Apartments for rent in Zarzis

In Zarzis, flats remain a minority form of housing. The town grew as low whitewashed houses surrounded by olive trees, and most families live in a house of their own. Flats are found mainly in the small buildings of the centre, around the port and the shopping streets, and in a few recent residences built near the coast for summer visitors. Anyone looking for an apartment rental in Zarzis should therefore expect a short supply and properties that go by word of mouth as much as through listings.

On the day of our survey, only one apartment to rent was listed online for the delegation. Like almost all of them here, it is posted by a private owner you call directly, with no middleman. To widen the search to Djerba, Medenine or Ben Gardane, all the apartments to rent in the Medenine governorate can be browsed on a single page.

Apartments to rent in Zarzis by the sea

The most frequent search is for apartments to rent in Zarzis by the sea. It reflects a precise reality: from June to September, owners let a floor or a furnished flat near the beaches, by the week or the month, to families from Tunis, Sfax or Libya, and above all to emigrants coming home for the summer. The tourist zone, north of the town, with hotels such as the Sangho, takes part of this demand, but many holiday flats are simply in residential districts close to the shore.

A flat with a sea view is booked very early, often from spring, and July and August prices bear no relation to winter ones. If you are aiming for high season, call from April or May, ask for recent photos and have it spelled out what is provided: air conditioning, linen, hot water, parking. The real distance to the beach also deserves a frank question, since "near the sea" sometimes covers a few hundred metres of dirt track.

Renting by the year: civil servants, teachers and port workers

The other audience is yearly tenants: transferred teachers and civil servants, health staff, employees of the commercial port and of the companies in the Zarzis free zone. They look for an S+1 or S+2 (one or two bedrooms plus a living room) in the centre, close to shops and government offices, at a monthly rent that generally stays well below that of Djerba or the big northern cities. A decent S+2 in the centre usually lets within a modest range, but the price depends heavily on the furniture and the condition.

The right time for these tenants is autumn: after the holidaymakers leave, owners who let by the season sometimes prefer a ten- or twelve-month contract. Conversely, a lease signed in May may run into an owner who wants the property back for the summer. If no flat fits, the page of homes to rent in Zarzis, houses and villa floors included, offers more choice.

Chammakh, Hamadi and the outskirts

Outside the centre, the Chammakh, Hamadi and Hamadi Boutoufaha areas are mostly detached houses. You rarely find a flat in the strict sense there, more often a self-contained floor above the family house, let to a couple or an employee. These homes are quieter and roomier, but a car quickly becomes essential to reach the centre, the port or the beach.

Deposit, contract and inventory

For a yearly let, ask for a written contract registered at the tax office, and set the deposit in writing: one or two months' rent is the usual practice. Check the water and electricity meters, and who pays the bills. For a summer let, a simple receipt is not always enough: write down the dates, the total amount and the deposit paid. In a region where the sea air is damp and salty, look at the state of the window frames and the sea-facing walls before committing.