Real Estate Brokerage Business Conditions 2026

Real Estate Brokerage Business Conditions 2026: What Companies and Individuals Need

The 2023 Law on Real Estate Business (effective 1/8/2024) significantly tightened brokerage: individuals may no longer practice independently, and companies must meet 4 conditions before operating. Many agencies operating under "old habits" risk unwitting violations.

Contents

• 1. Biggest change: no independent individual practice
• 2. Four conditions for brokerage companies
• 3. Practicing certificates: eligibility and process
• 4. Pre-operation notification duty
• 5. FDI companies in brokerage: allowed?
• 6. Sanctions for violations
• 7. FAQs
• 8. When to work with a lawyer

1. Biggest change: no independent individual practice

Previously, certified individuals could practice independently. The 2023 Law on Real Estate Business changed this: individual brokers must establish or join an enterprise or cooperative providing brokerage services — independent practice is gone.

Consequence: freelance "land agents" and unaffiliated collaborators operate outside the legal framework. Buyers/sellers dealing with them face risks too: no legal entity stands behind the service when disputes arise.

2. Four conditions for brokerage companies

Under Article 61 of the 2023 Law on Real Estate Business, brokerage companies must meet all 4 conditions:

1. Adopt brokerage operation regulations — internal rules on process, professional ethics, broker management.
2. Have adequate physical and technical facilities — offices and equipment matching operating scale.
3. Employ at least 01 individual holding a brokerage practicing certificate — the certified person professionally responsible for the company's brokerage.
4. Notify the provincial state regulator for real estate business of company information before commencing operations.

Missing any condition — the company may not operate brokerage.

3. Practicing certificates: eligibility and process

Individuals receive brokerage practicing certificates when:

• Having full civil act capacity;
• High-school graduation or higher;
• Passing the brokerage-knowledge examination.

Examinations and issuance follow Decree 96/2024/ND-CP. Note the two tiers: certificates are individual conditions; the 4 conditions in section 2 are company conditions — both tiers must be satisfied in parallel.

4. Pre-operation notification duty

The most-forgotten condition. Before commencing brokerage, companies must submit company information (name, address, representative, list of certified individuals…) to the provincial real-estate-business regulator where registered.

In practice: many companies registered brokerage business lines but never filed the notification — legally still not qualified to operate.

5. FDI companies in brokerage: allowed?

Foreign organizations and individuals may provide brokerage services in Vietnam (distinct from land-using real estate business, which faces heavier restrictions). FDI companies must meet the same 4 conditions as domestic companies, plus comply with investment law (conditional business lines, investment procedures).

6. Sanctions for violations

Providing brokerage without meeting conditions, unlawful independent practice, or practicing without certificates may attract administrative sanctions under real-estate-business penalty rules; serious cases may face suspension. Specific fines apply per the penalty instruments in force at violation time.

Five-step compliance for a new brokerage. Step 1: register the enterprise with brokerage business lines. Step 2: engage at least one certified individual who takes professional responsibility. Step 3: adopt internal brokerage operation regulations (transaction process, ethics, staff management, complaint handling). Step 4: prepare physical and technical facilities — office and transaction-file archiving. Step 5: notify the provincial real-estate-business regulator before commencing. Only after step 5 is operation lawful. On "trading floors." A real estate trading floor is a heavier organizational form with stricter conditions (scale, personnel, tech infrastructure). Ordinary brokers need not meet floor conditions — but advertising as a "trading floor" without qualifying invites penalties for false advertising plus unqualified operation.

Contracts signed by unqualified brokers. A brokerage contract signed by an enterprise that does not meet the statutory conditions carries real invalidity risk — and invalidity unwinds the commission claim along with it. For clients: verify the broker's enterprise registration, the certified individual's certificate, and the pre-operation notification before signing the service contract, not after a dispute arises. For brokers: completing the five-step compliance process is not bureaucracy — it is the foundation your commission claims stand on. Transitional note. Businesses already operating when the new conditions took effect should audit their status immediately: obtain certificates for responsible staff, adopt the operation regulations, and file the notification. Operating on the assumption that "we were here first" is not a legal defense.

7. FAQs

Q: Can individuals practice real estate brokerage independently?

A: No. Under the 2023 Law on Real Estate Business, individual brokers must establish or join a brokerage enterprise or cooperative — independent practice is no longer allowed.

Q: What conditions must a brokerage company meet?

A: Under Article 61 of the 2023 Law on Real Estate Business: adopt brokerage operation regulations; have adequate physical and technical facilities; employ at least 01 individual holding a brokerage practicing certificate; and notify the provincial real-estate-business regulator of company information before operating.

Q: How to obtain a brokerage practicing certificate?

A: Individuals qualify with full civil capacity, high-school graduation or higher, and passing a brokerage-knowledge examination. Certificates are issued by competent authorities under Decree 96/2024/ND-CP.

Q: Can FDI companies do real estate brokerage?

A: Foreign organizations and individuals may provide brokerage services in Vietnam under the 2023 Law on Real Estate Business, subject to the same conditions as domestic companies plus foreign-investment rules.

8. When to work with a lawyer

Work with a lawyer when: establishing a brokerage company and completing the 4 conditions, operation regulations, and notification; individuals seeking examination and certification; FDI companies entering Vietnamese brokerage; or facing inspections/sanctions over brokerage conditions. FLAT Law Firm advises on real estate and investment law — hotline 0988424851.

References

• 2023 Law on Real Estate Business (No. 29/2023/QH15), effective 1/8/2024.
• Decree 96/2024/ND-CP, effective 1/8/2024.
• Cross-checked via thuvienphapluat.vn as of drafting (28/9/2026).

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