Offices and shops for rent in El Menzah

El Menzah is not a business district, and that is precisely what appeals to people looking for an office there. The big office towers are in the Centre Urbain Nord or Les Berges du Lac; in Menzah 1, Menzah 4 and El Manar, what gets rented is rather a villa ground floor turned into a practice, a flat converted into an office, a shop at the foot of a building or a service unit aimed at the campus students. Doctors, lawyers, architects, chartered accountants, driving schools and private tutoring centres make up most of the tenants.

For the delegation, the supply of offices and commercial units is limited and changes from one week to the next, and the properties that appear are often offered by private owners of the premises. For comparison, the offices and shops to rent in Tunis governorate cover the Centre Urbain Nord, the city centre and the other delegations.

Practices and offices for the professions

The most common form in El Menzah is an office set up in a dwelling: a first-floor flat, a villa ground floor with a street entrance, sometimes a whole small house. These premises draw medical and allied health practices, law firms and engineering consultancies, which want a residential address, a neighbourhood clientele and easier parking than in the centre.

Two points need checking before signing. The first is the authorised use of the premises: a dwelling used as an office may require a permit, and the co-ownership rules of a residential building may forbid professional activity or receiving the public. The second is the neighbours: a waiting room spilling onto the landing or patients parked in front of a neighbour's gate end in conflict. A sign, even a discreet one, has to be negotiated with the building manager and the municipality.

Local shops and units near the campus

On the retail side, footfall decides everything. Around the El Manar campus, in Manar 2, the units live off the student population: bookshops and photocopying, cafés, fast food, phone shops, tutoring rooms. Trade is strong from October to June and drops sharply over the summer and the university holidays, which the rent has to take into account. A shopkeeper who opens in May pays for three slack months before the first real season; better to take the keys at the end of summer and open for the September start of term, when students come back and settle into their neighbourhood habits. In Menzah 1 and Menzah 4, the shops serve the local families first: grocers, bakeries, pharmacies, hairdressers, dry cleaners.

A small shop unit in these streets often rents for between 800 and 2,500 DT (Tunisian dinars) a month depending on size, shopfront and location, noticeably more on a busy corner. An office fitted out in a flat follows residential rents instead, which you can compare on the page of property to rent in El Menzah.

Commercial lease, key money and security deposit

For a shop, the commercial lease gives the tenant a right to renewal after a few years of trading: it is a protection, but also a commitment the owner weighs up, which explains caution over the term and the use written into the contract. Have the authorised activity worded broadly enough to allow you to evolve, along with the rent review and the split of works.

Be wary of key money demanded without explanation. It may correspond to taking over an existing business, with its customers and equipment, or to a mere entry fee; either way, it must appear in writing. The security deposit often reaches two to three months' rent. Finally, check the electrical connection, the available power, access for people with reduced mobility if you receive the public, and room for parking. If you would rather buy the premises, the offices and shops for sale in El Menzah let you weigh rent against purchase price.