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Estate Agent Denied Pay
By Dickson Jere

An agent was approached by a prospective buyer of land to look for quarry for mining. After a lengthy search, he managed to find one in Lusaka West. It was then agreed – verbally- that the agent would receive a commission of 10% of the total purchase price to be paid by the buyer who hired him.

But upon completion of the transaction, the buyer refused to pay the commission and denied ever entering in such agreement. The agent claimed that the land was sold for USD250,000 and therefore his commission was USD25,000.
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The Contract of Sale (Special Conditions) between buyer and purchaser did not mention the existence of the agent or indeed any monies due to a third party except for legal fees.

The agent sued for his commission in the High Court. He claimed USD25,000 as his 10% percent plus interest from the buyer. The buyer argued that the commission – if any was due – should have been paid by the vendor and not purchaser.

Even though the agent never claimed to have been an “estate agent” per se, the case turned out to fall within section three (3) of the The Estate Agent Act of 2000, which prohibit practicing without registration.

The High Court Judge, having analyzed the evidence, adjudged as follows;
“It is clear that the above section proscribes an agent from carrying on business without registering,” she observed.

“From the evidence it can, however, be inferred that the plaintiff was operating as an agent without registration. He therefore cannot seek any redress for his illegal actions,” the Judge said and dismissed the entire action.

Simply, the Courts do not enforce contracts tainted with illegality.

She also found that there was a discrepancy between the amounts in the Contract of Sale with the one the agent as purchaese price as well as the size of the land in question.

Case citation- Davies Nyirongo v Rockstone Industry Company Limited (2015/HP/0058) and Judgment delivered in 2018.

This case is must read for estate agents and those involved in the study of land law, trust, agency and property transfer transactions.

The summary is for academic and intellectual discourse. For further and detailed legal opinion, kindly seek the services of your lawyer.