Investing in rental property from abroad
The lease, rent in advance, the security deposit and the agency: the Construction Code puts a figure on almost everything. What a landlord living abroad should insist on, in order.
At a glance
- A residential lease is written and registered with the tax authority, and you give the tenant a copy within 30 days.
- A maximum of 2 months’ rent in advance and a maximum of 2 months’ security deposit: beyond that, there is no legal basis.
- Using an agency is optional, but if you do use one, it must be licensed by the minister.
- 1
Buy a property whose title holds up
A rental investment starts with a clean purchase: an ACD (Arrêté de Concession Définitive, final concession order) published in the land register (Livre foncier), or a transfer certificate (certificat de mutation de propriété foncière) if the property already had one2.
Until that document is issued in your name, you are not the owner: a promise to sell or a transfer deed dated before publication in the land register cannot be relied on2. A property you cannot prove is yours is hard to let and even harder to sell.
- First requirement
- A title in your name
- Where it is decided
- Publication in the land register2
- 2
Choose a licensed agency, or manage without one
Using an agency is optional1. You can manage directly, with a relative on the spot. But as soon as you hand the management to an agency, it must meet specific conditions.
An estate agency is a legal entity (a company, not an individual), with share capital of at least 2 million FCFA held by Ivorians, up to date with its tax obligations, providing a financial guarantee, and licensed by the minister1.
Its licence number and licence date must appear on all its documents1. That is the quickest check to make from abroad: a management agreement with no licence number is a warning sign. The ministry publishes the list of licensed estate agents3.
Watch out
The “agency” that is just one individual with a Facebook page. The law requires a licensed legal entity, and the licence on every document.
- 3
Insist on a written mandate, a dedicated account and receipts
A licensed agency must work under a written mandate, have a dedicated bank account and issue a receipt for every payment1.
From abroad, these three obligations are your bookkeeping: without receipts or a dedicated account, you have no way of knowing what the tenant has actually paid.
Websites offering rentals in Côte d'Ivoire must also be licensed1.
Watch out
Rent paid into the manager’s personal account “to keep things simple”. That is exactly what the dedicated account is there to prevent.
- 4
Put the lease in writing and have it registered
A residential lease is written and registered with the tax authority. The landlord gives the tenant the registered copy within 30 days1.
A verbal agreement can hold as long as everything is going well. The day you need to prove the amount of rent or the length of the tenancy, the registered lease is what counts.
- 5
Keep within the caps on advance rent and deposit
Two months’ rent in advance at most, and a security deposit of two months at most1. These are legal caps, not customs open to negotiation.
A written check-in report drawn up jointly with the tenant (état des lieux contradictoire) is required1. From a distance, it is the document that decides whether the security deposit is returned or withheld when the tenant leaves.
- Advance rent
- 2 months maximum1
- Security deposit
- 2 months maximum1
- Move-in and move-out
- Joint check-in/check-out report1
Watch out
The “six months in advance” still demanded on the market. The cap is two months: a landlord abroad who does not know this puts themselves in breach.
- 6
Rely on the 2019 Code, not the 2018 law
Many websites, lease templates and pieces of advice circulating online still cite Law No. 2018-575 on residential leases. It was repealed by the 2019 Construction and Housing Code1.
If a go-between bases their figures on that law, they are working from out-of-date law. Ask them for the article of the 2019 Code.
Ask your notary
The rate that applies to my rental income, confirmed in writing, including property tax on built property (impôt sur le patrimoine foncier des propriétés bâties). The rates circulating online predate the 2026 finance annex; the tax authority (Direction générale des impôts) and a notary can give the one currently in force.
See licensed notaries
This process involves a estate agent and a notary
Sources
Texts in force as of the update date, read on the Official Gazette or on Ivorian government websites.
- 1. Official GazetteLoi n° 2019-576 du 26 juin 2019 instituant Code de la construction et de l'habitat (Law of 26 June 2019 establishing the Construction and Housing Code), art. 414-416, 419, 462, 464-471 and 552 — lexterra.ci
- 2. Official GazetteDécret n° 2021-785 du 8 décembre 2021 (Decree of 8 December 2021), procedure for issuing the ACD, art. 7-10 — lexterra.ci
- 3. OfficialMinisterial list of licensed estate agents as at 30 May 2025 (PDF shared by immobilierivoirien.com) — immobilierivoirien.com
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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