Starting a real-estate business in Cambodia
Set up a real-estate agency, management or development company in Cambodia — RPR/NBFSA licence (Prakas 064 & 047), taxes, common pitfalls.
- Duration
- Company 2-4 weeks + RPR licence 4-8 weeks
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Reading
- 7 min
In 3 bullets
- Real estate in Cambodia splits into two families: services (agency, management, valuation) and development (building and selling boreys, condos, land plots). Each has its own sector licence.
- Any real-estate services company must hold a licence from the Real Estate Business and Pawnshop Regulator (RPR) — agency, management or valuation — under the NBFSA (Prakas No. 064, 27 Dec 2022).
- A developer needs a separate development licence (residential/co-owned building or land-parcel) with a deposit or bank guarantee (RPR / NBFSA). A foreigner never owns the land: direct ownership runs through condominium units.
Overview: services vs development
The Cambodian property market covers very different trades that do not fall under the same licence:
- Real-estate services: agency (matching buyers/sellers, lettings), management (rental or co-ownership/building management), valuation/appraisal. A services activity, with modest capital.
- Property development: buying land, building and off-plan selling of boreys, co-owned buildings, or servicing and selling land plots. A capital-intensive, heavily regulated activity.
In practice, a services company (agency, management) is 100% open to foreigners and easy to set up. A development activity requires securing the land: purchase via a Khmer partner/company, a long-term economic land lease, or a holding structure. That is where the legal risk concentrates.
Step 1 — Set up the company (general setup)
Before any sector licence you need a legal entity. The standard is the Co. Ltd. (Private Limited Company), which foreigners can hold 100% for real-estate services:
- Registration with the MoC via the single portal (Co. Ltd.: minimum capital 4M KHR ≈ 1,000 USD).
- Tax registration with the GDT (company TIN).
- Patent tax (annual business tax) due from year one.
The detail of structures and their taxation is covered in which structure to choose and the Private Limited Company. The patent tax has its own dedicated guide.
Step 2 — The RPR / NBFSA sector licence
This is the real-estate-specific step. Since Prakas No. 064 of 27 December 2022, the sector is regulated by the Real Estate Business and Pawnshop Regulator (RPR), sitting under the Non-Bank Financial Services Authority (NBFSA) — the MEF-linked authority that also hosts the “Trust Regulator”. The supervising authority, previously the MEF, was transferred to the RPR.
The three services licences (Prakas 064)
Prakas 064 sets out three licence types for real-estate services companies (RPR):
| Licence | Activity covered |
|---|---|
| Agency (real estate agency) | Brokerage: sale, purchase, letting on behalf of third parties |
| Management (real estate management) | Rental management, co-ownership and building management |
| Valuation / appraisal (real estate valuation) | Property valuation/appraisal for profit |
On top of this, professional certificates are required at individual level for agents and valuers — separate from the company licence. A serious agency certifies its agents.
The online portal
Since 1 August 2024, applications for licences and certificates go through the regulator’s online portal (notification of 24 July 2024). Filing was previously physical. See the procedure and the register of licensed companies at rpr.gov.kh — that is also where your future clients will verify your licence (see the real-estate agencies guide).
The development licence (developers)
A developer does not fall under Prakas 064 but under a distinct regime (Prakas No. 089, replaced by Prakas No. 047), with two licence/permit types (Trust Regulator / NBFSA):
- Residential / co-owned building development (boreys, co-owned buildings): a permit from the Provincial Department of Economy and Finance (DEF) for 3 to 30 units; an RPR licence above 30 units. Requirements: capital ≥ 20% of construction cost and a 2% deposit of total cost (or a bank guarantee).
- Land-parcel development / servicing: a DEF permit below 10,000 m²; an RPR licence above. Requirements: capital ≥ 40% of development cost and a 5% deposit of the land investment cost (or a bank guarantee).
Step 3 — Taxation of a real-estate business
Once the company and licence are in place, the activity is taxed like any business, plus a few property-specific taxes:
- VAT 10% on services (agency commissions, management fees) and on the sale of taxable new buildings — filed monthly. See the VAT guide.
- Annual patent tax (category by turnover).
- Tax on Income (TOI) 20% on the company’s profit — see the corporate income tax guide.
- Capital gains on property — 20%: Cambodia taxes capital gains at 20% of the net gain. For companies, such gains generally fall within taxable profit at TOI 20%; the “individual property” leg was deferred to 2027. The regime keeps moving — detail and timeline in the corporate income tax guide.
- Registration / transfer tax — 4% on the transfer of property ownership (based on the official assessed value), due within 3 months (Tax on Property — GDT).
- Annual immovable-property tax — 0.1% on property value above 100 million KHR (≈ 25,000 USD), declared by 30 September (Tax on Property — GDT).
- Tax on unused land — 2% of the market value of undeveloped land, set by the appraisal committee — a line item to anticipate for a developer holding land (Tax on Property — GDT).
Common pitfalls
FAQ
Do you need a licence to open a real-estate agency in Cambodia?
Yes. Since Prakas No. 064 (2022), any real-estate agency company must hold an agency licence issued by the RPR, under the NBFSA. Individual agents must also obtain a professional certificate. Applications run through the regulator’s online portal since 1 August 2024.
What is the difference between the agency licence and the development licence?
The agency/management/valuation licence (Prakas 064) covers services: brokerage, management, valuation. The development licence (Prakas 047) covers building and selling: boreys, co-owned buildings, land plots. The latter requires minimum capital, a financial guarantee and depends on the number of units (DEF up to 30 units, RPR above).
Can a foreigner be a property developer in Cambodia?
Yes for the development activity (via a licensed company), but never as the landowner in their own name — the Constitution reserves that to nationals. The land must be secured via a Khmer-majority company, an economic land lease, or a partnership. The units built can then be sold to foreigners within the 70% quota per building.
Which property-specific taxes apply?
On top of VAT, patent tax and TOI (20%), real estate bears a 4% transfer tax, an annual property tax of 0.1% above 100M KHR, a 2% tax on unused land, and a 20% capital gains regime (individual leg deferred to 2027). Every disposal should be costed in advance.
How long to be operational?
Allow 2 to 4 weeks to set up the company (MoC + GDT), then 4 to 8 weeks for the RPR licence via the online portal — longer for a development licence, which requires the financial guarantee and project approval. A local firm speeds up the file substantially.
Sources (4)
Every fact in this guide comes from official documents or government sites. An access date is recorded for each source.