Land and farms for sale in Tunis

The governorate of Tunis is the most urbanised in the country, and it shows in the land listings. Most delegations are built up from end to end, from the city centre to the northern suburbs, and a bare plot appears there mainly when an estate is settled, a large garden is divided or an old house is demolished. Only the western and south-western fringes, towards Sidi Hassine and the Sebkha Séjoumi, still have agricultural plots.

Looking for land for sale in Tunis therefore takes patience. Listings are posted mostly by private individuals and heirs, some by agencies in the northern suburbs, and supply varies a great deal from one week to the next. You call the seller directly. For a farm or a large piece of agricultural land, you usually need to widen your search to the neighbouring governorates of Manouba, Ariana or Ben Arous.

Three very different markets

In the north, land is expensive and found on the heights. In La Marsa, the last free plots are in Gammarth Supérieur, in a few pockets of Sidi Daoud or towards Marsa Hadayek, and many of the plots sold carry an old house that will be demolished. The land for sale in La Marsa page covers these areas in detail. In Carthage, supply is even scarcer, because a large share of the ground falls within the listed archaeological site: the page of land for sale in Carthage explains why every plot needs a close look.

In the west, it is the opposite. In Sidi Hassine, Birine and Cité du 20 Mars, plots of 100 to 300 m² are still waiting between multi-storey houses, at prices far lower than in the city. They appeal to families who build as their means allow and to small developers. On the edge of the delegation, towards the Mornaguia plain, a few plots of cereals, olive trees or market gardening still come up for sale, described on the page of land and farmland for sale in Sidi Hassine.

In between, in dense delegations such as El Ouardia, El Omrane Supérieur, Ezzouhour or Le Bardo, building land almost always means a small replacement plot: a low house bought up to put up a building of three or four storeys, or the back of a garden split off. The price is then worked out from what the zoning plan allows you to build, not from the ground area.

Urban plots: the zoning plan sets the value

Before making an offer, ask the municipality what the urban development plan allows on the plot: number of storeys, plot ratio, setbacks, and above all any land reserved for a road or a public facility. A plot cut into by a planned road loses part of its value. Also check the utilities: drinking water, electricity, sewerage. In the recent neighbourhoods of the west, a street that has been laid out is not necessarily a street that has been connected.

The land title is the second point. Many plots on the outskirts were sold by breaking up a large property, with a simple deed covering an undivided share. Without an individual title or an approved subdivision plan, a building permit and a bank loan become difficult. Insist on the agreement of all the co-owners, check the actual access to the plot and have the right of way written into the deed if it crosses a neighbouring property.

Agricultural land: land use and water

An agricultural plot does not become buildable because houses are going up next to it. The land use certificate, issued by the agriculture services or the municipality, states what you are allowed to do with it. Building without a change of land use exposes you to a permit refusal and makes resale complicated. For a genuinely agricultural project, find out about the well, its authorisation and the water quality: near the Sebkha Séjoumi, the water table can be salty and low-lying land takes in runoff in the autumn. Note also that a foreign buyer cannot acquire agricultural land in Tunisia.

Land or a house to rebuild

In Tunis, it is often simpler to buy an old building than to look for a bare plot. A low house on a well-placed plot, sold at a price close to that of the land, already comes with a title, utilities and access. The houses for sale in the governorate of Tunis regularly include some, especially in the older neighbourhoods in the west and south of the city. Just have the cost of demolition estimated and check that no tenant is still living there.