Estate Agent Registration in Kenya: The Estate Agents Registration Board Explained

Anyone who acts as an estate agent in Kenya must be registered with the Estate Agents Registration Board (EARB). This is not a formality. Practising without registration is a criminal offence, and Kenyan courts refuse to enforce commission claims by unregistered agents. This guide explains estate agent registration in Kenya: who must register, how to qualify, what registration requires you to maintain, and what happens if you get it wrong.

What the Estate Agents Registration Board Does

The Board is established under the Estate Agents Act (Cap. 533), which was published in December 1984 and commenced on 9 April 1985. Section 4 charges the Board with registering estate agents and ensuring that the competence and conduct of practising estate agents are of a standard sufficiently high to protect the public. The registrar keeps the register of estate agents (section 7) and issues certificates of registration (section 8).

Who Must Register

Section 18(1) of the Act prohibits unregistered practice in three situations:

• an individual may not practise as an estate agent unless registered;
• a partnership may not practise unless every partner whose activities include acts of estate agency is registered; and
• a body corporate may not practise unless every director whose duties include acts of estate agency is registered.

The consequence for the director or partner is personal. A company cannot rely on one registered employee to cover directors who are doing the agency work themselves.

Qualification Routes

Section 13(1) entitles a Kenyan citizen to be registered, on application in the prescribed form and payment of the prescribed fee, if the person is:

• a full member of the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya in the chapters of Valuation and Estate Management Surveyors, Building Surveyors or Land Management Surveyors;
• a corporate member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (General Practice, Land Agency or Agriculture sections) who is qualified to be, or is, a full member of the relevant Institution of Surveyors of Kenya chapter;
• the holder of a degree, diploma or licence from a university, college or school whose qualification the Board recognises for this purpose;
• the holder of a qualification the Board recognises as adequate academic training, together with at least two years of post-qualification practical experience satisfactory to the Board, of which at least six months was gained in Kenya; or
• a person who does not meet the above but is of good character and satisfies the Board that he or she has not been convicted, in Kenya or elsewhere, of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty.

Even a qualified applicant must satisfy the Board that his or her professional and general conduct makes the applicant a fit and proper person (section 13(2)). Always check the current application forms and fees with the Board directly, because the Act leaves them to be prescribed.

Annual Renewal of Registration

A certificate of registration remains in force for one year and is renewable on payment of the prescribed fee (section 8(4)). Failure to pay a renewal or registration fee is itself a ground on which the Board may remove a name from the register (section 15(1)(b)). Registration is therefore an annual obligation, not a one-time event.

Indemnity Requirements

Section 19 forbids any person from practising as an estate agent unless an indemnity bond or policy of insurance, issued by an insurer approved by the Board, is in force. It must guarantee compensation to persons who suffer monetary or other property loss through the dishonest or professional misconduct of the agent. The minimum limit is KES 200,000 for a sole practitioner, that figure multiplied by the number of individuals in a partnership, and, for a body corporate, that figure multiplied by the number of directors whose duties include acts of estate agency. Contravention carries a fine of up to KES 20,000, imprisonment for up to two years, or both.

Penalties for Unregistered Practice

Under section 18(2), a person who practises without registration is liable on conviction to a fine of up to KES 5,000,000 if a legal person, or up to KES 1,000,000 if a natural person. Giving false information to obtain registration is a separate offence under section 25, punishable by a fine of up to KES 20,000, imprisonment for up to three years, or both. Where an offence is committed by a company with the consent or connivance of, or through the neglect of, a director or officer, section 26 extends liability to that individual.

Discipline, Removal and Appeals

If a registered agent is convicted of an offence under the Act, or after due inquiry is found guilty of conduct contrary to the public interest or of professional misconduct, section 24 empowers the Board to:

• suspend the registration for a specified period;
• caution the agent and enter the caution on the register;
• impose a fine of up to KES 5,000; or
• delete the agent’s name from the register.

Section 15 lists further grounds for removal, including bankruptcy, a qualification being withdrawn by the body that awarded it, and entry in the register by mistake or through false information. A person aggrieved by a decision refusing registration, removing a name, suspending registration or refusing restoration may appeal to the High Court within twenty-eight days of receiving the Board’s written decision (section 17). The appeal is treated as an appeal from a subordinate court exercising civil jurisdiction, and the High Court’s decision is final.

Anti-Money Laundering Supervision

Sections 28 and 29 of the Act, read with the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act (Cap. 59A), make the Board the regulator and supervisor of reporting institutions under its oversight for anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and counter-proliferation financing purposes. The Board may vet members and beneficial owners, conduct on-site inspections and off-site surveillance, and compel production of documents. A violation of the anti-money laundering rules, guidelines or directions attracts a penalty of up to KES 5,000,000 for a legal person or KES 1,000,000 for a natural person, plus up to KES 100,000 for each day the non-compliance continues.

Why Registration Matters Commercially

Courts treat agency contracts with unregistered agents as unenforceable. In Zenith Realtors Ltd v Ngenya Location Ranching Co. Ltd and another [2026] KEHC 12870 (KLR), the High Court found that the plaintiff was not a registered estate agent, and that registration under the Act is mandatory before commission on the sale of immovable property can be claimed. It held the alleged agency agreement void ab initio and declined the relief sought. The court relied on the Court of Appeal decision in Mapis Investments (K) Ltd v Kenya Railways Corporation as reported in its judgment. For owners and developers, the practical lesson is to check the register before signing an agency agreement, because an unregistered agent cannot recover a fee, and the client has little leverage under an illegal contract.

Frequently asked questions

This article is general information on Kenyan law as at its publication date, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an advocate and client relationship.