At a Glance
As at 26 August 2026, the Property Practitioners Act 11 of 2024 is gazetted but not yet in force. What protects Windhoek buyers and sellers right now is the Estate Agents Act 112 of 1976, administered by NEAB. The new Act will widen consumer protections and rename NEAB the PPRA, but none of that applies to your transaction yet.
Current as at 26 August 2026, reviewed once a commencement date is announced. General information, not financial or legal advice, so speak to a conveyancer for anything specific to your transaction.
Why Is There So Much Confusion About Which Property Law Applies in Namibia?
Two separate things are getting mixed up, and neither of them means the new law applies to you today. The first is South Africa, which has its own, completely separate Property Practitioners Act (Act 22 of 2019), already in force under its own regulator. Search for "Property Practitioners Act" and much of what comes back is describing that one, not Namibia's.
The second is a risky reading of real Namibian news. Namibia's Property Practitioners Act 11 of 2024 was genuinely signed into law and published in Government Gazette 8503 on 11 November 2024. That part is true, and it is why the headlines exist. But "signed into law" and "in force" are two different things, and the gap between them is where the confusion lives.
So nothing changes for your transaction today. What follows is what currently applies, and what will apply once the new Act commences.
Is the Property Practitioners Act 11 of 2024 in Force Yet?
No. As at 26 August 2026, no commencement date has been announced. The Act comes into operation on a date the Minister determines by notice in the Government Gazette, and no such notice has been published. Namibia's own legal information institute, NamibLII, states this directly: "This Act has not yet come into force." The Legal Assistance Centre's annotated version of the current Estate Agents Act, updated 15 July 2026, confirms it from the other direction, noting the 1976 Act "will be repealed by the Property Practitioners Act 11 of 2024 (GG 8503), which had not yet been brought into force." Until a commencement notice is published, the new Act has no legal effect on any property transaction in Namibia.
What Law Currently Governs Estate Agents in Namibia?
The Estate Agents Act 112 of 1976 is the law that governs Windhoek estate agents today, administered by the Namibia Estate Agents Board, NEAB. NEAB is fully active and operating right now. It issues Fidelity Fund Certificates, runs induction training, and administers agent examinations, including one scheduled for September 2026 that is still set against the current Act.
Under the 1976 Act, no one may act as an estate agent without a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate (section 26), and doing so anyway is a criminal offence (section 34). NEAB's statutory object is to maintain and promote the integrity of estate agents, and its powers include setting and enforcing a code of conduct. For the practical, do-this-today version of checking an agent's standing, see this checklist.
Has NEAB Been Replaced by the PPRA?
No, not yet, and when it happens, it will not look like most people assume. The new Act does not abolish NEAB and create a fresh regulator. Section 6 provides that NEAB "continues to exist as a juristic person as if it was established under this Act but under the name Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority." That is a continuation and a rename, not a replacement, and it only takes effect once the Act commences. Today, NEAB is NEAB. There is no PPRA operating in Namibia.
What Applies Now, and What Will the New Act Change?
Here is the comparison that matters most, as a table rather than buried in prose.
| Question | Applies today (Estate Agents Act 112 of 1976) | Will apply once Act 11 of 2024 commences |
|---|---|---|
| In force? | Yes, fully in force | Not yet, awaiting a commencement notice |
| Regulator | Namibia Estate Agents Board (NEAB) | NEAB continued under the new name Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA) |
| Certificate validity | Valid until 31 December of the application year, renewed annually | Unchanged: still valid until 31 December of the application year |
| Who needs a certificate | Estate agents and their employed agents and directors | A much broader group of "property practitioners," including managing agents and letting agents |
| Commission recovery if paid to an unregistered agent | No recovery right in the current Act, per NEAB's own published position | Will be unlawful and cancellable, with full repayment plus interest required |
| Mandatory disclosure form before a mandate | Not required by this Act | Will be required before a practitioner can accept a mandate |
| Duty of care to both parties | Not stated as a specific duty in this Act | Will be an express statutory duty owed to both buyer and seller |
This table reflects the position as at 26 August 2026. The right-hand column describes provisions that are gazetted but not yet in force, and none of it applies to a transaction today.
What Will Change Once the New Act Commences?
One change stands out as the sharpest contrast in this whole comparison, and it deserves its own explanation beyond the table above.
Today, if you pay commission to an agent who turns out not to have a valid certificate, NEAB's own published position is direct: the agent is not entitled to be paid, but if they are paid anyway, "the seller cannot claim it back." That is the position now. Once the new Act commences, that changes. An agreement to pay an uncertified practitioner will be unlawful and cancellable by the other party at any time, and the money will have to be repaid in full, with interest. The gap is real today and the fix is real on paper, but the fix is not law yet, and that is the part worth holding on to.
The mandatory disclosure form and the wider definition of "property practitioner" (set out in the table above) are worth knowing about because they are coming, and worth being precise about because neither applies yet.
What Should You Do Differently Right Now Because of the New Act?
Nothing. That is the honest answer, and it is worth saying plainly. The current process and current checks, built around NEAB and the 1976 Act, remain fully in force. If you are buying, selling, or working with an agent this month, run the same checks you would have run a year ago: confirm the agent's current Fidelity Fund Certificate, confirm the agency's NEAB registration and trust account, and phone NEAB if you have any doubt. The full step-by-step version is here.
The one thing worth watching for, rather than acting on, is the eventual commencement notice. Once the Minister publishes it in the Government Gazette, the right-hand column above becomes real. Until then, it is a plan, not a rule.
How Does Knowing the Right Law Help You in an Actual Windhoek Sale?
Knowing which law applies is the first layer of a bigger question: who is actually looking after your interests through a sale. This piece on what an exclusive mandate commits an agent to is the natural next read, and this walk-through of how a Windhoek sale unfolds covers the process itself.
Key Takeaways
- Treat any claim that the new Act already applies to you as wrong until a commencement notice appears in the Government Gazette. Section 93 of the Act puts that decision in the Minister's hands, and no such notice has been published as at 26 August 2026.
- The Estate Agents Act 112 of 1976, administered by NEAB, is what governs your transaction today. Nothing about that changes until a commencement notice is published.
- NEAB has not been renamed. The new Act will eventually continue NEAB under the name Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority, but only once it commences.
- The biggest real gap in today's law is that commission paid to an uncertified agent generally cannot be clawed back. The new Act will close that gap, but that protection does not exist yet.
- Do not wait for the new Act to protect you. Run today's checks, today's certificate, today's registration confirmation, on every transaction you are part of right now.
FAQ
Q: Is the Property Practitioners Act in force in Namibia?
A: No. It was signed into law and gazetted on 11 November 2024, but as at 26 August 2026 no commencement date has been announced. It has no legal effect on property transactions until that notice is published.
Q: What law currently governs estate agents in Namibia?
A: The Estate Agents Act 112 of 1976, administered by the Namibia Estate Agents Board (NEAB), which is fully operational today.
Q: Has NEAB been renamed to the PPRA?
A: Not yet. The new Act will eventually continue NEAB as the same legal body under the name Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority, but only once the Act commences. Today, it is NEAB.
Q: What changes for buyers and sellers under the new Act?
A: Once it commences, it is expected to introduce a real commission recovery right for consumers who pay an uncertified agent, a mandatory seller disclosure form before a mandate can be accepted, and a wider definition of who counts as a regulated property practitioner. None of these apply yet.
Q: What should I do differently right now because of the new Act?
A: Nothing. Keep using the checks that apply under current law: confirm the agent's Fidelity Fund Certificate, confirm the agency's NEAB registration and trust account, and contact NEAB directly if you are unsure.
Sources
- NamibLII, Property Practitioners Act 11 of 2024, namiblii.org
- Government Gazette 8503, 11 November 2024, Property Practitioners Act 11 of 2024 (Legal Assistance Centre)
- Estate Agents Act 112 of 1976, Legal Assistance Centre annotated statute (lac.org.na)
- Namibia Estate Agents Board (NEAB), neab.co.na
- NEAB, "Newsletter: Property Practitioners Act 2024 Signed Into Law," dated 21 November 2024
This guide was written by Tatjana Rapp, the principal real estate agent at Tatjana Rapp Real Estate. If you have questions about buying or selling in Windhoek, or what the current law means for your transaction, that conversation starts here. WhatsApp me on 081 564 4373 or visit tatjanarapp.com.