Unapproved lotissement, double sale, fake seller: the scams and how to avoid them
Seven schemes that keep coming back, what the law says about each, and the reflex that stops it.
At a glance
- Almost everything is decided before you pay: an approved lotissement (approved subdivision), the seller's document, a registered professional.
- The law punishes these schemes: up to 2 years in prison for a development carried out without approval2, 1 to 5 years for stellionat (selling property you know is not yours)3.
- You sign and pay at the notary's office, never cash in hand, never “to reserve”.
- 1
A plot sold in a lotissement that has not been approved
This is the most common scheme, and the most expensive: you buy a plot that can never receive an ACD (Arrêté de Concession Définitive, the final concession order), because an ACD can only be issued on a plot that comes from an approved lotissement (approved subdivision), except for projects run by legal entities1.
Carrying out a development without approval is a criminal offence: 2 months to 2 years in prison and a fine of 2 to 20 million FCFA. A surveyor or topographer who takes part is prosecuted as an accomplice2.
- Reflex
- Look the plot up on sigfu.gouv.ci
- Penalty
- 2 months to 2 years in prison2
Watch out
The lotissement that is “approved, but work hasn't started yet”. An approved subdivision plan lapses if work does not begin within 2 years4.
- 2
The “sale” of customary rights in town
You are offered village land by a family or a chief, with a paper signed in the village. In an urban area, this sale does not exist in law.
There, customary rights are personal and do not amount to ownership. The law is explicit: “nul ne peut se porter cessionnaire desdits droits” (no one may acquire those rights by transfer)3.
- Reflex
- Never pay on the strength of a certificate alone
Watch out
The paper signed by several local dignitaries, covered in stamps. The number of signatures changes nothing: rights that cannot be transferred still cannot be transferred.
Ask your notary
The seller holds an ADU (attestation de droit d'usage coutumier, certificate of customary use rights): can they transfer the plot to me as it stands, or do they first need to obtain the ACD?
See licensed notaries - 3
The double sale and the seller who is not the owner
The same plot is sold to two, three, sometimes more buyers, often members of the diaspora who will never run into each other on the ground. This is a multiple sale.
Selling property you know belongs to someone else has a name: stellionat. It carries 1 to 5 years in prison and a fine of 300,000 to 3,000,000 FCFA3.
The two reflexes: have a notary request an état foncier (land status report) and an état historique (history of the title) if the property is titled5, and sign and pay at the notary's office, not cash in hand.
Watch out
“Pay quickly, someone else is interested.” Urgency is the fraudster's main tool: it is there to make you skip the checks.
- 4
Forged documents and certificates that “come in all shapes”
The administration itself acknowledges the problem: the ministry justifies creating the ADU by “the multiple allocations of the same plot” and the “proliferation of disputes”6.
That is precisely why the ADU has a single official template, one copy per plot, the unique identifier of the plot and a QR code that can be checked online6. If someone shows you an ADU, scan the QR code.
- Reflex
- Scan the QR code on the ADU6
Watch out
A cropped photo of the paper, sent on WhatsApp. Ask for the whole document, legible, and have a notary read it.
- 5
The fake professional
The “notary”, “surveyor” or “estate agent” helping you is sometimes registered nowhere. Yet every profession keeps a register you can consult.
Check the registration: the roll of the Ordre des géomètres-experts (the chartered surveyors' professional body)7, the roll of the Ordre des architectes8, the Chambre des notaires directory9, and the ministry lists of property developers10 and licensed estate agents11.
This is the check LNA-CI does for you: we verify that professionals are registered, not the plots.
- Reflex
- Ask for the registration number, then check it
Watch out
An intermediary who refuses to give their registration number or licence number. A licensed estate agency must in fact show its licence number and date on all its documents12.
- 6
The developer who takes money without a licence
On a new-build scheme, the advertising often comes before the permits. Yet anyone selling property to be built must hold a ministerial licence, and each scheme must have a technical approval before any advertising13.
Only two contracts are allowed: the VEFA (off-plan purchase) and the vente à terme (a sale where the price is paid and ownership passes on completion). Any other arrangement is absolutely void14. The contract is drawn up by a notary and must state, among other things, the building permit references, the delivery date and the undertaking to hand the ACD to the buyer15.
- Reflex
- Ask for both approvals, in writing
Watch out
A scheme sold without a notarial contract. Outside VEFA and vente à terme, the arrangement is void14, and money paid under a void contract is hard to get back.
- 7
Paying “to reserve” a plot or a flat
The advance requested to “hold” a property is the simplest way to get money out of you without signing anything. On a new-build scheme, the law regulates this payment.
No payment may be made before the sale contract is signed, except the security deposit under a reservation contract, or if the scheme is covered by a guarantee that payments will be refunded, given by a bank, a financial institution or an insurer16.
The security deposit is capped: 10% of the price if the sale takes place within the year, 5% between one and two years, nothing beyond two years. Without a refund guarantee, the funds go into a special account in the buyer's name, which cannot be transferred or seized17.
Watch out
A transfer to a personal account. A notary, by contrast, must pay the funds received into a dedicated bank account, keep separate accounts for each client, and contributes to a collective guarantee fund19.
Ask your notary
Can payment to the seller be made conditional on the ACD or the certificat de mutation (certificate of transfer of ownership) being issued?
See licensed notaries
This process involves a notary and a chartered surveyor
Sources
Texts in force as of the update date, read on the Official Gazette or on Ivorian government websites.
- 1. Official GazetteDécret n° 2021-785 of 8 December 2021, art. 2: no ACD outside an approved lotissement — lexterra.ci
- 2. Official GazetteLoi n° 2024-351 of 6 June 2024 amending the Code de l'urbanisme (Urban Planning Code), new art. 282: development without approval, 2 months to 2 years in prison and 2 to 20 million FCFA, surveyor or topographer liable as an accomplice — lexterra.ci
- 3. Official GazetteLoi n° 2020-624 of 14 August 2020, Code de l'urbanisme et du domaine foncier urbain (Urban Planning and Urban Land Code), art. 168 (customary rights cannot be transferred) and art. 278 (stellionat, 1 to 5 years and 300,000 to 3,000,000 FCFA) — lexterra.ci
- 4. Official GazetteLoi n° 2020-624, art. 100: an approved subdivision plan lapses if work does not begin within 2 years — lexterra.ci
- 5. Officialservicepublic.gouv.ci: “Demander un état foncier / état historique” (Requesting a land status report or history report; 3,000 FCFA, 2 days, Conservation foncière) — servicepublic.gouv.ci
- 6. Official“L'attestation de droit d'usage coutumier : pertinence de la réforme” (The certificate of customary use rights: why the reform), Direction du Domaine urbain, 1 July 2024 — alertefoncier.org
- 7. OfficialOGECI: roll of the Ordre des géomètres-experts de Côte d'Ivoire (chartered surveyors) — geometre-expert.ci
- 8. OfficialOrdre des architectes de Côte d'Ivoire: directory of the roll (consulted on 17/09/2026) — oarchitectes.ci
- 9. OfficialChambre des notaires: telephone directory of notaries (via eRegulations Côte d'Ivoire) — cotedivoire.eregulations.org
- 10. OfficialMinistry in charge of Construction: list of licensed property developers as at 31/12/2024 — construction.gouv.ci
- 11. OfficialMinistry list of licensed estate agents as at 30/05/2025 (ministry PDF, third-party copy) — immobilierivoirien.com
- 12. Official GazetteLoi n° 2019-576 of 26 June 2019, Code de la construction et de l'habitat (Construction and Housing Code), art. 464-471: estate agency licence, licence number and date on its documents, written mandate, dedicated bank account — lexterra.ci
- 13. Official GazetteLoi n° 2019-576, art. 138-140: ministerial licence for sellers of property to be built and technical approval of each scheme before any advertising — lexterra.ci
- 14. Official GazetteLoi n° 2019-576, art. 110-118: VEFA and vente à terme, any other arrangement absolutely void — lexterra.ci
- 15. Official GazetteLoi n° 2019-576, art. 119: notarial contract, mandatory terms including the building permit references, the delivery date and the undertaking to hand over the ACD — lexterra.ci
- 16. Official GazetteLoi n° 2019-576, art. 121: no payment before the sale contract is signed, except a security deposit or a guarantee that payments will be refunded — lexterra.ci
- 17. Official GazetteLoi n° 2019-576, art. 128 and 130: security deposit capped at 10% / 5% / 0% depending on timing, funds in a special account in the buyer's name — lexterra.ci
- 18. Official GazetteLoi n° 2019-576, art. 131: draft notarial deed sent to the reserving buyer at least one month before signing — lexterra.ci
- 19. Official GazetteLoi n° 2018-897 of 30 November 2018 portant statut du notariat (on the status of notaries), art. 10-13 and 21-23 — droitci.info
This guide explains the process; it doesn’t replace a notary’s advice on your case. Spotted a mistake, or a text that has changed? Let us know.
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