The neighbourhoods
Avondale & Belgravia
US$300–600 / month for a one-bed flat or garden cottageJacaranda streets, older blocks of flats, garden cottages and the closest Harare gets to walkable
Commute: 10–20 minutes to the CBD; walkable to the Avondale shops
- Cafés, the flea market and Doon Estate within reach on foot
- Best mix in the city of central location and reasonable rent
- Plenty of small flats and cottages, so no need to take a whole house
- Older buildings, and building-wide backup power is rarer than in the north
- Municipal water is unreliable and not every block has a borehole
- Street parking and gate security vary a lot block to block
Borrowdale & Borrowdale Brooke
US$1,200–3,000 / month for a house; US$400–700 for a cottage on a standLarge stands, gated estates and Sam Levy's Village — Harare's affluent north
Commute: 25–45 minutes to the CBD, worse in the morning peak
- The strongest cluster of private schools in the country is within a short drive
- Nearly every property has a borehole, tank and either solar or a generator
- Gated estates with managed security and reliable water
- The most expensive rents in Zimbabwe by a wide margin
- You will need a car, and so will everyone in the household
- Insular — it is easy to live here and never meet the city
Highlands & Gunhill
US$1,000–2,500 / month for a houseEmbassies, big established stands and old trees — quiet, green and institutional
Commute: 15–30 minutes to the CBD
- Closer in than Borrowdale for a similar amount of space
- Well-established boreholes and mature gardens
- Diplomatic presence means good private security coverage
- Priced against embassy housing budgets rather than local salaries
- Very little to walk to
- Large gardens are a real maintenance cost most listings do not mention
Mount Pleasant & Emerald Hill
US$700–1,500 / month for a house; US$300–500 for a cottageFamily houses near the University of Zimbabwe — the sensible middle of the market
Commute: 20–30 minutes to the CBD
- Best value per square metre in the northern half of the city
- Good primary schools and a genuinely residential feel
- Plenty of cottages, so it is accessible to a single person as well as a family
- Water supply is patchy and boreholes are less universal than further north
- Few restaurants or shops within walking distance
- Student rentals near the university push quality down on some streets
Milton Park & Eastlea
US$250–450 / month for a one or two-bed flatInner suburbs of older low-rise flats — the cheapest central option that still feels central
Commute: 5–15 minutes to the CBD; kombis every few minutes
- The lowest rents you can pay and still walk or take one kombi to the centre
- Good stock of small flats, which is rare in a house-shaped city
- Easy first base while you work out where you actually want to be
- Backup water and power are the exception, not the rule
- Building maintenance varies enormously between blocks on the same street
- Little green space compared to the northern suburbs
Waterfalls & Hatfield
US$300–600 / month for a houseSouthern suburbs of modest houses on generous plots, near the airport road
Commute: 20–35 minutes to the CBD; close to the airport and the Chitungwiza road
- A whole house with a garden for what a flat costs in Avondale
- Convenient for the airport and for anyone commuting south
- Established suburbs with real neighbourhood life rather than gated estates
- Water supply is among the least reliable in the city
- Fewer boreholes, so check the arrangement before you sign anything
- Longer, less pleasant commute north to where most offices are
How renting works in Harare
Rent is quoted in US dollars and frequently paid in cash. Listings run through agents, the property portals and Facebook groups, and the northern suburbs move largely by word of mouth. Whatever you are shown, the questions that decide your year are about water, power and security — not finishes.
- 1
Search the portals and the Facebook groups together
Property.co.zw, Propertybook and Classifieds.co.zw carry the formal market; Harare housing and expat Facebook groups carry the cottages and the direct-from-landlord listings, which are often better value.
- 2
Understand what a garden cottage is
A self-contained small dwelling in the grounds of a larger house, with its own entrance. It is the standard entry point for a single person or a couple in Harare, it is much cheaper than a flat in the north, and it usually shares the main house's borehole and backup power — which is the point.
- 3
Ask about water before anything else
Does the property have a borehole? How big is the tank, and is it plumbed to the whole house or just the kitchen? How often does municipal water actually run on this street? A house without an answer to these is a house with a daily problem.
- 4
Ask about power second
Load shedding is routine. Find out whether there is solar with batteries, an inverter, or a generator; whether it covers the whole property or only lights and the router; and who pays for the fuel. Check whether the ZESA meter is prepaid and whose name it is in.
- 5
Negotiate the deposit and get a written lease
One to two months' deposit plus the first month in advance is the usual ask. Agree in writing what the deposit covers, who maintains the borehole pump and the garden, and what happens if the pump fails — pumps fail.
- 6
Verify who you are actually paying
Ask to see title or an agent's mandate. Deposit fraud on properties the 'landlord' does not own is the most common rental scam here, and it is almost always paid in cash to someone met online.
Upfront cost
Typically one to two months' deposit plus the first month's rent, in US dollars. Agent commission is often payable by the tenant — establish who pays before you view. Electronic payment carries the transfer tax; cash does not, which is a large part of why landlords ask for it.
Where to search
Insider tips
- Visit in the evening as well as the day. You learn whether the street has power, whether the borehole pump runs, and what the security situation actually feels like after dark.
- Ask the neighbours, not the agent, how often municipal water comes. It is the one question an agent has an incentive to answer optimistically and a neighbour has none.
- Check the durawall, the gate motor and the electric fence. Security infrastructure is expensive to fix and landlords disagree about whose job it is — settle it in the lease.
- Establish who pays for borehole pump repairs and generator fuel in writing. These are the two recurring costs that cause the most disputes.
- Keep a receipt for every rent payment, and pay traceably where you can. Deposit disputes are common and paper is your position.
- If you are offered a rent in ZiG, ask why. Almost the entire residential market quotes in US dollars, and an unusual quote is worth understanding before you accept it.
Avoid these
- Paying a deposit before viewing in person, or to anyone who cannot show title or an agent's mandate.
- Renting a beautiful house with no borehole and no tank, and discovering what that means in October.
- Assuming a generator covers the whole property when it only runs the lights and the gate.
- Not asking whose name the prepaid electricity meter is in — inheriting someone else's debt is a real outcome.
- Comparing rents without adding security, borehole maintenance, generator fuel and the transfer tax on payments.
- Signing for a year on your first week's impression of a suburb. Milton Park for three months while you look is a better plan than Borrowdale for twelve.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.