Housing in Senegal

Senegal's housing stock includes maison basse, maison à étage, case, baraque and apartment buildings. RGPH-5 2023 recorded 18,126,390 inhabitants and 54.7% urbanization. Maison basse represented 62.8% of homes, maison à étage 21.9%, case 11.8%, baraque 1.5% and apartment buildings 1.4%. Cases are mainly rural, while apartments and maison à étage are mainly urban. Housing arrangements differ strongly by location. Ownership is dominant nationally, but urban renting reaches 37.8% compared with 2.0% in rural areas. In Dakar, about 56.1% of residents rent and 43.9% own their home. Rental arrangements include written simple leases, rentals without a contract, co-location with or without a contract, and location-vente. Family housing, employer-provided housing, self-construction and customary occupation also remain relevant. Formal rental and ownership pathways are established in cities, while documentation and access are more fragmented nationally and rural or customary occupation often relies on informal arrangements. A rental search commonly proceeds through a landlord, agency or courtier. Before signing, check the identity and authority of the landlord, proof of ownership or occupancy, the condition report, rent, charges, deposit, water and electricity arrangements, sewerage and exposure to flooding or unhealthy conditions. A written lease is safer than an undocumented arrangement because it records the parties, duration, payment obligations and condition of the home. Housing leases are governed by the COCC. A written lease may be for three years with tacit renewal or for an indefinite period. A seasonal lease is written, normally lasts three months by default, renews quarterly and cannot exceed one year. For an indefinite lease, a tenant generally gives two months' notice through an acte extrajudiciaire, while a landlord generally gives six months' notice and faces restrictions on repossession or reconstruction grounds. Judicial termination for breach follows a formal notice with a 30-day period. Subletting or assignment requires the landlord's written consent. The sub-rent cannot exceed the main rent, and furnished subletting is capped at the main rent plus 50%. Decree 2023-382, effective from 1 March 2023, regulates rent reductions for covered housing leases: 15% for rent up to FCFA 300,000, 10% for FCFA 300,001 to 500,000 and 5% above FCFA 500,000. A landlord may rely on an exception if compliance with the 2014 reduction was proved. For deposits up to FCFA 500,000, the maximum is two months. Entry payment is limited to one month's rent, with the balance paid in equal monthly amounts over 12 months; rent is not payable in advance and is due at the end of the month. An agency or courtier fee is capped at half a month's rent when rent is up to FCFA 500,000. CONAREL coordinates implementation, while competent authorities and courts handle claims and sanctions. Land and occupancy documents do not all provide the same protection. Relevant documents include a titre foncier, bail, droit de superficie, autorisation d'occuper, attestation and droit coutumier. An administrative occupancy authorization is not the same as ownership. DGID, Domaines, Cadastre and Conservation handle land records and verification, while the commune or mairie may be involved locally. Check the cadastral information and, where relevant, the NICAD before paying for land or a home. A bail, droit de superficie or autorisation d'occuper may be converted into a titre foncier through DGID, but the documents, occupancy-fee receipts, cost and timing depend on the case. A certificat d'urbanisme is requested through the mairie or urban-planning authority and normally requires a copy of the land title or occupancy document, a cadastral extract, a FCFA 500 stamp and a FCFA 1,000 tax; the stated target is about two weeks. Construction, extension, fencing, external alterations and major internal redistribution generally require an autorisation de construire. The application can require the title or occupancy document, plans, an estimate, a sanitation plan and a cadastral extract. The tax is generally FCFA 1,000 to 5,000, the stamp is FCFA 10,000, and applications usually contain two files for simple cases or three for complex cases. Utility access depends on legal occupancy and the existing network. SEN'EAU generally requires identification, proof of ownership or a landlord's legalized authorization for a tenant, and a nearby customer's bill. Its quoted establishment fee is FCFA 5,764; a simple connection of up to five metres was listed at FCFA 89,792 excluding tax in the 2025 tariff, with works stated at about 15 days. SENELEC requires a legal occupancy document, identification and Cossuel conformity for a new or renovated installation. SENELEC lists a subscription fee of FCFA 4,689 for a standard connection and FCFA 7,329 for a higher-capacity connection; activation is stated at up to five days in urban areas and ten days in rural areas after payment. ONAS provides public sewer connections where available. Where no public sewer exists, the owner must install and maintain compliant autonomous sanitation, and connecting wastewater clandestinely to a storm drain is prohibited. Social-housing access is selective rather than automatic. Under Loi 2016-31, FHS guarantees housing loans and supports interest-rate reductions for modest or irregular-income first-time buyers. FOGALOG and FONGIP can provide guarantees, while SNHLM, SICAP, cooperatives, SAFRU, BHS, CDC and BAHSO participate in different housing or financing pathways. An SNHLM application can require a written request, certificates showing no real property right and no previous benefit, identification and proof of salary; the stated fee is FCFA 5,000 and the stated issuance time is two days. Programs also support self-construction and cooperatives, but availability and selection depend on the program. Urban Dakar faces strong rental pressure, while regional cities show mixed patterns and rural areas rely more on ownership, self-construction and customary arrangements. Flooding, unsafe or unhealthy housing, weak services and insecure tenure can create greater practical risk than the building type alone. Keep the lease, receipts, condition report, utility records and land documents together, and have unclear ownership or termination issues reviewed by the relevant authority or court.