Abstract:
Real estate investment is crucial for ascertaining access to houses in a country, especially for a country
like Ethiopia that suffers from a shortage of dwellings on the one hand and the regular increment of
urbanization on the other hand. It plays a countless role in alleviating the housing problem that has
spearheaded in the country. Thus, the state should is expected to help the industry to expand by reducing
the major legal, institutional and practical challenges. Accordingly, the thesis explores the major legal,
institutional and practical challenges to real estate investments in general and residential real estate
investment specifically in Ethiopia.
In attaining the objective of the thesis, the research used qualitative methodology, and the method of data
collection for the study included both primary and secondary data. The primary data sources are
legislation and open-ended interview questions with the legal departments of real estate developers, and
as for secondary data, research has looked into necessary literature on the topic. The data collected was
analyzed and interpreted thematically by using narration. The study also critically assesses and compares
the institutional and legal arrangements of real estate regulation established among countries mainly
residential real estate regulation of Serbia, India and Ethiopia. A comparative analysis have the value to
identify the most effective system that the countries may follow for regulation of real estate with the
ultimate goal of identifying the gaps and challenges that Ethiopian real estate regulation face and finally
recommend some useful real estate regulation approaches to the FDRE government.
The study identified the non-existence of a comprehensive legal regime for real estate investment as to
legal difficulties. Concerning the practical challenges due to the existing legal lacuna, the research
discovered a shortage relating to access to land for real estate developers, financial difficulties due to
poor access to finance, and the absence of government institutions established by the legislature to
regulate the real estate sector in the country.
Finally, the research recommended the adoption of distinct special rules and the establishment of an
independent regulatory body for real estate investment to overcome the legal and practical challenges
faced by Ethiopia's real estate sector, as both measures will aid in the efficient regulation of the sector. It
also recommends that the government should make land and finance more accessible to residential real
estate developers by making their companies eligible for investment incentives.
