How to Check a Kenyan Property Agent Is Registered

How do I verify an estate agent in Kenya?

Kenya is the one country of the three covered in our East Africa pages with a working agent regulator that a buyer can check. EARB registers individual agents and firms. Use this checklist:

1. Ask for both certificates. EARB says registered agents receive a Registration Certificate and an Annual Practising Certificate, and the second must be renewed every year (Eastleigh Voice, 28 March 2025).
2. Check the register. EARB publishes a list of registered agents on its website, and registration can also be confirmed through Gazette Notices or by contacting the Board directly (same report).
3. Ask for the registration details. Ask the agent for their registration number and certificates, and quote them when you contact the Board.
4. Match the name. The person on the certificate must be the person you are dealing with, and a firm's certificate does not make every employee an agent.
5. Report problems. EARB asks the public to report people practising without registration.

We could not find a public search page that lists every agent in one click on the EARB registration page we opened, so use the website list or contact the Board if the portal does not answer. Keep your confirmation.

What is a practising certificate?

The Registration Certificate shows that a person or firm has been admitted to the register. The Annual Practising Certificate shows that they are currently allowed to practise this year. An agent can be registered but not current, so ask for both and look at the year on the second.

EARB's registration page lists the rules for admission. An individual must be a Kenyan citizen with at least a KCSE certificate and at least two years of experience, with a recommendation from a registered estate agent, a DCI Certificate of Good Conduct and other documents. Firms must carry professional indemnity insurance of at least KSh 200,000 and need proof of registration with the Financial Reporting Centre.

Fees can change, so confirm figures with the Board if they matter to you.

How big is the unregistered-agent problem?

It is large. Business Daily Africa reported in February 2019 (updated December 2020) that a regulator survey found more than 40,000 unregistered agents. The then EARB chairperson, Nelly Mbugua, said the proposed amendments were meant to streamline the industry. The current fine for operating without a licence was Sh20,000, and the Estate Agents (Amendment) Bill proposed up to Sh1 million.

These are figures from 2019. We have not confirmed whether that bill became law, so do not rely on the Sh1 million figure as the present penalty. More recently EARB has said the number of people and firms operating without registration is growing, calling it unlawful and punishable by law, and warning that they risk prosecution (Eastleigh Voice, 28 March 2025).

What are the warning signs of a fake agent?

Citizen Digital's guide of May 2022 and Kenyans.co.ke's report of September 2020 describe the same patterns:

• People calling themselves agents with no qualifications behind the title.
• Agents showing houses they have no real access to, or renting out property they do not own, sometimes with fake lease agreements.
• Fees above the statutory scale. Citizen Digital says the scale in the Estate Agents Act sets one month's rent for lettings over a year and 7.5% of annual gross rent for shorter lettings, and that negotiation should not go below half the scale.
• Charges for viewing houses, which can be a way to size up victims.
• Pressure to pay a deposit to "book" a unit before you have seen the owner or the papers.
• Off-plan sales where instalments are collected for homes that are never delivered.

Our general advice is on Check an Agent Before You Pay, and the cross-country patterns are on East Africa land scams.

Is checking the agent enough for a land purchase?

No. A registered agent can still be wrong about a title, and a fake title is a separate problem. Search the title yourself through the lands registry, as explained on Ardhisasa land search, and meet the registered owner. If you are a Kenyan buying in Uganda, remember that you can only hold a lease there, as set out in Can a Kenyan Buy Land in Uganda? If you need help finding a broker in the capital, see Estate Agents and Brokers in Nairobi: How to Choose One.

How does a verified agent on Land & Property differ from a registered one?

EARB registration is a legal status in Kenya. Our Verified badge shows that we checked a person's national ID and a live selfie. The two checks answer different questions: whether an agent is allowed to practise, and whether the person is who they say they are. To list with us, join as a verified agent. You can also browse all listings to see how verified profiles appear, and our become a verified real estate agent Kenya page explains the Kenyan route. For the regional picture, see the East Africa Property Hub.

Listings available now

Live from Land & Property on 4 November 2026. Prices are the sellers' asking prices.

• 25 Decimals in Bunga at Ugx820m Buziga, Kampala · Plot UGX 820,000,000
• 470 acres in Kikyusa Kamira at Ugx10m per acre Kamira, Luwero · Farmland UGX 10,000,000 per acre
• 1 acre for sale in Kololo at $2,500,000 Kololo, Kampala · Plot UGX 9,250,000,000
• 150 acres in Kalongo Nakasongola at Ugx5.8m per acre Kalongo, Nakasongola · Farmland UGX 5,800,000 per acre
• 120 acres in Kisozi Nakaseke at Ugx6.5m per acre Nakaseke · Farmland UGX 6,500,000 per acre
• 300 acres Migyeera Nakasongola on tarmac at Ugx12m per acre Migyera, Nakasongola · Farmland UGX 12,000,000 per acre

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• East Africa Property Hub: Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda
• Become a Verified Property Agent: Kenya
• Ardhisasa Land Search in Kenya: How It Works
• Can a Kenyan Buy Land in Uganda?
• Check an Agent Before You Pay: A 5-Minute Test