, the letting fee may not exceed half a month's rent [2]. You may not take any sum beyond what the parties agreed [2].
• Senegal: for rents up to 500,000 CFA francs, agency and brokerage fees are cut to half a month's rent [8]. The decree says nothing about monthly management fees, so that is not verified yet.
• Togo: when a recognised professional negotiates and drafts the tenancy, the fee is shared equally between landlord and tenant [4]. No cap is set.
• Côte d'Ivoire: fees follow a single tariff set by decree and worked out under a joint order of the housing and economy ministers; they cover, among other things, inventories, property management and the management of co-owned buildings [3]. We have not read that order, so Ivorian rates are not verified yet. No fee is due on a deal made void through the agency's fault [3].

We publish no average income for the trade: we found no recent official statistic for these four countries.

Arrears, notice and the end of a tenancy: the procedure

Managing also means chasing arrears and, at times, going to court. None of the texts we read lets the manager evict anyone personally.

Benin. The forfeiture clause can only be used in cases the law lists: non-payment, repeated late payment, turning the home into business premises, illegal connection to the water or power network, and nuisance [2]. The process starts with a formal demand or a bailiff's summons; the tenant has one month to pay, then the urgent-applications judge rules within thirty days, and only a bailiff may carry out the eviction [2].

Côte d'Ivoire. The termination letter must be written and give reasons, and may be served by a judicial officer, by recorded delivery, by hand against signature, or by email if the parties have agreed to it; the other side has thirty days to challenge it [3]. Notice to repossess and the tenant's notice are both three months. The judge may grant a period of grace of up to three months [3].

Togo. Termination for arrears can begin one month after payments stop if the tenant does not top the rent guarantee back up; for a periodic tenancy, notice is two months [4].

Senegal. The procedural time limits for residential tenancies are set by the Code of Civil and Commercial Obligations, which we have not read, so they are not verified yet.

Wherever you work, keep a written record of every reminder you send: it is the first thing a judge will ask to see.

Shops, offices and warehouses: the OHADA business lease

A management portfolio often includes shops or offices. These leases fall outside the national housing laws, as Benin's law states in terms [2], and come under the OHADA Uniform Act on General Commercial Law, adopted in Lomé on 15 December 2010 and shared by the OHADA member states [5].

What a manager needs to know:

• a business lease may be written or oral; with no written agreement and no end date, it counts as a periodic lease [5];
• the parties set the rent freely; without written agreement, the court sets it, looking at location, floor area, condition and local rents [5];
• unless the lease says otherwise, any sub-letting is forbidden [5];
• a tenant who has traded from the premises for at least two years is entitled to a renewal of at least three years, and must ask for it no later than three months before expiry [5];
• a landlord who refuses renewal without serious grounds pays compensation for eviction [5];
• before any claim for termination, a formal notice gives the tenant one month to put things right [5].

Rent may be paid to the landlord or the landlord's duly authorised representative, including electronically [5].

The syndic of a co-owned building: who appoints one and what the job involves

As soon as a building is split into units held by different owners, all four countries provide for an owners' association and a syndic.

Côte d'Ivoire. A co-owned building has three bodies: the general meeting, the owners' council and the syndic [3]. The general meeting chooses the syndic from the list of syndics licensed by the housing minister, and the appointment is confirmed by ministerial order [3]. The syndic runs the meeting's secretariat, gives the building rules to owners and tenants, maintains the common parts, draws up the budget and keeps the accounts under the owners' council, which acts as auditor [3]. A syndic can be removed for good cause; mismanagement or fraud found by a court costs the licence and can lead to criminal charges [3]. The entry requirements for the profession are left to regulations we have not found, so they are not verified yet.

Senegal. Decree No. 2002-160 of 15 February 2002, made under Law No. 88-04 of 16 June 1988, allows any natural or legal person to act as syndic, with the selling body holding the role for as long as it still owns homes in the building [10]. The general meeting sets the syndic's pay. If no syndic is appointed, the court president names one on application [10]. Back in 2002 the government noted that in many estates the general meetings did not function and the common parts were poorly maintained [10].

Togo. The 2018 Land and State Property Code groups the owners into an association by operation of law; the syndic is appointed by majority vote or, failing that, by court order [11]. The syndic carries out the meeting's decisions and looks after the common parts, and may neither chair the meeting nor hold a proxy for an owner [11].

Benin. The Land and State Property Code gives the job of carrying out the meeting's decisions to a syndic appointed by the meeting, possibly overseen by an owners' council; failing that, a court appoints one [12]. The syndic runs the building, acts alone in an emergency and represents the association in court [12]. We read these articles in the 2013 version of the code, which was amended in 2017 on some sixty points, so the wording now in force is not verified yet.

Owners' money: budgets, calls for funds and a separate account

A syndic handles money that belongs to others. The texts in the region spell out how.

• Separate account. In Senegal, every sum received for the association must go without delay into a bank or postal account in the association's name, unless the meeting sets a ceiling [10]. In Côte d'Ivoire the syndic or the owners' council must open a separate bank account [3].
• Accounts per owner. In Senegal the syndic keeps separate books for each association, showing where every owner stands, and prepares a budget for the meeting to vote [10].
• Calls for funds. The Senegalese decree limits advances: as a rule a quarter of the budget at the start of the year, and in an emergency no more than a third of the estimate for the works [10].
• The syndic's share. In Côte d'Ivoire no more than 30% of contributions may go to the syndic's pay and to commissions and sundry support; the rest may only meet the building's needs [3]. Misusing contributions leads to the licence being withdrawn [3].
• Openness. Any Ivorian co-owner may inspect the accounting records and receipts [3].
• Unpaid charges. In Côte d'Ivoire the syndic sends a reminder and then starts enforced recovery [3]. In Benin the association's claims are secured by a charge on the defaulting owner's unit [12]. When a unit is sold, the syndic can block payment of the price to recover what is owed: within eight days of notice in Togo [11], and within fifteen days in Benin [12].
• Conflicts of interest. In Senegal any contract between the association and the syndic, the syndic's staff or relatives needs the general meeting's specific approval [10].

Working within the law: licences, cards and the grey areas

Benin. Property management is one of the regulated property operations. To carry it out you must be a Beninese national, entered in the register of estate agents kept by the housing minister, hold a professional card and carry professional liability insurance [2]. Working without a card is punishable by a fine of 50,000 to 1,000,000 CFA francs, with heavier penalties for repeat offences [2].

Côte d'Ivoire. Property management and acting as syndic are reserved to agencies licensed by the housing minister, headed by a property administrator with the required qualifications and experience [3]. The agency must open a bank account used only for client money [3]. Websites offering rentals in Côte d'Ivoire must also be licensed [3]. Working without a licence carries 15 days to 12 months in prison and a fine of 200,000 to 2,000,000 francs [3]. The government's services portal describes filing the application at the land and housing one-stop office for a fee of 100,000 CFA francs; that page dates from 2016, before the current code [13].

Togo. In June 2026 the government wrote that there is no clear legal framework for the estate agency profession [14], and announced a law on the profession that is still being drafted [15]. As far as we know no card is required to manage lettings, but this is not verified yet.

Senegal. We found no text requiring a card or licence for letting management or for acting as syndic, so this is not verified yet.

Anti-money laundering. Across the eight WAEMU countries, Directive No. 02/2015/CM/UEMOA lists among the bodies it covers 'property companies and estate agents, including letting agents' [16]. A manager who collects rent must therefore identify clients and report suspicious transactions to the national financial intelligence unit, the CENTIF [16].

Other countries. For Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Cameroon, Gabon, Guinea, Morocco and Kenya we have not yet read an official text specific to letting management or syndics, so these are not verified yet. Depending on the country, the OHADA Uniform Act on business leases and, within WAEMU, the anti-money-laundering directive still apply.

Showing your management business on imonga

This is not a job offer. imonga does not hire property managers or syndics: the platform invites professionals to sign up so they can present their business, list their properties or services and receive enquiries from private clients, in Africa and across the diaspora. Opening 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.

A manager's profile can describe the services on offer (letting management, inventories, syndic work) and the towns covered, which matters most to owners living abroad. To start: create your professional account.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a professional card to manage lettings?

It depends on the country. In Benin, yes: property management requires entry in the register of estate agents, a professional card and insurance [2]. In Côte d'Ivoire you need a licence from the housing minister [3]. In Togo the government says no clear legal framework exists yet [14]. For Senegal the rule is not verified yet.

How large a deposit can a landlord ask for?

In Togo, at most three months' deposit and three months' rent guarantee, in Greater Lomé [4]. In Côte d'Ivoire, at most two months' deposit and two months' rent in advance [3]. In Benin, three months [2]. In Senegal, two months for rents up to 500,000 CFA francs, of which only one is paid on moving in [8].

How quickly must the deposit be returned?

In Côte d'Ivoire and Togo, within one month of the keys being returned, less any sums owed and proven [3] [4]. In Togo a late refund bears interest at the statutory rate in the tenant's favour [4].

What fee can a manager charge in Benin?

No more than 10% of the monthly rent when managing the home on the landlord's behalf, and no more than half a month's rent when simply introducing the parties [2].

Who can act as syndic of a co-owned building?

In Côte d'Ivoire, only a syndic on the housing minister's list of licensed syndics, chosen by the general meeting [3]. In Senegal, any natural or legal person, with the selling body acting as syndic while it still owns homes in the building [10]. In Togo, the person appointed by majority vote or, failing that, by the court [11].

Can a manager evict a tenant who does not pay?

No. In Benin only a bailiff may carry out an eviction, after a court decision [2]. In Côte d'Ivoire eviction is sought from the urgent-applications judge, who may grant up to three months' grace [3].

Is signing up on imonga a job?

No. imonga does not recruit or employ property managers. It offers professionals a free account to present their services; the terms for listings are on the Pricing page.