Homes for rent in Sfax

In Sfax, addresses are not given by neighbourhood but by road and by kilometre. "Route de Gremda km 5", "route de Teniour km 3": the city spreads out like a star from the medina, and each branch has its own atmosphere, its own type of house and its own level of rent. Looking for a home to rent in Sfax therefore means picking one or two roads, then deciding how far from the centre you are willing to go.

This page brings together every rental listing in the governorate, apartments, whole houses and villa floors, posted by private owners and agencies. You contact the advertiser directly. The supply varies from week to week: fuller in the city and along the first kilometres of the main roads, thinner in the inland delegations, where renting still relies heavily on word of mouth.

The centre or the roads: where to look for your budget

The delegation of Sfax Ville is where the apartment blocks are: Bab Bhar, the European quarter, Sfax El Jadida near the port. This is where an apartment for rent in Sfax is easiest to find, often in older buildings with no lift, high ceilings and little parking. The neighbourhood by neighbourhood details are on the page for homes to rent in Sfax Ville.

As soon as you leave the centre, the housing changes. On the Teniour, Soukra or El Ain roads, on the Sfax Ouest side, the typical home is a villa floor: the owner lives on the ground floor and lets the first floor, with a separate entrance. A house to rent in Sfax on the Teniour road appeals to families who want a courtyard and a garage without moving away from the schools. The Gremda road, much searched for in Arabic by people looking for houses to rent, is lined with large merchants' villas, let at higher rents, especially beyond the fifth kilometre.

To the north, the Tunis road runs through Sakiet Ezzit, with recent residences and housing estates popular with employees who work in the business parks of the north. Towards the Mahdia road, Sakiet Eddaier mixes family houses and small apartment blocks, with Sidi Mansour beach a short drive away. Searches for a villa to rent on the Mahdia or Soukra road are aimed at these areas.

Apartment, villa floor or whole house

The two searches that come up most often are the S+2 apartment to rent in Sfax and the S+3. An S+2 often lets for between 600 and 1,000 DT depending on the road and its condition, an S+3 frequently goes above 900 DT, and a villa floor is negotiated slightly below an apartment in a residence of the same size, because it has neither a lift nor a building manager. A whole house to rent in Sfax is rarer: Sfax families keep their houses and prefer to let a floor. A villa with a garden on the outskirts easily exceeds 1,500 DT, more with a pool.

To see apartment blocks only, the page for apartments to rent in the governorate filters the listings. Searches for monthly rentals mostly concern furnished homes for interns, engineers on assignment or emigrant families in summer; their rents are higher than year round lets and the length of stay is negotiated case by case.

Kerkennah, Thyna, Agareb: renting outside the city

The Kerkennah islands are a market of their own. In summer, houses in Remla or El Attaya are let by the week to Sfax families; the rest of the year, the supply is aimed at teachers, transferred civil servants and staff of the oil sites, with the ferry as a daily constraint. The page on renting in Kerkennah covers the villages in detail.

To the south, Thyna and Sfax Sud offer lower rents than the centre, with the airport and the industrial zones of the Gabes road close by. To the west, Agareb and Menzel Chaker suit those who work locally; rentals there are mostly village houses and ground floors, at prices noticeably below those in the city.

Timing and the lease

The Sfax market tightens at the end of August, when university students and transferred civil servants arrive at the same time. In June and July, owners who have not relet are more willing to discuss the rent. Start early if you are after an S+2 near the faculties.

When signing, ask for a written lease registered at the tax office, a deposit of one to two months clearly stated, and the percentage increase on renewal. For a villa floor, specify who pays for water and electricity when there is only one meter, and whether the roof terrace or the garage are included in the let. In summer, check the water pressure on the upper floors: a tank and a pump spare you many evenings without a shower.