Houses to rent in Djerba Houmt Souk

September is the right month. The summer lets empty out, the owners who found no holidaymakers for the shoulder season finally agree to sign for a year, and rents come down a notch. That is when Houmt Souk families, civil servants posted to Medenine and couples working in the hotels start looking for a house to rent in Djerba for the new school year.

The villa rental market in Djerba splits in two, and you need to know which side you are on before contacting an advertiser on houni.tn: the yearly let, with a registered contract and a monthly rent, or the seasonal weekly let aimed at tourists and at the diaspora on holiday.

What does a house cost by the year in Houmt Souk?

In central Houmt Souk and its extensions (Taourit, Bou Melel, the Mellita road) you find single-storey houses or villa floors, S+2 or S+3 (two or three bedrooms plus a living room), with a courtyard or a terrace. These are the homes local people actually live in. Unfurnished, a house of this kind rents for far more reasonable money than the holiday listings suggest: usually 500 to 900 DT a month for a decent S+2, more if the house is recent and close to the secondary school or the hospital. For a short stay or a tight budget, the apartments to rent in Houmt Souk near the centre and the port are the most flexible option.

A year-round villa with a pool is another category altogether. It appeals to hotel-sector managers, doctors posted to Houmt Souk and a few European retirees who prefer to rent before they buy. Those houses are mostly in Mellita, in Erriadh and along the airport road. Owners hesitate, because one August of holiday letting brings in as much as a quarter of yearly rent; what makes them sign is a serious tenant, a contract registered at the tax office and a two-month deposit.

The season: villas with pools and restored houchs

From June to September the delegation becomes a different town. A villa to rent in Djerba for a fortnight in Mellita, with a pool and a barbecue, is booked from spring onwards, and Tunis families pass the good addresses between them. Luxury villas exist too, five bedrooms, infinity pool and house staff, but they stay the exception: Houmt Souk is not Midoun, there are fewer showpiece villas and more family houses.

The restored houch is the local speciality. A domed menzel in Erriadh or Fatou, tastefully redone, with its courtyard and its olive garden, is let to visitors who want something other than a hotel in the tourist strip. Djerbahood has done a great deal for Erriadh in that respect. These properties go quickly for Eid and for the summer holidays.

Water, septic tank, exact address

For a yearly let, look at the water. In Houmt Souk the pressure is irregular in summer and many houses depend on a roof tank or a cistern, the traditional majel. Ask how the house is supplied. Then drainage: outside the centre, some houses run on a septic tank rather than the ONAS network, which costs money to maintain.

For a seasonal let, be wary of a listing with no precise address. A villa in Djerba advertised as close to the beach may be five minutes on foot on the Sidi Mahrez side, or fifteen minutes by car from inland Mellita. Ask for the exact position and the name of the area. A villa let through a local agency usually comes with a written inventory; between private individuals, take photos on the day you move in.

Also worth seeing in the delegation

For anyone thinking of staying, houses for sale in Houmt Souk give an idea of what a year of rent represents against buying.