A practical English summary of Ethiopia’s real estate development, property marketing, valuation, and buyer protection framework
Read full PDF: Proclamation No 1357 2024 Real Estate Development and Real Property Marketing and Valuation Proclamation
Ethiopia’s Real Estate Development and Real Property Marketing and Valuation Proclamation No. 1357/2024 establishes a legal framework governing real estate development, property marketing, real property valuation, developer qualification, professional licensing, and mechanisms for addressing complaints and disputes.
The Proclamation was published in the Federal Negarit Gazette on March 31, 2025 and is intended to create a more organized, transparent, and accountable real estate sector while improving property valuation, housing supply, and protection for participants in the real estate market.
This page is a summary of the Proclamation and is not a substitute for reading the full legal text. For the complete provisions, definitions, requirements, exceptions, and procedures, refer to the original PDF.
What Does Proclamation No. 1357/2024 Cover?
The Proclamation brings several major areas of the Ethiopian real estate sector under a common legal framework, including:
- Real estate development
- Real property marketing and transactions
- Real property valuation
- Real estate developer qualification
- Valuer licensing and professional standards
- Property market information and price disclosure
- Pre-sale of properties
- Rights and obligations of real estate developers and buyers
- Urban land grade classification
- Government responsibilities and regulatory oversight
- Complaints, petitions, and appeals
- Transitional arrangements for existing projects
The law also establishes definitions for important terms such as real estate, real estate developer, real property, market value, valuation, valuer, investor, domestic investor, foreign investor, residential building, commercial building, and community building.
1. Real Estate Developer Qualification
One of the central features of the Proclamation is the introduction of a real estate developer qualification certificate.
A real estate developer is generally defined as a person who develops buildings with a total built-up floor area of more than 1,500 square meters in one location and offers them for sale, lease, or rent.
The Proclamation establishes qualification requirements for developers, including requirements relating to:
- Construction capacity
- Financing and funding sources
- Project studies
- Organizational structure and human resources
- Construction schedules
- Accountability mechanisms
- Applicable investment and business licensing requirements
The qualification certificate is connected to the registered project and its proposed completion period, subject to the renewal provisions established by the law and subsequent regulations.
The Proclamation also provides specific provisions concerning foreign investors, including capital requirements and other conditions applicable to foreign participation in real estate development. It allows foreign investors to engage in real estate development in partnership with domestic investors, subject to further regulatory requirements.
2. Land Provision for Real Estate Development
The Proclamation provides a framework for providing land to qualifying real estate developers through negotiated arrangements, based on city master plans and local development plans.
Different thresholds apply depending on the city and its housing requirements. For example, the Proclamation identifies projects involving more than:
- 2,500 houses in Addis Ababa
- 500 houses in cities with demonstrated housing needs and industrial parks
- 250 houses in cities with lower housing requirements
as qualifying for the specified land-provision arrangements.
The Proclamation also provides for individual ownership certification once a qualifying development reaches 80% completion, subject to the requirements established under the law.
3. Responsibilities of Real Estate Developers
The Proclamation establishes several obligations for real estate developers.
Among the most important provisions are requirements concerning construction completion, advertising, customer registration, advance payments, documentation, and payment records.
Developers must not transfer a house without completing basic services, including mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and sanitary works.
The Proclamation also restricts the transfer of substantially incomplete properties without the buyer's consent and prohibits false advertising in real estate development.
Importantly, developers cannot register customers or collect advance payments before receiving the relevant land ownership certificate and building permit required for the development.
Developers must also:
- Provide customers with copies of relevant ownership, construction, and development permits
- Collect real estate transaction payments through banks or other legally permitted electronic methods
- Maintain payment records
- Provide legal receipts to customers
- Encourage the establishment of homeowners' associations
- Provide building descriptions and other required information to buyers
4. Pre-Sale of Real Estate
The Proclamation contains specific provisions concerning pre-sale of houses before construction is completed.
For domestic developers using a pre-sale model, the law requires the developer to:
- Notify the appropriate authority and obtain permission to use the pre-sale strategy.
- Deposit money collected from buyers into a closed bank account established with the authorization of the appropriate authority.
- Have the ownership documentation for the properties being pre-sold appropriately restricted against sale or alteration until the properties are constructed and transferred to buyers.
- Follow additional requirements that are to be detailed through implementing regulations.
The Proclamation also directs the development of systems allowing buyers who purchase properties before construction to organize collectively and monitor construction and the use of funds.
5. Real Property Valuation
A major part of the Proclamation establishes a formal real property valuation system.
Property valuation may be used for purposes including:
- Property tax assessment
- Buying and selling property
- Bank loan collateral
- Court disputes
- Inheritance and property distribution
- Compensation
- Insurance
- Rental services
- Other related purposes
The Proclamation requires valuation to be transparent and based on current local market information.
Property valuation is generally to be conducted by certified valuers, and government valuation is to be carried out regularly, with the Proclamation specifying a five-year cycle for regular government valuation, subject to provisions for updating values when circumstances change.
6. Property Valuation Methods
The primary valuation approach under the Proclamation is based on comparison with market prices.
Other valuation methods may also be used where appropriate, including:
- Market comparison
- Income capitalization
- Other appropriate calculation methods
For unique properties where sufficient market information is unavailable, a special valuation method may be used subject to confirmation by the appropriate authority.
The law also provides for property valuation information to be reviewed, updated, publicly announced, and made available for public inspection.
Property owners have the right to be informed when their properties are included in a valuation package and may request corrections where they believe the valuation contains an error.
7. Licensing of Property Valuers
Anyone professionally conducting real property valuations must hold a valid and renewed valuer's professional license.
Valuer licensing can operate at federal, regional, and city levels, with professional levels determined according to factors including the type and value of property being valued.
Valuers are required to:
- Obtain the appropriate professional license
- Follow professional and ethical standards
- Maintain professional competence
- Undergo periodic assessment
The Proclamation also allows authorities to take action against valuers in cases involving demonstrated professional or ethical misconduct.
8. Real Property Marketing and Price Transparency
The Proclamation establishes rules for real property marketing and transaction price disclosure.
Participants in the real property market may be required to disclose transaction prices, while sellers and lessors are required to clearly disclose property prices in accordance with requirements established by the appropriate authority.
The appropriate authorities are also expected to conduct research on real estate sales and rental prices and make the resulting information publicly available.
Where there is a significant discrepancy between amounts involved in a property transaction and amounts submitted for registration, authorities may request supporting evidence from the parties. Where the evidence is inadequate, the parties may be held responsible under applicable law for attempted fraud or other unlawful conduct.
9. Real Estate Brokers and Property Managers
The Proclamation recognizes individuals participating in the real property market as brokers or property managers and provides that they must meet applicable educational and professional ethical requirements.
The Ministry is also responsible for establishing national standards concerning the registration and licensing of real estate developers, conveyances, agents, liaison brokers, and property valuers.
10. Market Research and Property Prices
The Proclamation provides for systematic research into Ethiopian real estate prices.
Market research for property valuation should consider factors including:
- Registered property values
- Local property market values
- Inflation
- National economic growth
- Annual production growth
- Property location
The law also provides for the classification of cities and urban land grades, with land-grade information and maps to be made publicly available.
11. Government Responsibilities
The Proclamation assigns responsibilities to the Ministry, regional governments, and other appropriate authorities.
At the national level, the Ministry is responsible for developing and overseeing a national real estate development, marketing, and valuation system.
Its responsibilities include:
- Establishing national standards
- Licensing valuers and developers at the federal level
- Coordinating stakeholders
- Conducting market research
- Collecting and disseminating real estate information
- Developing valuation methodologies
- Establishing professional standards and codes of conduct
- Studying real estate supply and demand
- Developing systems for indicative property prices
- Supporting capacity building
- Establishing systems for technology-supported real estate marketing and valuation
- Developing protections for pre-sale buyers
Regional governments are also given responsibilities to develop implementation directives that reflect their local circumstances.
12. Complaints and Dispute Resolution
The Proclamation establishes procedures through which people can raise concerns about real estate development, property marketing, valuation, and related decisions.
A person who believes the Proclamation has been violated may submit a written tip-off supported by evidence.
Complaints may relate to matters such as:
- Disputes concerning real estate development
- Property marketing or valuation
- Failure by a developer to transfer a property according to the contract
- Poor construction quality
- Problems concerning property valuation
A first-level complaint generally must be submitted in writing within 30 working days, while a complaint concerning construction quality may be submitted within one year of receiving the property.
The Proclamation also establishes complaint-hearing committees that can investigate complaints and make recommendations.
For certain types of complaints, specific time limits apply. For example, property valuation complaints must generally be submitted within 40 days of public announcement of the valuation result. Appeals against committee decisions may be submitted to a competent regular court within 30 days of receiving the decision.
13. Real Estate Information and Transparency
The law requires relevant authorities to maintain information concerning real estate development, property marketing, and valuation.
Regional and city authorities are expected to collect and organize information that can contribute to the development of a national real estate information system.
This reflects one of the Proclamation's broader objectives: creating a more structured and information-based Ethiopian real estate market.
14. Transitional Provisions
The Proclamation also addresses real estate projects and transactions that existed before it came into force.
Real estate developers involved in projects that began before the Proclamation and were expected to continue for more than one year were required to register under the new framework within the specified transitional period.
Real property marketing and valuation activities initiated under laws affected by the Proclamation were also subject to transitional time limits.
The Proclamation further gives the Council of Ministers authority to issue implementing regulations, while regions may issue directives necessary to implement the Proclamation and its regulations.
What This Means for Property Buyers
For property buyers, particularly those purchasing apartments or other real estate from developers, the Proclamation establishes several important protections and transparency requirements.
These include requirements relating to:
- Developer qualification
- Building and development permits
- Advance payments
- Pre-sale authorization
- Completion of basic building services
- Property documentation
- Payment records and receipts
- Price disclosure
- Property valuation
- Buyer complaints
- Construction-quality complaints
- Appeal procedures
The law therefore provides a framework intended to give buyers greater access to information and formal mechanisms for addressing certain problems that may arise during real estate transactions.
What This Means for Real Estate Developers
For developers, Proclamation No. 1357/2024 establishes a more structured regulatory environment.
Developers must meet applicable qualification requirements, comply with construction and development obligations, follow rules governing customer registration and payments, provide specified documentation, and comply with requirements concerning advertising, property transfers, and pre-sale transactions.
Developers also operate within a system of professional standards, licensing, monitoring, information requirements, and complaint procedures.
Why This Proclamation Matters
Ethiopia's real estate market involves buyers, developers, brokers, valuers, investors, property owners, financial institutions, and government authorities.
Proclamation No. 1357/2024 attempts to bring these activities into a more consistent legal framework by addressing three closely connected areas:
Development
Establishing requirements for real estate developers, projects, financing, construction, qualification, and pre-sale activities.
Marketing & Transactions
Improving price disclosure, transaction transparency, professional standards, and the availability of market information.
Valuation
Creating a formal system for determining property values for transactions, taxation, financing, inheritance, compensation, insurance, rental services, and other purposes.
Together, these provisions create a framework intended to make the Ethiopian real estate market more structured, transparent, and accountable.
Read the Full Proclamation
This summary highlights the major provisions of Real Estate Development and Real Property Marketing and Valuation Proclamation No. 1357/2024, but it does not reproduce every article, definition, condition, exception, or procedural requirement.
For the complete legal text, including all 36 articles, definitions, requirements, procedures, and transitional provisions, read the full proclamation below.
Proclamation No 1357 2024 Real Estate Development and Real Property Marketing and Valuation Proclamation