Tunis - With the launch of the 2026/2030 development plan, Tunisia is embarking on a qualitative transition phase in the housing sector centred on the philosophy of "achieving social justice via economic tools," achieved through the launch of a series of reforms meeting demographic changes and indicators resulting from the 2024 General Census of Population and Housing.

The Tunisian State plans to revitalise this vital and strategic sector to achieve a fair balance between "cost and repayment capacity," in implementation of President Kais Saied's directives, which focus on guaranteeing the constitutional right to housing, particularly for low- and middle-income categories facing difficulties in accessing property ownership.

During a meeting held earlier last week with Prime Minister Sarah Zaâfrani Zenzri, the President of the Republic reaffirmed the citizens' right to decent housing, stressing that the National Real Estate Company of Tunisia (SNIT), the Housing Land Agency (AFH), and the Social Housing Promotion Company (SPROLS) must fully accomplish the missions for which they had been created.

He underlined in this regard, that the rent-to-own mechanism constitutes a solution that must be adopted by the State's social policy to resolve the housing crisis and curb the excessive rise in rents.

The 2026/2030 development plan provides for the construction of about 5,000 housing units under the rent-to-own mechanism, for an estimated cost of TND 750 million, an average of 1,000 units per year, announced Minister of Equipment and Housing Salah Zouaoui, adding that the goal in 2026 is to complete 1,213 housing units distributed across 11 governorates at an estimated cost of TND 212.

The Ministry will also continue planning other housing projects under the rent-to-own mechanism, depending on the availability of the necessary land, to cover all governorates, according to the Minister's statements during a hearing session organised by the Parliamentary Committee on Strategic Planning, Sustainable Development, Transport, Infrastructure, and Urban Planning.

Deputies are expected to adopt two bills in a plenary session this Wednesday. The first bill on the completion of the statutes of the National Real Estate Company of Tunisia (SNIT), and the second on the completion of the law relating to the creation of the Social Housing Promotion Company (SPROLS).

These two texts propose granting the two companies in question facilitated financing and marketing formulas, notably rent-to-own and instalment sales, while taking into account the purchasing power of the targeted categories.

Within the framework of updating the national housing strategy and continuing the process of evaluating and developing the housing policy, and with a view to promoting access to ownership, especially for low-income households, the Ministry has launched a study to revise this strategy in partnership with the UN-Habitat Sub-regional Office for the Maghreb.

This study aims to diagnose the situation of the sector by evaluating past policies and proposing an updated action plan setting out the elements to prioritise for developing the housing sector, in accordance with social and economic changes and the specificities of the current period, to allow for the revision of the legislative framework.

This specifically involves the Code of Spatial Planning and Urbanism and the laws governing real estate property, in addition to the revision of the real estate development sector and the reinforcement of the social housing supply.

The study will also allow for the development of the legislative framework for rental housing, the revision of housing financing mechanisms, the development of public fund interventions, and the rehabilitation of neighbourhoods. This study should be completed before the end of 2026, according to the Minister of Equipment.

Priorities and objectives of the housing policy for 2026

The PM affirmed that the State's social policy in the field of housing aims to materialise the right to decent housing as a constitutional right, through practical mechanisms that meet the requirements of Tunisian families with limited incomes, reflecting the State's commitment to establishing social justice and guaranteeing the citizen's dignity.

During a small cabinet meeting held on January 13, 2026, focused on the State's social policy regarding housing and the executive plan relating to the construction and transfer of social housing for the benefit of limited- and middle-income categories via the rent-to-own mechanism, the PM added that "the State is working to develop a fair housing policy, and efforts are underway to extend the intervention programmes of the Housing Promotion Fund for the benefit of employees."

"It is also a matter of providing the necessary credits intended to strengthen the rent-to-own mechanism that can be adopted by public real estate developers, while controlling the cost of housing projects so that they meet the repayment capacity of all categories of the society, particularly those with limited and middle incomes."

The current year, according to the 2026 economic budget document, will see the continuation of efforts to achieve strategic objectives and implement various reforms aimed at promoting the housing sector. This will be done through the provision of serviced plots for limited-income social categories via the acquisition by the Housing Land Agency (AFH) of land belonging to the State's private domain or local authorities at a preferential price.

The government is also working to materialise the social role of the State through the construction of social housing intended for different social strata, the allocation of state lands at the symbolic dinar for the realisation of social housing projects by public real estate developers, and the financing of social housing construction projects by the Housing Promotion Fund for Employees (FOPROLOS).

It also involves matching supply with demand by focusing more on regions going through urban pressure and working on studying the cost of projects so that they correspond to the repayment capacity of different social strata.

The government's programme includes activating the Credit Guarantee Fund granted to social categories with irregular incomes, providing real estate savings to meet the needs of urban expansion, and stepping up the intervention of real estate developers and the private sector in the provision of social and economic housing.

In this regard, the reform measures the government will work on include revising the national housing strategy and evaluating the sector's performance, with the aim of providing better access to housing, particularly for poor and limited-income families, and anchoring the social role of the housing sector through the construction of social housing at reasonable prices intended for different social strata, especially those with limited incomes.

The economic budget document for the year 2026 emphasises that the provision of decent social housing and the improvement of living conditions will require calling upon the Social Housing Promotion Company (SPROLS) and the National Real Estate Company of Tunisia (SNIT) to regain their social role in the housing field.

This involves placing land assets consisting of state lands at their disposal, and modernising the formulas and conditions for regularising the situations of old housing clusters located on the State's private domain for greater efficiency in regularisation procedures, through accelerating the change of classification of real estate properties as well as conducting an inventory of properties owned by foreigners while accelerating the pace of work of the national commission in charge of their disposal.

Components of the Housing Sector Programme for 2026

Under the specific programme for the elimination of rudimentary housing (described in Decree No. 1224-2012), which aims to replace or rehabilitate precarious dwellings and replace them with new housing, nearly 2,926 new housing units are currently under construction at a cost of TND 65 million, distributed across all the governorates of Le Kef, Bizerte, Jendouba, Mahdia, Sfax, Kairouan, and Tozeur.

The programme also provides for the start of construction works for 913 new housing units at a cost of TND 16 million distributed in the governorates of Ben Arous, Zaghouan, Sousse, Monastir, Beja, Kasserine, Sidi Bouzid, and Tataouine, in addition to the planning of new draft agreements worth TND 3.9 million for the eradication of 90 rudimentary dwellings and their replacement with new housing.

The programme also includes the completion of the construction of 216 collective social housing units at a cost of TND 23.5 million in Fejja, within the governorate of Manouba, included in the first phase of the specific social housing program.

It also includes the announcement of tenders to complete construction works for 172 social housing units in the governorates of Monastir and Siliana, in addition to the launch of completion works for approximately 3,100 social housing units at a cost of TND 270 million and the announcement of tenders for the establishment of 1,900 social housing units at a cost of TND 210 million, out of a total of 5,000 social housing units programmed for a total cost of TND 480 million in the second phase.

The same programme involves the financing of housing projects by allocating funds to the Housing Promotion Fund, worth TND 38 million in the form of loans for the purchase and construction of social housing and social subdivisions, notably the allocation of credits to the Housing Promotion Fund for the benefit of the procedure amounting to TND 25 million for the construction of social housing within the framework of rent-to-own, and the allocation of funds to the "First Home" programme worth TND 15 million.

Furthermore, it consists in continuing the implementation the National Housing Promotion Fund programme by allocating funds worth TND 10 million for the maintenance, restoration, preservation, and sanitation of the existing housing stock, along with the launch of the implementation of the programme for the revival of old urban centres and the continuation of completion works for the second generation of the Programme for the Renovation and Integration of Popular Neighbourhoods (160 neighbourhoods in 99 municipalities).

// The sector's main indicators

Direct State intervention, as well as the creation of public establishments specialised in the housing and urban planning sector, allowed the public sector to play an important role in planning the urban fabric and meeting demands for housing acquisition.

However, since the amendment of the law governing the real estate development sector, the production of public real estate developers has decreased, while that of the private sector has increased, according to the Minister of Equipment.

Nevertheless, the production rate of both sectors accounts for about 18%, while individual construction by families accounts for 82% of houses built each year.

The data shows the achievement of certain objectives. In January 2026, transfer authorisations were published for nearly 10.2 hectares for the benefit of the National Real Estate Company of Tunisia (SNIT), the National Real Estate Company of Tunisia-South (SNIT SUD), and the Social Housing Promotion Company (SPROLS).

So far, the transfer has concerned several plots of land; namely, state land No. 6 located in the delegation of Mornaguia, in the governorate of Manouba (12 ha); two state lands in the delegation of Grombalia, in the governorate of Nabeul (0.21 ha); the state land located in the region of El Mghira Fouchana, in the governorate of Ben Arous (4 ha); a parcel of state land located in the region of Bouchema, in the governorate of Gabès (24 ha); and a parcel of state land located in the region of Raoued, in the governorate of Ariana (2.38 ha).

As part of implementing the devised plan, the ministry is endeavouring to accelerate procedures to publish the other authorisations for the transfer of state lands located in Oued El-Marj and El Jala neighbourhood in the governorate of Bizerte, in Soliman in the governorate of Nabeul, and in the city centre of Tozeur in the governorate of Tozeur.

Real estate operations will also continue with a view to obtaining other state lands in order to cover all governorates of the Republic.

According to the results of the 2024 General Census of Population and Housing, the housing sector indicators show that two-thirds of the population live on the coast, the area of which accounts for only 10% of the national territory and which hosts about 80% of economic activities. The real estate stock amounts to about 4.2 million housing units for 3.4 million households, 75.1% of whom are owners.

The number of housing units edged up fivefold between 1966 and 2024, due to population growth and the succession of housing policies that have encouraged housing construction.

© Tap 2026 Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).