The rules vary based on where the agent operates and how the business is structured.
There is no real estate agent licence in Nigeria with the words “real estate agent licence” on it. Rather, regulation is divided between federal professional rules and state-specific requirements.
At the federal level, the Estate Surveyors and Valuers (Registration, etc.) Act, Cap. E13, Laws of the Federation 2004 provides for the regulation of estate surveying and valuation. The Act establishes the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON) and restricts the practice of estate surveying and valuation to registered estate surveyors and valuers and registered estate surveying and valuation firms.
Estate surveying, as defined by statute, includes a number of activities related to agency work including selling, buying, letting, leasing and managing property. It is illegal to perform these services or to purport to be an estate surveyor and valuer without being properly registered.
The primary professional body for the profession is the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) but it is not the licensing authority. ESVARBON is the competent authority. NIESV membership is not a license.
State regulation is another layer. Lagos State, Nigeria’s largest property market, will require estate agents, brokers, developers and other real estate practitioners to register with the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA) LASRERA also publishes practitioner details and has taken enforcement action against unregistered operators. Other states have set up or are looking into their own registration systems, so the requirements aren’t the same across the country.
A company registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) cannot practice estate agency. Nor does paying tax or belonging to a professional association. Those steps may be necessary for running a legitimate business, but they are not substitutes for professional or state registration.
There is also an important distinction between an employee or marketing representative working under a properly registered estate firm and an independent agent who accepts instructions, collects commissions and holds out as a practitioner. The latter faces greater regulatory exposure, particularly where the relevant state requires individual registration.
For clients, basic due diligence is essential. Ask for the agent’s ESVARBON or relevant state registration details, verify the firm’s office and identity, and insist on written terms setting out the commission, scope of authority and handling of deposits. Payments should be made to an identifiable business or client account, not casually to a personal account without documentation.
Nigeria’s property market remains fragmented, and enforcement varies by jurisdiction. But the legal position is clear enough: a person should not assume that anyone can lawfully broker property simply because the transaction is private. In Nigeria, legitimate estate agency requires the relevant professional and/or state authorisation.