Your Guide to Apartments for Rent in Africa

Nov 07, 2025 0

The thought of finding a place to live in a foreign country is daunting to most. Whether you’re buying a house or looking for an apartment to rent, you’re going to spend a lot of time driving around looking at places, aimlessly at times.

This comprehensive guide will help you navigate the market, compare locations, and choose a property that suits your lifestyle and budget.

Why Choose Short-Term Rentals?

Short-term rentals offer flexibility, convenience, and comfort. Here’s why they’ve become increasingly popular:

Fully Furnished Options: Move in without the hassle of buying furniture.
Prime Locations: Access central business districts, beaches, and entertainment hubs.
Budget Flexibility: Choose from affordable apartments to high-end luxury properties.
Privacy & Comfort: Enjoy a home-like experience with added privacy.

Top Locations for Short-Term Rentals

1. Kenya

Whether you're visiting Kenya for work, vacation or relocation, finding the perfect short-term rental can be overwhelming. From luxury apartments in Nairobi to budget-friendly options in Kiambu and beachfront apartments in Nyali, the rental market has something for everyone.

Apartments for Rent in Nairobi

Nairobi offers modern, fully furnished apartments ideal for business travelers and expats. Popular neighborhoods include:

Read also: Apartments for Rent

Kileleshwa: Upscale, serene, and family-friendly.
Westlands: Vibrant nightlife, shopping malls, and business hubs.
Lavington & Kilimani: Great for couples and professionals seeking lifestyle amenities.

Houses for Rent in Kiambu

For those looking for larger spaces and quieter living environments, Kiambu offers beautiful homes with spacious compounds. Many come furnished and are ideal for families or long-term stays.

All Apartments for Rent, From Budget to Luxury

Kenya has short-term rentals for every budget:

Affordable Apartments: Perfect for travelers looking for cheap apartments for rent without compromising quality.

Luxury Options: High-end developments in Kileleshwa, Westlands, and Riverside offer premium facilities like gyms, pools, and security.

Popular Listings to Explore

4-Bedroom Apartment for Rent in Kileleshwa
- Perfect for: Families or groups
- Features: Spacious living, modern finishes, private parking, and balcony views.
2-Bedroom Apartments for Rent
- Best suited for: Couples or small families
- Location options: Kileleshwa, Kilimani, and Westlands
- Why choose them: Great balance of affordability and modern lifestyle amenities.
3-Bedroom Apartment for Rent in Nyali
- Perfect for: Beach lovers and digital nomads
- Highlights: Ocean views, proximity to Nyali Beach, and vibrant nightlife nearby.

2. South Africa - Johannesburg

As I am only here for two years, I only wanted to look for a furnished apartment to rent. I also had a roommate that I would split the rent with so I could look for something a little nicer. Being from NYC and accustomed to paying ungodly rates for rent, I must say that rent in Joburg is quite cheap. I think the average rental for a furnished apartment Nevertheless, depending on what kind of apartment you want, you will end up paying more.

I specifically looked for an apartment to rent (“let” as they call it in SA) somewhere in the Sandton area close to work and surprisingly the process was not nearly as difficult as I thought. While South Africa runs on African time, and the bureaucracy leaves much to be desired, finding an apartment was quick and efficient.

Unlike the TV show International House Hunters, where a couple only sees three choices and somehow miraculously decide on an apartment after 2 minutes of deliberations, in only a day, I saw 15 different apartments, and found an amazing apartment to call home.

This post is all part of my comprehensive guide to living in Johannesburg series.

Update 2019: South Africa’s inflation is higher than most developed nations so the prices quoted here (from 2013/2014) should be amended by adding 5% for every year thereafter.

Furnished vs Unfurnished Rentals

If you’re an ex-pat with no family to provide for like me, chances are you took little more than your clothes with you. There is a sizable price difference in rent prices between furnished and unfurnished apartments, somewhere in the range of 3000-5000R a month I’d say (300-500$). Over a two year period, that is about 3600-6000$. If you think you can furnish your entire apartment for less than that, then it may be fiscally appealing. It depends on what you are looking for.

Read also: Finding Cheap Apartments

It is possible to find an appartment with top quality antique chairs, sofas, tables and so on, or just a well-furnished appartment.

Personally, I didn’t want any part with buying, moving, and assembling any furniture so the premium in rental price is well worth it to me. The owners of the apartments will furnish the apartment to their desires so from my experience, there is a huge disparity between the furnishings between apartments. Oh, and did I mention THERE IS NO IKEA IN THIS COUNTRY!!!!!

Location is Key

Like pretty much any other city in the world, rent prices will vary depending on the neighborhood you’re in. I only looked for apartments in and around the Sandton area which is like living in the swanky and safe city center of most cities.

All the new high-rise buildings (anything over 10 floors) and going to be in Sandton only so if you want the modern, new, and high-rise lifestyle, you’re going to be looking only within Sandton. If that’s not your thing or you just don’t care, there are many other neighborhoods within a 5 minute drive to Sandton like Morningside, and Rosebank that have very slightly cheaper and equally as nice rentals with more space. However, these apartments are not going to be your high rise apartments, but rather your townhouses or condos in a complex.

In addition, because Sandton is close to all the businesses, and home to all the high rise furnished apartments, it attracts the ex-pats with money and/or help from their companies, therefore driving the prices even further up.

The Newer The Better

Turns out, it’s not how many square meters, or how many rooms an apartment has that determines the price, but rather how new the apartment is. The newer and hence more modern buildings command a large premium over older buildings. Anything built in the last 10 years is going to command a premium. The apartments at the Regent are brand new and rent for 32000R (3200$) a month furnished. Likewise, the apartments in the Michelangelo, the tallest building in Sandton, rent for 30000R a month.

One vs Two vs Three Bed

Again, having lived in NYC for so long, us New Yorkers cherish and are used to maximizing every square inch of what we have. Having your own one bedroom apartment means you’re doing really damn well and if you’re a couple, looking for a two bedroom apartment is blasphemy because how could you ever justify paying so much extra money for a spare bedroom?!? Well it is not the same here. People are used to having space and can afford to have that extra space (and are not rich). I found that finding a true one bedroom apartment is actually more difficult than finding a two bedroom.

I found many 2 bedrooms and even 3 bedrooms apartments in the Sandton CBD. If you go further out of the central part of Sandton, it will be easier to find these smaller apartments for a cheaper price.

As Joburg is Africa’s fastest growing city, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that with the influx of foreign investment, there are plenty of people with money willing to pay for high-end living. One group in particular is the Chinese. There are not the Asian-Americans like myself, but rather the OGs straight from the motherland. The Chinese have invested heavily in SA and hence, plenty of already rich Chinese have become wealthy ex-pats in SA. With that money, they scoop up the nice apartments in droves and this is a fact as half my building is seriously half occupied by the Chinese which should raise eyebrows considering SA barely has a racial classification for Asians.

It’s a good thing that being from NYC, this is like reading the alphabet for me as I’m so used to seeing as many places as possible and deciding on something immediately by using the “which apartment did I dislike the least approach”. Also, South Africans with the kind of money to rent these apartments would never do it because they love to have space and for the same price as one of these luxury apartments, they could get a huge 5 bedroom house with a pool which they’ll take any day. The Chinese however, unless from a farm, never live in houses due to the huge population so a luxury high-rise furnished apartment is speaking their language.

Rent Prices in Johannesburg

So after all the above points, you still want to live in a furnished high-rise apartment building? Well it’s not as cheap as you’d think. Obviously, if you come from NYC, you’ll think it is dirt cheap especially for what you get but if you hail from almost all other cities around America, you’ll think it is on par with what you pay now if not more expensive.

I’d say the average price for a furnished two bedroom apartment in and around Sandton is around R12000 a month. If you want something really luxurious in a new and modern building or complex, I’d say you’re looking around R17,000 for the same thing. If you’re willing to go unfurnished in an area outside of the main business areas, you can find places for R6000.

The Michelangelo Towers.

Brokers, Owners, and Deposits

Prior to arriving in the country, my company paid for the services of a mobility company that helped me in almost all phases of my transition into my new life. We had an array of high rise apartments, condo complexes, and anything in between as we wanted her to show us as many choices as possible. Our budget was 22000R between the both of us. I also did a lot of research on my own just so I had an idea of what to expect.

We encountered a few on our day and I must say that they were all very friendly and nice, unlike the scum of the earth that is New York City brokers. Maybe this was because of our extremely high budget, and they knew they were likely to cash in on a nice commission, either way they were all very nice. Note that there are NO BROKER FEES paid by the renter. The real estate broker does get paid, but it is ALWAYS by the owner of the apartment. This was sweet sweet music to our ears as we’d been so used to forking out thousands in cash just for a broker to open a door for us in NYC.

House Hunting

All the apartments we looked at were actually owned by an individual. Most of these individuals buy the property for investment purposes. Some buy multiple properties and they’ll even hire a company to exclusively manage all their apartments, sort of like acting as a live out super that will take care of any requests you have, or if something goes wrong with the apartment.

Many of the apartments we visited, the group walking into the apartment would contain myself and my roommate, our relocation agent, the real estate broker, and the “property manager”. Not all apartments will have this property manager person and you can expect that apartment to run on African time when you need things done/fixed. At least from what I saw, there are no apartment complexes where you rent from a central company that owns the complex; everything is condo style, and you’re renting from someone that owns the unit itself.

When you are ready to sign for an apartment, the process is rather easy. You’ll need your standard passport copies, proof of employment etc. and you’ll need to fork over two months deposit. The forms were already filled out by the broker and relocation agent that all we had to do was just transfer the money from our banks.

The Candidates

Now on to the good stuff. Pictures, comments, and prices of everything that we saw on our speed date with the Joburg rental market. We started the hunt at 9am with a full plate of 10 apartments to see but we ended up seeing a total of 15 apartments that day as the brokers had new apartments open up and ended the day around 6pm.

I saw a total of 15 apartments through the day and did not put up pictures of every place we saw as a few of them were without a doubt not acceptable. Heeding the advice from the brokers and our relocation agent, we needed to act quickly so that same night, over dinner, my roommate and I weighed the options, which were pretty much Sandhurst #3 and Westpoint #2. For the firs time in our lives, instead of choosing the apartment we detested the least, we could finally choose the apartment we liked the most. A good feeling indeed.

In the end, the winner is . . . Sandhurst #3. The large apartment space, along with the evenly divided rooms and the two huge balconies were just too much to pass up. 20,000R is a shitload of money to be paying in rent by SA standards and most South Africans can’t comprehend why anyone would want to spend that much on an apartment when you could use that money to get a large house. Nevertheless, we both paid much more in rent before and knew a place like this in NYC would probably be at least 6-8k a month and we may as well live it up while we’re here. We signed a 1 year lease, paid the two months deposit, and moved in a few weeks later.

Ultimately, I had an amazing time staying in the Sandhurst Towers. It was super central, super safe, and the apartment itself was amazing. In fact, it was the nicest apartment I’ve ever stayed in and probably will never stay in something so nice in New York.

3. Senegal

Located in the 'Almadis' of Popenguine, also known as Thioupam, this Andalusian-style three-story villa overlooks the ocean and borders the Popenguine Nature Reserve. Recently enhanced with a solar energy system, the villa’s architecture harnesses a natural breeze year-round, blending sustainability with comfort.

Spanning 583 square meters of habitable space, it’s designed for family living. An annex, functioning as an office, can transform into an independent studio, while an additional annex serves as servants’ quarters for guard and maid.

How to Choose the Right Short-Term Rental

When looking for the best apartments for rent or houses for rent, consider the following:

Location: Pick a property close to where you'll work or relax.
Budget: Compare listings across different locations.
Amenities: Look for Wi-Fi, security, parking, and furnished setups.
Duration: Choose flexible leases that match your stay period.

Tips to Secure the Best Deals

Book Early: High-demand areas fill up quickly.
Use Trusted Listings: Avoid scams by browsing verified apartments for rent listings.
Negotiate: Many landlords are open to discounts for longer stays.

Examples of Apartments and Houses for Rent in Africa

Location	Property Type	Description
Rosebank, Johannesburg	Apartment	Cozy 1-bedroom apartment, ideal for business or leisure travelers.
Stellenbosch Central, Stellenbosch	Apartment	Stylish 2-bedroom designer apartment with a balance of tranquility and comfort.
Mouille Point, Cape Town	Apartment	Stylish home right on the water’s edge at Mouille Point Beach with mesmerizing ocean views.
Camps Bay, Cape Town	Apartment	Palm-fringed paradise with floor-to-ceiling windows offering incredible views.
Paje, Zanzibar	Rooms	Cozy rooms for rent close to the beach, perfect for a comfortable and affordable stay.

Have similar experiences or something to add to my house hunting experience in Joburg?