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Financial Overview PROPERTY IN TANZANIA

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Taxes and Costs:

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Tanzania

Home Africa Tanzania Landlord and Tenant

Pro-landlord landlord and tenant laws

March 19, 2007

Rents: Can landlord and tenant freely agree rents in Tanzania?

Rents can be freely negotiated.

The Rent Restriction Act 1984 which until recently regulated rents in theory (but not in practice) has
been repealed.
A note: All land in Tanzania is owned by the government, and leases are only available to nationals. The
private rental market (in the sense that interests our readers) is virtually non-existent. The rental market
is mostly very informal and is actually subsistence (people forced to rent out rooms in their houses).

Where agents are employed, the commission payable on leasing a residential property is one month's
rent.

Deposits

An advance payment of six months is typical, with rents paid biannually, though monthly payments, or
rents paid every 3 months, or a years' payment upfront, are not unusual.

Duration of contract/ Eviction

Most rental agreements are periodic tenancies, renewed upon the payment of advance rents. For rents
paid bi-annually, the notice to terminate is given six months in advance.

Because the court process is cumbersome and expensive, most landlords resort to intimidation, threats
and violence in evicting tenants. In theory, however, to evict a tenant who has caused a breach or failed
to pay rent, the landlord must get the approval of the Ward Tribunal. If the tenant does not comply with
the orders of the Ward Tribunal, the case is elevated to the District Land and Housing Tribunal for
enforcement, and then to the High Court and Court of Appeals For recovery of possessions worth TZS
(Tanzanian Shilling) 50 million (US$42,914) or more and compensation for arrears worth TZS40,000,000
or more (US$34,331), claimants can file the case directly to the High Court (Land Division).

EVICTION FOR NON-PAYMENT OF RENT

Duration until completion of service of process 7

Duration of trial180

Duration of enforcement 30

Total Days to Evict Tenant 217

Courts: The Lex Mundi Project

How effective is the Tanzanian legal system?

The formal court proceeding is slow, and there is an extensive appeals process. The landlord who
chooses this route can expect decades before matters are resolved. So extra-judicial proceedings are
normal.

Legislation

The Courts (Land Disputes Settlements) Act, 2002 allowed landlords to recover arrears and revised the
system for evicting tenants. The The Land Act 1999 provides over-all guidelines for the management of
land, leases and land dispute settlement.

Tanzania - More data and information

How high are estate duties in Tanzania?

Comments

author

MACKSELIN M. CHOTA | June 02, 2010

The amount of rent in Tanzania is very high compared to the ecnomic situation of the people,rent of
14% of the replacement cost of the property is not easy even though the tenants & landlords may
negotiate it but still the condition is very worse because most of the people are jobless.I think there is
need for the govt to make an amendments to the Rent Restriction Act 1984 in order to reduce the
amount of rents up to below 14% of the replacement cost and to control the prices of the building
materials as it have done in fuels,petroleum,diesel & kerosene so as enable the poor to afford housing
costs and prevent harsh tenants` eviction which done by the most landlord due tenants failure to pay
rent

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