Estate agents: only 4 in 10 fully formalised. How to check your agent before you sign
NAREA's first survey of the profession and a tax-office warning on under-declaration. What Law 9/2022 guarantees you and how to choose a legitimate agent.
By Galip Sulaj7 min read
Many purchases and rentals in Albania go through an estate agent. But how many agents actually work within the law? The first national survey of the profession, presented by the real-estate intermediaries' association NAREA on 21 September 2026, gives a worrying answer: only about 4 in 10 agents are fully formalised. On the same day, the tax administration described the sector as exposed to the risk of under-declaration. Here is what the data shows, and how to check your agent before you sign or pay anything.
Cover photo: Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels
- Agents fully formalised, according to NAREA's 2026 survey
- 4 in 10
- Real level of market formalisation, as rated by professionals
- 2.4 of 5
- Professionals who see unfair competition as the main cause
- 75%
- Taxpayers registered in the real-estate market by June 2026
- 2,800
What the NAREA survey shows
The 2026 baseline survey of real-estate intermediaries ran from 16 July to 7 August 2026 and collected 140 completed questionnaires out of 495 entries (Ekofin, Monitor). According to its findings, about 4 in 10 agents are fully formalised, about 3 in 10 partly, and as many again work informally. Although about 9 in 10 agencies in the sample say they are licensed, professionals rate the real level of market formalisation at just 2.4 out of 5. Almost half say they come across unlicensed operators at least once a month.
| Category | Approximate share of respondents |
|---|---|
| Know Law 9/2022 | 75% |
| Want a National Chamber | 70% |
| See improvement in recent years | 60% |
| Want stricter enforcement | 60% |
| Fully formalised | 40% |
| See the law really applied | 30% |
| See tangible change | 20% |
About 3 in 4 professionals know Law no. 9/2022 on the profession of real-estate intermediary, but only about 3 in 10 see it genuinely applied in practice. Some 75% of respondents name unfair competition from unlicensed operators as the main cause of informality. NAREA proposes 15 recommendations in five areas, including a public online register of licensed intermediaries, mandatory periodic training, clearer licensing criteria, stronger enforcement against unlicensed operators and a mandatory code of ethics.
This report is not against reform; it is a call to take reform all the way. The law that was passed set the standard, but the market still does not fully work to that standard.
Tax: a sector at risk of under-declaration
At the NAREA conference, Imir Kraja, director of risk management at the General Directorate of Taxation, said that about 2,800 taxpayers were registered in the real-estate market by June 2026. According to Monitor, 70% of them registered after 2020, 36% in the last two years alone, and 63% are concentrated in Tirana, Durrës, Vlorë, Lezhë and Sarandë. The tax administration lists as its main risks the heavy use of cash, under-declaration of sale prices and rents, and the splitting of businesses to avoid corporate income tax.
For you as a client this matters directly. An under-declared price in the contract can look like a saving today but cost you later: in the tax on your next sale, in the value a bank accepts for a mortgage, or in a dispute with the seller.
Photo: Alena Darmel / Pexels
What Law no. 9/2022 says
The law "On the profession of real-estate intermediary" gives every client some clear protections. According to the text of the law:
- Certified intermediaries only. The profession may be practised only by people certified by the ministry responsible for justice and entered in the Register of Real-Estate Intermediaries (Article 5). When working online or at a distance, the intermediary must state their identity, certificate number and business identification number.
- A written contract. The brokerage contract must be in writing, otherwise it is not valid (Article 13). If no duration is set, it is deemed to run for six months.
- Published fees. The intermediary must display their general terms and fees where the client can clearly see them (Article 14).
- No payment before the contract. The intermediary may not ask for part-payments of the fee before the contract is signed (Article 20).
- Checking the seller. Before the contract, the intermediary must make sure, on the basis of the client's documents, that the party is free to dispose of the property (Article 19).
- Fines. Anyone acting as an intermediary without a certificate faces a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 lek (Article 37).
| Details of the parties | The agent's name, certificate number and business number |
|---|---|
| Subject | Which property, and whether for sale, purchase or rent |
| Rights and obligations | What exactly the agent will do |
| Fee | Amount or percentage, and when it is due |
| Preparatory steps | Document checks, viewings, negotiation |
| Extra expenses | What is charged separately, and only with your consent |
Be careful with exclusive contracts. If you signed an exclusive agreement and sell yourself or through another agent during its term, you must pay the exclusive agent's fee (Article 15). Even after the contract ends, if you close a deal within six months thanks to the agent's work, the fee may still be due unless the contract says otherwise (Article 16).
How to check your agent
If you are selling, you can compare agencies and find a professional on our sell with an agent page or in the list of agents. Before setting a price, check it with our property valuation tool.
Test your knowledge
Can an agent ask you for a payment before you sign the contract?
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Ekofin: Only 4 in 10 estate agents formalised, NAREA calls for market discipline (in Albanian), 21 September 2026
- Monitor: NAREA survey, only 40% of property agents fully formalised (in Albanian), 21 September 2026
- Report TV: Only 40% of real-estate intermediaries fully formalised (in Albanian), 21 September 2026
- Monitor: Tax office, 2,800 taxpayers in the real-estate market, sector at risk of under-declaration (in Albanian), 21 September 2026
- Hashtag.al: Tax office, 2,800 taxpayers in the real-estate market (in Albanian), 21 September 2026
- Law no. 9/2022 "On the profession of real-estate intermediary" (PDF, NAREA) (in Albanian)
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