Apartments for rent in Douz Nord

Douz, the "gateway to the Sahara", is a town of low houses, palm groves and sand. The apartment in the big city sense, in a five storey block with a lift, practically does not exist here. What is let under that name in the Douz Nord delegation is floors of family houses with a separate entrance, studios fitted out above a garage or a shop, and a few S+1 or S+2 flats in small two level buildings, along the main streets or in an area such as El Aouina Nord.

Supply is therefore small, limited from week to week, and published almost exclusively by private owners. On Houni, you call the owner directly. If the delegation has nothing at the time of your search, widen it to Douz Sud, Kebili or Souk Lahad with the apartments to rent in the Kebili governorate.

Who looks for an apartment in Douz

The first in line are transferred civil servants: teachers at the town's primary, middle and secondary schools, health staff, employees of the administrations, the national guard and customs. They often arrive alone, at least for the first year, and look for a simple studio or S+1 (one bedroom plus a living room), by the year, near the centre and the market. Young Douz couples leaving the family home make up the rest of the demand.

The second group is tied to Saharan tourism. Guides, 4x4 drivers, hotel and camp staff, organisers of treks into the Grand Erg Oriental: for them the season runs from October to April, and an apartment to rent in Douz for seven or eight months, possibly furnished, suits them better than a one year lease. Some owners accept this pattern, others prefer a tenant for the whole year.

Students carry little weight in local demand, but interns and young graduates hired for the season sometimes look to share an S+2 between two or three. In that case the owner will want to know each occupant and will prefer a single signatory responsible for the rent. Say so from the first call: it avoids a refusal at the viewing.

Living on a floor in Douz: heat and comfort

Summer in Douz is very hot, with days often above 40 °C from June to September. A floor under a poorly insulated concrete slab becomes hard to live in without air conditioning. Before signing, ask whether the home is equipped, whether the wiring can take one or two units, and how the STEG bill is shared with the rest of the house. The spring sandstorms also call for windows that shut properly.

Winter nights, on the other hand, can be cool. A small heating setup, or at least a spot for a heater, remains useful from December to February, just when the town is in its high season with the International Festival of the Sahara.

Rent, lease and deposit

Rents in Douz stay modest compared with coastal towns: an unfurnished studio or S+1 often lets for a few hundred dinars a month, and an S+2 rarely goes above the rents charged in Kebili town. Furnished lets, rarer, cost more, especially during the tourist season. The owner usually asks for one month's deposit and the first month's rent in advance.

A written contract, registered at the tax office, remains the best protection: it fixes the term, the amount, the deposit and how the water and electricity bills are split. For a floor in a house lived in by the owner's family, also put in writing the use of the roof terrace, the courtyard and the parking: that is where most disagreements start.

If an apartment is not enough

A family with several children will often find it better to rent a whole house, with a courtyard and a roof terrace, which is still common in Douz. The homes to rent in Douz Nord bring the delegation's houses and apartments together on one page, so you can compare both options in one place.