Le Logement - Promoteur immobilier en Tunisie

Yes, a foreigner OF ANY nationality can buy real estate premises on the Tunisian territory, this is conditioned to establish an application to obtain the autorisation of the Governor of the area where is the real estate good. This request must include identity documents of the eventual buyer, as well as various administrative and financial documents.

Is it possible to obtain a property loan without opening a savings account and without waiting for several years ?

Yes it is, but the interest rates are higher and the credit amounts are much more limited (30 000 Dinars in general). The Banque de l’Habitat has created the “Direct Credit” with a Money Market Interest Rate + 3.5 %, i.e. 8.5 % at present (2008). Nevertheless the Banque de l’Habitat is granting ever higher credits depending on the reimbursement capacity of the borrowers.

Once the choice made, a brief verification of the financial possibilities of the customer is made (the banks that are granting the credit), a sale promise is signed.
- A loan application form is deposited in the Bank.
- After the credit agreement and the achievement of the lodging a sale contract is signed (by legalized signature) and recorded ( in tax collecting services).
- Guarantees requested by the Banks are accomplished by the customer ( loans contract signatures, contract recordings, insurances, salary domiciliation otherwise payment engagement).
- Transfer of the amount of the credit and advances to the Real Estate developper.
- Keys delivery.
LE LOGEMENT GROUP, is involved to assist you, to advise you on the best acquisition method, to follow up and to inform you regularly on the evolution.

Cash or by credit
In general, the maximum of the loans amounts are fixed. The maximum loan is of 150,000 Dinars in many commercial banks. The maximum of BANQUE DE L'HABITAT for its savings scheemes is of 100,000 Dinars all these can be added other credits.
It is possible since August 1998 to cumulate the saving scheemes of a married couple for the same home.

However the refunds can never be over 40 % of the gross income of the houshold.

- The gross income are taken into account for wagers before calculating the social and health contributions and taxes, included the yearly extra incomes.
- The liberal professions have to justify a declared income compatible with the loan they are seeking. The profit (according to a floating percentage of the turnover) is assimilated to salaries.

These incomes must always be legally justified (Payroll Bulletin, tax declaration and social contributions paid).

- One month is needed to have a loan agreement.
- Also, the contract formalities will take one month.

However, LE GROUPE LE LOGEMENT, will assist you and can act in your name in order to do the followup of your request.

Yes there are credits at reduced rates with very long repayment periods right up to 25 years if the borrower is 35 years old or younger at the time of obtaining the loan and if it is a credit from the Social Housing Promotion Funds FOPROLOS. To be eligible, the borrower:

- must have Tunisian nationality
- be salaried, have a permanent job and be affiliated to the Tunisian Social Security System (CNRPS,CNSS).
- must have a salary 2 or 3 times higher than the minimum wage (SMIG) (753 Dinars max. at present).

The “Groupe le Logement”, with its 40 years of experience dealing with land and real estate, is committed to doing its best, as it has a dept. dealing with land issues, by contacting the administrations concerned, (Municipality, Topography dept. Land Conservation) and by employing the most qualified specialists (specialized lawyers, qualified geometricians)so as to obtain as rapidly as possible the individual title deeds for your apartment.

- buying a new housing unit from a real estate promoter means being exempted from paying the registration fee of 5 %.
- apart from the 1 % land ownership fee, other costs will have to be settled.

(*) linked to opening a housing savings account book and for a minimum period of 2.3 or 4 years.
(**) variable credits are indexed on the money market rate ( MMR=TMM)
(Table established in January 2008).

(Summary of laws pertaining to real estate promotion )

When the building or building complex is owned by several persons - who are deemed to be the co-owners of the land on which the building was constructed and of the common areas which are not meant for the exclusive use of any one party.

The following are considered as common areas: common walls, corridors, passages, common staircase, terrace, mains & pipes, electrical equipment areas and caretaking, lifts, open parking spaces, all co-owners are entitled to use these areas without encroaching on the rights of the other co-owners and must contribute towards the upkeep and maintenance of these common areas.

A co-ownership agreement is adopted by the co-owners to ensure respect for these rules.

Recent modifications have empowered the mayors to offset the absence of a syndic by nominating a professional syndic so as to shorten the time-frame by going to court to recover the sums due by the co-owners who refuse to pay their contributions.

The administration and management of these common areas is the responsibility of the syndic which is elected by all the co-owners according to the provisions of article 89 and in compliance with the Code of Rights as modified by laws No. 87/97 of 31.10.97 and law No. 69198 of 28.08.98 which stipulated the management modalities of common areas, by facilitating the procedure of constituting a syndic and by clarifying the modes of management and joint decision making.

The upkeep costs and expenses are divided between the co-owners depending on their proportion of joint ownership. The syndic has to submit an annual balance sheet of the costs involved to the co-owners.