Relocation and concierge services: status, furnished lets, tourism and residence

This page is for professionals who help expatriates settle in (finding a home, paperwork, the first weeks on the ground) and for those who run furnished homes on behalf of owners who live elsewhere: key handover, cleaning, guest welcome, listings. It covers Togo, Senegal, Benin and Côte d'Ivoire first. None of the texts read for it creates a legal status of its own for a "concierge service" or a "relocation agent": the rules come from what you actually do, which means company status, letting on behalf of others, tourist accommodation and the residence of foreign nationals. Each rule points to the official text that carries it, and anything we could not read in an official source is marked "not verified yet". This is not a job offer: imonga hires no one, and invites concierge and relocation firms to open a free professional account.

Relocation and concierge services: two neighbouring trades, one client

The word "concierge" covers two different things. The International Labour Organization's classification of occupations files the building concierge under unit group 5153, building caretakers, whose tasks include small services for absent tenants such as taking in deliveries or answering callers [1]. In West African cities the word more often means a small firm that runs furnished flats let by the night or the week for an owner who lives abroad or in another town: preparing the flat, welcoming guests, cleaning, laundry, small repairs, collecting payments.

Relocation is about a person or a family moving to a country: finding a home, viewings, negotiating the lease, connecting utilities, school places, appointments for a residence permit. The client is often an employer posting a member of staff, an international organisation, or a diaspora household coming home. The ILO classification has no group for the relocation agent: the word does not appear in its text [1].

Both trades deal with other people's homes and other people's money. That is where the rules lie, far more than in any professional title. In none of the four countries did we find a text that reserves the name of concierge service or relocation agent. No official list of regulated professions confirms that absence, so it stays "not verified yet".

Which legal status: sole trader under declaration or registered trader?

All four countries apply OHADA commercial law. The Uniform Act on General Commercial Law of 15 December 2010 treats "the hiring out of movable goods" and acting as an intermediary in the sale or letting of buildings as commercial acts by nature [2]. More broadly it covers any service supplied with the aim of making a financial profit [2]. Whoever does this for a living is a trader and must apply to the Trade and Personal Property Credit Register (RCCM) within the first month of business [2].

The same Act gives small outfits a lighter route, the status of entreprenant: a sole trader who works on a simple declaration and is exempt from RCCM registration [2]. The declaration is filed free of charge with the court registry or the body the state designates, and trading may only begin once the declaration number has been received; that number goes on every invoice with the words "Entreprenant dispensé d'immatriculation" [2]. The status lasts while turnover stays below the thresholds of the OHADA accounting Act; if it goes above them two years running, the business moves to the ordinary regime [2]. Each state sets its own tax and social security incentives for the entreprenant [2].

Two bookkeeping duties speak directly to concierge work. The entreprenant keeps a daily book of money in and money out, showing cash payments apart from all others, and holds it for at least five years [2]. Anyone who supplies accommodation also keeps a yearly register of purchases [2]. The Act names "supplying accommodation" among the activities that count towards turnover [2].

For nationals of another WAEMU (UEMOA) country, the Union treaty guarantees the right of establishment: access to self-employment and the right to set up and run a business on the terms the host country applies to its own nationals [3]. An Ivorian can therefore open a concierge firm in Lomé on the same footing as a Togolese, within the limits of public order, public security and public health set by the treaty [3].

Setting up the business: one-stop shops, documents and published fees

Togo. The business formalities centre (CFE) in Lomé asks an individual for a completed questionnaire, an identity document (national ID card, consular card for ECOWAS nationals, passport for everyone else), a sworn statement of no criminal conviction, a photo and a hand-drawn location plan [4]. Foreign nationals add a copy of their residence document, whether a residence card, a certificate of residence or a visa [4]. The published fee is 25,400 CFA francs for Togolese and ECOWAS nationals and 30,400 CFA francs for other foreigners, with an average processing time of four hours [4].

Benin. Registration is online through monentreprise.bj, run by the Investment and Export Promotion Agency (APIEx). For an établissement, meaning a sole proprietorship, the agency's guide gives 10,000 CFA francs and three working hours [5]. The documents issued include the single tax identification number (IFU) certificate and notice of the employer number with the social security fund (CNSS) [5].

Senegal. The procedure sheet "Register as a sole trader", published for the APIX one-stop shop, gives a total cost of 23,000 CFA francs (20,000 in registry fees and 3,000 in stamps) and a duration of two to three days [6]. The file comprises the national ID card or consular card, a marriage certificate where relevant and two sworn statements, one of them confirming residence [6]. The applicant leaves with RCCM registration, the NINEA tax number notice and the declaration of establishment [6].

Côte d'Ivoire. We found no official sheet giving the cost and time for registering a sole proprietorship at the CEPICI one-stop shop: those figures are "not verified yet".

Wherever you are, the Uniform Act requires an entreprenant's declaration to come with a certificate of residence and, where relevant, prior authorisation to carry on the activity [2]. For a firm that runs short-stay furnished lets, that authorisation may well be the tourism ministry's, described below.

Finding a home for a client: where relocation meets estate agency

Relocation soon runs into one question: is finding a flat and negotiating the lease for a client the same as working as an estate agent? The answer depends on the country and on how you are paid.

Côte d'Ivoire. The Construction and Housing Code (Law No. 2019-576 of 26 June 2019) applies to professionals who, habitually and for payment, take part in transactions concerning other people's property, including letting and property management [7]. Using an agency to sign a residential lease is optional, but carrying on that activity requires approval or authorisation [7]. Doing it habitually without approval, "even as a sideline", carries 15 days to 12 months in prison and a fine of 200,000 to 2,000,000 CFA francs [7]. A relocation firm that charges for house-hunting in Abidjan is very likely inside that scope; one that limits itself to meeting clients, handling paperwork and giving advice, without brokering the let, is not. An owner letting their own property in a private capacity is outside it [7].

The same Code requires approval for anyone running a website reachable from the country whose listings offer homes to let in Côte d'Ivoire; only sites limited to hotel rooms are exempt, and a court may order access to a non-compliant site to be blocked [7]. A concierge firm advertising its flats on its own website needs to bear this in mind.

Benin. Law No. 2018-12 of 2 July 2018 lists "letting and subletting, unfurnished or furnished" among property transactions [8]. An estate agent must be entered on the register kept by the housing minister, hold a professional card and carry professional indemnity insurance, and the law reserves the profession for Beninese nationals [8]. A foreign concierge who wants to broker lets in Cotonou comes up against that condition.

Togo. Decree No. 2022-001/PR of 5 January 2022 provides that when the parties use a legally recognised property professional to negotiate and draft the lease, that professional's fee is split equally between landlord and tenant [9]. The decree does not apply to premises rented by an industrial or commercial business [9]: where your client's employer signs the lease itself, neither the fee split nor the deposit caps apply.

Senegal. We did not reread the Senegalese text on estate agents for this page, so the rules on house-hunting for a third party there are "not verified yet".

Your client's lease: deposit, rent in advance and inventory

A good relocation agent knows the limits the law places on landlords, because a client in a hurry rarely does.

Togo. A residential lease must be in writing and follow the standard form drawn up by the housing ministry, available from the ministry and from town halls [9]. The deposit may not exceed three months' rent, and the same cap applies to the separate rent guarantee [9]. The deposit is returned within one month of the keys being handed back [9]. A landlord who demands more faces a fine of twice the unlawful excess and must repay it [9]. The decree applies first to Greater Lomé [9]. The lease is subject to registration duty, and an inventory drawn up by both parties at check-in and check-out is attached to it [9].

Côte d'Ivoire. The lease is in writing and must be registered with the tax authority [7]. A landlord may not ask for more than two months' rent in advance, and the deposit is capped at two months' rent [7]. A written inventory signed by both sides is made on the first and last days, and the deposit is repaid within a month of the keys being returned, less any sums properly evidenced [7].

Benin. The deposit paid when the keys are handed over equals three months' rent and is repaid at the end of the lease [8]. The check-in inventory is drawn up by both parties and attached to the lease [8].

These rules govern ordinary residential leases. Benin's law expressly excludes holiday homes occupied for a seasonal or temporary period, and accommodation provided in hotels, motels, inns or rooming houses for tourists [8]. The Ivorian Code excludes hotel rooms [7]. For lets by the night, tourism law is where to look.

Furnished lets by the night or the week: what tourism law says

This is the core of concierge work, and it is where the four countries differ most.

Côte d'Ivoire. The Tourism Code (Law No. 2014-139 of 24 March 2014) defines the furnished tourist let as a furnished, classified and equipped room, flat, villa or studio let to short-stay guests "by the day, the week or the month" who do not make it their home [10]. It also defines the guest room: a furnished room in the host's home let for one or more nights with services [10]. Every activity in the tourism sector needs prior authorisation from the minister for tourism [10]. Operators file a declaration of existence and, if they provide accommodation, are classified [10]. They display their prices, take out civil liability insurance and send statistics to the ministry [10]. Running tourist accommodation without a valid approval or licence is punishable by two to six months in prison and a fine of 200,000 to 2,000,000 CFA francs, or either penalty [10]. Operating without insurance carries five months to two years and a fine of 500,000 to 5,000,000 CFA francs [10].

Senegal. Decree No. 2005-145 of 2 March 2005 names furnished flats among tourist accommodation establishments [11]. Anyone planning to fit one out applies to the minister for tourism for approval, with a three-year operating budget and an application for classification [11]. Furnished flats are graded in three categories, from one to three stars, and all advertising must state the official category [11]. To manage the establishment you must have no conviction for dishonesty and must produce a certificate of civil liability insurance [11]. Approval does not replace RCCM registration or any other licence [11]. The decree also bans advertising services that are not actually provided [11], which catches an over-polished online listing.

Togo. The official register of approved tourism establishments, drawn up under Decree No. 89-137/PR of 23 August 1989, has a category of comparable accommodation that groups motels, furnished flats, guest houses and maisons d'hôtes [12]. The operating licence is issued by the national commission for the approval and classification of tourism establishments (CNACET); it runs for five years, renewable, requires a CFE card and legal age, costs an amount set by category and grading, and is promised within 45 days [13]. The 1989 decree requires the operator to have no conviction for dishonesty, to hold civil liability insurance and to show suitable training, experience or management [14]. It requires prices to be declared to the ministry every year, and bars any promoter who opened without approval from opening an establishment for two years [14]. The extract we read does not say how many units turn a private owner or a concierge firm into an "establishment": that threshold is "not verified yet".

Benin. Decree No. 96-345 of 23 August 1996 treats as tourism establishments the commercial businesses that offer accommodation and related services to a mainly tourist clientele [15]. Running one requires approval from the minister for tourism, granted within two months at most after a commission has given its opinion [15]. The operator must be at least 25, have no conviction for dishonesty, and either be qualified or employ a manager with a hotel school diploma, recognised training placements or five years in a senior post in tourism [15]. In late 2024 the government presented new texts on tourist accommodation without giving their numbers in its announcement [16], so Benin's current rules for furnished lets are "not verified yet".

Managing for the owner or subletting: a choice that changes everything

A concierge firm can work in one of two ways: run the home in the owner's name for a commission, or rent it and relet it by the night. The second is a sublet, and the law has something to say about it.

Benin. A tenant may sublet only with the landlord's written consent, which must also cover the price; otherwise the landlord may end the lease outright [8]. Where the tenant has furnished the property properly, the sublet price may not exceed the head rent by more than 10 % [8]. That cap, written for ordinary housing, makes nightly sublets hard to make pay; yet the same law takes holiday homes out of its scope [8], and it does not say how the two rules fit together.

Côte d'Ivoire. Without the landlord's express consent, a tenant may not assign the lease, sublet or let anyone else use the premises, even free of charge [7].

Managing on the owner's behalf avoids these traps, but it makes you an intermediary handling someone else's money. In Côte d'Ivoire, managing other people's property is one of the activities that require approval [7]. In Benin, property management is also listed among property transactions in the 2018 law [8]. In both countries, check whether your management work falls under that regime before signing your first owner. Everywhere, a written mandate that sets out the services, the commission, how often takings are paid over and how long the agreement lasts protects both sides.

Residence permits: what your clients, and you, need to plan for

A relocation firm's client is nearly always a foreign national, and sometimes the concierge is too.

Within WAEMU, nationals of a member state have the right to move and stay anywhere in the Union, subject to public order, public security and public health [3]. Everyone else follows each country's own procedure.

Togo. The residence card application starts online on the public service portal; the printed file is then lodged with the national documentation directorate (DGDN) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays [17]. Applicants need, among other things, a passport valid three months beyond the card, a criminal record certificate from their home country under three months old for a first application, a certificate of no conviction, a medical certificate from a sworn doctor and proof of sufficient means [17]. Self-employed applicants add their single business registration card, their tax clearances and their social security clearance [17]. Published fees for non-students are 200,000 CFA francs for a one-year temporary card, 500,000 for a three-year ordinary card and 800,000 for a five-year privileged card; processing takes 30 to 45 days, and the page warns that prices and durations may change [17].

Côte d'Ivoire. The official sheet "Apply for a resident card" covers all foreigners living in the country and refers them to the national civil registry office (ONECI) [18]. It gives 150,000 CFA francs for French nationals and 300,000 for everyone else, but it was last updated in November 2016 [18], so the current fee is "not verified yet". The sheet says nothing about ECOWAS nationals.

Senegal. Law No. 71-10 of 25 January 1971 sorts foreigners into two groups [19]. Non-immigrants, including tourists and people not earning a living, receive a stay permit for four months at most [19]. Immigrants, who come to settle or to work on a lasting basis, need a permit of establishment, which may extend to a spouse and dependent children [19]. Any change of address or occupation must be reported to the authorities [19], something a relocation agent mentions on moving day. The law also allows certain occupations to be closed to foreigners by decree [19]. Current documents and fees were not found on an official site and are "not verified yet".

Benin. We found no official page on the residence card: procedure and fee are "not verified yet".

None of the texts we read says whether a relocation agent may lodge a file on a client's behalf. In Togo the file is lodged at the DGDN counter after the online application [17]: offer to go with your client rather than promise to stand in for them.

Client money: cash, traceability and anti-money-laundering duties

Collecting rent, deposits or nightly takings for an owner brings you close to anti-money-laundering rules. WAEMU Directive No. 02/2015/CM/UEMOA of 2 July 2015 includes among the bodies it covers "property companies and estate agents, including letting agents" [20]. The directive does not define a letting agent; a concierge firm that lets homes for others could fall within it, which has to be confirmed in each country's transposing law.

Covered businesses must report to the national financial intelligence unit (CENTIF) any transaction they suspect comes from money laundering or terrorist financing [20]. Anyone who carries out or advises on property purchases and sales must identify the parties [20], and the price of a property sale above a threshold set by the authorities may only be paid by bank transfer or cheque [20]. Those two rules concern sales: relocation meets them on the day a client decides to buy rather than rent.

On the bookkeeping side, the OHADA Uniform Act already requires the entreprenant to keep cash payments apart from all others, day by day [2]. A concierge firm paying takings over to several owners each month does well to keep a statement per property as well, sent to each owner with the payment.

Getting started: the order of the steps

1. Decide what you will offer: welcome and services only, paid house-hunting, or running nightly furnished lets. Each choice brings a different set of rules, described above.
2. Declare or register the business at the national one-stop shop: the CFE in Togo, monentreprise.bj in Benin, APIX in Senegal [4] [5] [6]. If you are a foreign national, sort out your own residence document first, as the Lomé CFE asks for it [4].
3. If you broker lets, check which approval or card is required: approval in Côte d'Ivoire, the register and professional card in Benin [7] [8].
4. If you run short-stay furnished lets, go to the tourism ministry: prior authorisation in Côte d'Ivoire, approval and grading in Senegal, the CNACET licence in Togo, approval in Benin [10] [11] [13] [15].
5. Take out civil liability insurance: the Ivorian, Senegalese and Togolese tourism texts require it of operators [10] [11] [14].
6. Sign a written mandate with each owner, and give each tenant a lease that follows the national standard form where there is one, as in Togo [9].
7. Keep your takings book and your occupancy statistics, which the Uniform Act and the tourism texts call for [2] [10] [11].
8. Then create your professional profile, so that owners and families moving in can find you.

Presenting your concierge or relocation firm on imonga

This is not a job offer. imonga does not hire concierge firms or relocation agents: 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 concierge or relocation firm's profile can set out the cities it covers, the services it offers (meet and greet, home search, running furnished lets) and, where you hold them, your licence or approval numbers. To start: create your professional account.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a licence to run flats let by the night?

It depends on the country. In Côte d'Ivoire the furnished tourist let is defined in law and every tourism activity needs prior authorisation from the ministry [10]. In Senegal furnished flats are tourist accommodation subject to approval and grading [11]. In Togo furnished flats appear among approved establishments and the CNACET licence runs for five years [12] [13]. In Benin the 1996 decree requires approval, but newer texts are not verified yet [15].

Can a foreign national open a concierge business in Togo?

Yes. The Lomé CFE accepts foreign applicants, with a copy of their residence document, for 30,400 CFA francs if they are not ECOWAS nationals [4]. A WAEMU national sets up on the same terms as a Togolese [3]. Next door in Benin, by contrast, the estate agent's profession is reserved for nationals [8].

Do I need approval to find a flat for an expatriate in Abidjan?

If you do it habitually and for a fee, very probably yes: the Construction and Housing Code makes helping to let other people's property, even as a sideline, subject to approval, with up to 12 months in prison and a 2,000,000 CFA franc fine [7]. Welcoming clients and helping with paperwork, without brokering the let, is not covered by that text.

What deposit can a landlord ask of my client?

In Togo, no more than three months' rent for the deposit and the same for the rent guarantee [9]. In Côte d'Ivoire, no more than two months' deposit and two months in advance [7]. In Benin the deposit equals three months' rent [8]. These caps apply to residential leases, not to tourist lets.

Does my expatriate client need a residence permit?

In Togo, any foreigner who wishes to stay or live there can apply to the DGDN, at 200,000 CFA francs for a one-year temporary card for non-students [17]. In Senegal, staying beyond four months or working on a lasting basis requires a permit of establishment [19]. A WAEMU national moves and stays freely within the Union, subject to public order [3].

Can I sublet the flat I rent and relet it to guests?

Only with the landlord's consent. In Benin that consent must be in writing and cover the price, or the lease can be ended outright [8]. In Côte d'Ivoire subletting without the landlord's express consent is forbidden, even free of charge [7].

How much does a concierge or relocation agent earn?

We found no official statistics on earnings in these trades in the four countries, and we do not publish estimates. You set your own fees, within each country's rules, such as Togo's equal split of the intermediary's fee between landlord and tenant [9].

Is this a job offer from imonga?

No. imonga does not hire concierge firms or relocation agents and pays no salary. The platform invites professionals to open a free account to present their services; the terms for listings are on the Pricing page.