Renting in Zanzibar: stamp duty, the rent board and what you agree yourself
Anyone renting a house in Zanzibar pays stamp duty as the tenant to the Zanzibari tax office: 0.5 % on the tenancy agreement. Rent disputes go to the Rent Restriction Board. We found no rules on deposits or notice at an official source: you put those in writing yourself. If you let to tourists yourself, you pay 15 % hotel levy.
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If you rent a house in Zanzibar, you pay stamp duty as the tenant to the Zanzibar Revenue Authority (ZRA, the Zanzibari tax office): 0.5 % of the total value of the tenancy agreement, or 1 % if you lease a plot of land. Rent disputes go to the Rent Restriction Board, the rent board of Zanzibar. We found no rules on deposits, rent in advance or notice at an official source. So you agree those yourself, and you put them in writing. For most newcomers renting is the sensible first step: a foreigner cannot buy land in Zanzibar, only lease it.
What is fixed?
| Topic | What the source says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp duty on a tenancy agreement for a home | 0.5 % of the total value, paid by the tenant | ZRA, Stamp Duty Act |
| Stamp duty on a land lease | 1 % of the total value, paid by the tenant | ZRA, Stamp Duty Act |
| Landlord's copy | TZS 5,000, paid by the landlord | Stamp Duty Act |
| Ending a lease | TZS 5,000 | Stamp Duty Act |
| Rent disputes | the Rent Restriction Board | Court of Appeal |
| Deposit, rent in advance, notice period | not found at an official source | — |
| Letting to tourists yourself | hotel levy of 15 % of the rental value, including via Airbnb | ZRA |
| ZECO electricity, ordinary household | TZS 2,100 a month fixed, TZS 280 per kWh up to 1,500 kWh | ZURA |
What do you pay to the ZRA?
Stamp duty is a tax on a document. In Zanzibar it also applies to a tenancy agreement. Under the Stamp Duty Act of 2017 the tenant pays 0.5 % of the total value for an ordinary tenancy agreement, and 1 % for a lease of land. The landlord pays TZS 5,000 for his own copy.
How the ZRA calculates "total value" for a tenancy agreement exactly, we could not verify. Ask the ZRA before you sign, and agree with the landlord who arranges it.
Who decides in a rent dispute?
Zanzibar has a Rent Restriction Board. It deals with disputes over the rent and over eviction. Anyone who disagrees with its decision can appeal, ultimately up to the Court of Appeal of Tanzania.
We could not read the rent law itself. So we do not know which rules apply to deposits, rent in advance, or the notice period.
What do you agree yourself?
Because the rules cannot be checked, a lot depends on your contract. At least put in writing:
- how much deposit you pay, and when and how you get it back;
- how much rent you pay in advance;
- how many months' notice you and the landlord must give to end the contract;
- who pays for maintenance, and who pays the electricity and water bills;
- who arranges the stamp duty with the ZRA.
Only pay against a receipt, and keep a copy of the signed contract.
Do you rent in shillings or in dollars?
The Bank of Tanzania wrote in June 2023 that prices in Tanzania should be in shillings, including rent. The shilling is the only legal tender. Tourists and non-residents may pay in foreign currency if they show their passport. Residents pay each other only in shillings. If you become a resident, expect a rent in shillings.
What applies if you let to tourists yourself?
If you let your home, or part of it, to tourists, you pay hotel levy to the ZRA: 15 % of the rental value. This also applies to letting via Airbnb.
A house you rent all year can count for your tax. Anyone who has a permanent home in Tanzania and is present there for any part of the year is resident under s. 86 of the Income Tax Act, even with fewer than 183 days. What TRA regards as a permanent home, we could not verify. If you spend only part of the year in Zanzibar, ask a tax adviser whether an annual contract has consequences for you.
What else is your tenancy agreement good for?
For the residence permit for retired persons, Class C-2, the immigration service asks for "evidence of place of occupancy": proof of where you live. Whether your tenancy agreement is enough for that, ask the immigration service in Zanzibar.
Electricity comes from ZECO, the Zanzibari state company. The regulator ZURA sets the tariffs: for an ordinary household TZS 2,100 a month fixed, TZS 280 per kWh up to 1,500 kWh, and TZS 310 above that. Water comes from ZAWA, the only supplier in Zanzibar. How you put a connection in your name, we could not verify. Ask the landlord how it is arranged in your home.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Zanzibar or look inside the open plan first.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Zanzibar Revenue Authority — stamp duty, 0.5 % on a tenancy agreement and 1 % on a land lease — zanrevenue.org
- Zanzibar Revenue Authority — Stamp Duty Act No. 7 of 2017 (consolidated 2023), First Schedule — zanrevenue.org
- Zanzibar Revenue Authority — hotel levy, 15 % on letting a home to tourists — zanrevenue.org
- Court of Appeal of Tanzania, 2008 — a decision of the Rent Restriction Board of Zanzibar on appeal (ZanzibarLII) — zanzibarlii.org
- Bank of Tanzania — press release of 20 June 2023, prices and rent in shillings — bot.go.tz
- Zanzibar Utilities Regulatory Authority — ZECO electricity tariffs since 20 January 2025 — zura.go.tz
- Income Tax Act, Cap. 332, R.E. 2023, s. 86 — when you are resident, including through a permanent home (TRA) — tra.go.tz
- Tanzania Immigration — Residence Permit Guidelines, proof of your place of residence for Class C — immigration.go.tz
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