Does Promoting a Property Listing for Commission Make an Influencer an Unlicensed Real Estate Agent?

Short answer: probably not for plain promotion — but the law itself doesn't resolve the commission-paid middle ground

Probably not — if the influencer simply shows the property, gives a walkthrough or shares a post without negotiating price or terms, preparing sales documents, or otherwise acting as either party's representative. That looks like ordinary marketing, which Denmark's real estate brokerage law doesn't require a license for. But the law itself doesn't precisely define where the line sits for someone who is paid commission and given a personal link tied to a specific sale — and no case or published ruling has been found testing this on an influencer specifically.

This is practical guidance from Make Influence, not legal advice. Use this article to understand where the open question sits — get a specific assessment from a lawyer specializing in real estate brokerage if you're unsure about a particular collaboration.

As the Academy's article on regulated industries covers for insurance, finance and pharmaceuticals, real estate is another industry with its own, separate licensing requirement — and the line for when it reaches an influencer is not as clearly settled in the law as it is for those other industries.

What the law actually regulates

Denmark's real estate brokerage act (ejendomsmæglerloven, consolidated as lovbekendtgørelse nr. 510 af 24. februar 2021, officially "lov om formidling af fast ejendom m.v.") sets out in § 1, stk. 1 that the law applies to two forms of professional/commercial activity: "1) erhvervsmæssig formidling af salg af fast ejendom [professional mediation of the sale of real estate] og 2) erhvervsmæssigt udbud og salg af fast ejendom [professional offering and sale of real estate]." The first limb — mediation ("formidling") — is the one relevant to an influencer promoting someone else's property. The second limb instead catches a business that professionally offers and sells property itself, typically a developer selling newly built units directly.

§ 4 of the law defines an "ejendomsformidlingsvirksomhed" (real estate mediation business) as "en juridisk enhed, som beskæftiger sig med formidling af salg af fast ejendom til eller for forbrugere" [a legal entity engaged in mediating the sale of real estate to or for consumers]. Note that the law describes who is covered without itself giving an exhaustive definition of which concrete actions constitute "formidling" — whether it requires negotiating on a party's behalf, or whether plain exposure and referral is enough. That gap is exactly what leaves the question open for an influencer campaign.

§ 7 protects the title itself: "Betegnelsen ejendomsmægler må kun benyttes af en person, der er godkendt som ejendomsmægler" [the designation "ejendomsmægler" may only be used by a person approved as an ejendomsmægler]. That is title protection — an influencer who never calls themselves an "ejendomsmægler" doesn't violate § 7 merely by using a different label. But title protection is a separate question from whether the underlying activity (commercially mediating a sale) requires approval regardless of what title someone uses for themselves.

Private, agent-free sales show that plain marketing alone doesn't trigger a license requirement

It is fully legal for a Danish homeowner to sell their own property without using a real estate agent — a common practice called "selvsalg." In that situation the owner handles pricing, marketing, documentation and the sales process themselves. That confirms plain exposure and advertising of a property doesn't by itself trigger a licensing requirement under the brokerage act — otherwise a private seller couldn't market their own home without being an approved ejendomsmægler either, which is plainly not the case.

That doesn't resolve the question for an influencer, though, who is a third party receiving commission for their effort — the self-sale example only shows that marketing alone isn't enough to trigger the law; it says nothing about when a paid third party's role becomes active enough to instead resemble mediation.

Plain marketing or mediation — what likely decides the line

Denmark's real estate disciplinary board only has jurisdiction over approved brokers — a real gap

According to the Disciplinary Board for Real Estate Agents' (Disciplinærnævnet for Ejendomsmæglere) own guidance, published on naevneneshus.dk, the board "kan kun tage stilling til konkrete klager over godkendte ejendomsmæglere og/eller ejendomsformidlingsvirksomheder" [can only rule on specific complaints against approved real estate agents and/or mediation businesses]. An approved ejendomsmægler can be fined personally up to DKK 300,000, and a mediation business up to DKK 750,000 — but only if the party complained about is already approved. That means if an influencer crosses the line into genuine mediation without being approved, the disciplinary board isn't the body with jurisdiction to hear it.

§ 65 of the law does set out fines for violating a list of named provisions, including the title protection in § 7 — but this research could not establish with certainty whether the underlying activity of "erhvervsmæssig formidling" under § 1 itself falls within that list of criminally sanctioned provisions, independent of title use. The general rules under the marketing practices act (markedsføringsloven) apply regardless, to any advertising, whether or not it also constitutes mediation. This research found no published case of an influencer, or a similar actor, being prosecuted or sanctioned for unlicensed real estate mediation specifically. That is an honest limitation of this article, not an attempt to guess at an answer the law and practice don't themselves provide.

Decision framework for a brand or influencer considering a commission-paid property campaign

IF the campaign is a flat-fee post or walkthrough, with the influencer not negotiating price/terms or preparing sales documents → the activity resembles plain marketing, parallel to the self-sale example, and probably doesn't require approval.

IF the influencer actively negotiates on the seller's (or buyer's) behalf, prepares a sales statement, or advises on the purchase agreement itself → this is the core of what the law calls mediation, and requires approval as an ejendomsmægler or affiliation with an approved mediation business.

IF the influencer has a personal link or code and receives commission per completed sale, but doesn't themselves negotiate or prepare documents → this is the unresolved middle ground. Don't assume it's unproblematic just because it resembles the affiliate models common in other industries — get it clarified legally before the campaign goes live.

IF the influencer promotes a brokerage firm's brand generally (e.g. "use this agent when you sell") rather than a specific property for sale → this resembles lead generation or marketing for the brokerage itself, not independent real estate mediation performed by the influencer.

IF the influencer promotes newly built units directly from a developer selling without an agent → it's the developer, not the influencer, who falls under § 1, stk. 1, nr. 2's professional offering and sale limb — but the influencer's own role is assessed under the same principles as above.

Worked example: why the payment structure changes the picture (hypothetical, not a real case)

The figures below are invented and for illustration only — not a Make Influence customer or a real case.

An influencer signs two different property-promotion agreements over the course of a year:

Agreement A (marketing): The influencer receives DKK 8,000 for a single sponsored walkthrough video of a property for sale. There's no personal link, and the fee is the same regardless of whether the property sells. This activity resembles plain marketing.

Agreement B (commission): The influencer instead receives 0.5% commission on the sale price, paid if the property sells to a buyer traceable to the influencer's own link. The property sells for DKK 3,200,000, producing a commission of DKK 16,000 — more than double Agreement A's fee, for otherwise similar content. The example doesn't show what's "right" or "wrong" — it shows why two seemingly similar campaigns can raise different questions purely because the payment structure differs, and why the commission model on its own resembles the payment structures the law's mediation concept is tied to.

Make Influence's perspective

In our experience, real estate is an area where brands and influencers think about regulation less often than they do for finance or insurance — probably because a property walkthrough feels like ordinary lifestyle content. Our clear recommendation is to treat any property campaign involving a personal link or a commission model as a regulatory question from the start, the same way we recommend for insurance mediation — not something investigated only after a dispute arises. If the campaign is purely a flat-fee collaboration with no traceable sale, the risk is, in our assessment, markedly lower, but we still recommend getting that confirmed in writing by a lawyer specializing in real estate mediation before the contract is signed. Regardless of whether the activity also constitutes mediation, a paid collaboration must still be clearly disclosed as advertising — the two rule sets apply on top of each other, not instead of each other.

FAQ

Does an influencer need real estate agent approval just to recommend a brokerage firm?

Probably not. Recommending or mentioning a brokerage firm generally — without negotiating or mediating a specific property transaction — resembles ordinary marketing for the firm, not independent real estate mediation performed by the influencer.

Can an influencer use the title "ejendomsmægler" (real estate agent) in their content without being approved?

No. § 7 of the law specifically protects the title: only a person approved as an ejendomsmægler may use the designation. That applies regardless of whether the rest of the activity otherwise constitutes mediation.

Is it legal to sell your own home and use an influencer for the marketing?

Yes, self-sale ("selvsalg") is fully legal, and hiring an influencer to market the property — without the influencer negotiating or preparing documents — resembles the same type of marketing the owner could have handled themselves.

What's the difference between "offering" and "mediating" a property under the law?

§ 1, stk. 1 of the law distinguishes between "formidling af salg" (mediation of a sale, nr. 1), relevant to a third party helping sell someone else's property, and "udbud og salg" (offering and sale, nr. 2), which catches a business that professionally sells property directly — typically a developer.

Do the same considerations apply if the influencer promotes a development project from a builder?

A developer selling newly built units directly falls under § 1, stk. 1, nr. 2's professional offering-and-sale limb. The influencer's own role in promoting the project is assessed under the same principles as an ordinary property listing: plain exposure versus active negotiation or document handling.

Can an influencer be prosecuted for unlicensed real estate mediation?

This research found no published case of an influencer, or a similar actor, being sanctioned for this specifically. The Disciplinary Board for Real Estate Agents also only has jurisdiction over already-approved actors, meaning an unauthorized person's violation would, if pursued at all, have to go through a different channel. Get a specific assessment from a lawyer if the question is live for your collaboration.

Does the same prohibition apply to other regulated professions, like lawyers?

No, not in the same absolute way. Real estate mediation turns on when the activity itself requires approval as an ejendomsmægler, while the rules for lawyers instead prohibit the payment structure itself — any referral fee or fee-sharing with a non-lawyer — regardless of whether the underlying activity otherwise resembles mediation.