Tunisia: Guide to Buying Costs and Procedures

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Buying costs in Tunisia are low

How high are realtors’ and lawyers’ fees in Tunisia? What about other property purchase costs?

How difficult is the property purchase process in Tunisia?

Foreigners are allowed to purchase real estate property in Tunisia. Until recently, Tunisian government officials discouraged investment in the real estate sector. Nonetheless, this policy seems to be being relaxed, though all real estate transactions are still subject to approval.

Agricultural land cannot be bought by foreigners. Leasing of (agricultural) land up to 40 years, however, is allowed.

A preliminary contract of sale (“promesse de vente” or promise of sale) is executed between the contracting parties. Whether there are any legal encumbrances on the property should be first checked at the Regional Land Ministry.

The preliminary contract should include:

• the name of the contracting parties;
• address and other identification details of the property;
• specification of what costs the seller and purchaser bear;
• presence of tenant and date of vacancy (if relevant);
• “delay of realization of sale”, whichrefers to a grace period, during which the purchaser can fulfill needed documentation and secure funding.
• a deposit equivalent to 10% of the sale price is expected.

The contract is then prepared by a lawyer or a notary after consultation with the property registry services. In either case, the contract still needs to be notarized, and the contracting parties should be present.

After payment of the transfer tax and registration fee, the purchaser files an application for a title deed at the Land Property Administration, and doe a property certificate from the Regional Land Registry.

The transfer tax is determined as follows:

Footnotes to Transaction Costs Table

The round trip transaction costs include all costs of buying and then re-selling a property – lawyers’ fees, notaries’ fees, registration fees, taxes, agents’ fees, etc.

Currency:
Tunisia uses Tunisian Dinar (TND). The exchange rate as of 20 Nov 2007 was US$1 = TND1.23660. The assumed property value is US$250,000, or approximately TND309,000 (309,150)

Location:
Tunis

Transfer Tax:
The transfer of immovable property is subject to 5% registration duty.

Real Estate Agent's Fee:
The agent's fee is typically 3%, paid by the buyer.

Registration Fee:
In addition to the transfer tax, there is a 1% duty on registered real estate paid upon transfer of rights.

Contract Fee:
Stamp duty is levied on all contracts, documents and agrrements that are subject to registration duty. Fee for the contract is 0.1% of property value.

Miscellaneous Registration Fees:
Other fees payable (not expected to exceed 0.01% of property value) include:

Tunisia - more data and information

• How landlord-friendly is the law in Tunisia?

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posted by david steele | 2008-01-14

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