Authored by the expert who managed and guided the team behind the Senegal Property Pack
Get all the data you need about the real estate market in Dakar
We constantly update this blog post so the rent figures for Dakar stay as close as possible to the real market.
As of June 2026, the Dakar rental market is still shaped by strong demand, limited central land, and a big gap between local budgets and premium expat rents.
This guide focuses only on residential rents in Dakar, with simple ranges for normal long-term apartments, not short-stay tourist pricing.
And if you’re planning to buy a property in this place, you may want to download our pack covering the real estate market in Dakar.
What are typical rents in Dakar as of 2026?
As of June 2026, typical apartment rents in Dakar range from about 180,000 CFA to 1,800,000 CFA per month, or roughly $300 to $3,000 and €275 to €2,745, depending mainly on location, size, furniture, and building quality.
The cheapest long-term apartments in Dakar are usually found in outer or more local neighborhoods, while the highest rents are in Almadies, Ngor, Plateau, Fann, Point E, Mermoz, and parts of Mamelles.
What's the average monthly rent for a studio in Dakar as of 2026?
As of 2026, the average monthly rent for a studio in Dakar is about 250,000 CFA, which is roughly $415 or €380.
For most studios in Dakar in 2026, a realistic monthly rent range is 120,000 to 650,000 CFA, which is about $200 to $1,080 or €185 to €990.
This wide studio rent range in Dakar comes from big differences between local areas like Grand Yoff or Parcelles Assainies and furnished coastal or central areas like Almadies, Ngor, Plateau, and Mermoz.
What's the average monthly rent for a 1-bedroom in Dakar as of 2026?
As of 2026, the average monthly rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in Dakar is about 380,000 CFA, which is roughly $635 or €580.
For most 1-bedroom apartments in Dakar in 2026, a realistic monthly rent range is 180,000 to 900,000 CFA, which is about $300 to $1,500 or €275 to €1,370.
The cheapest 1-bedroom rents in Dakar are usually in Pikine, Grand Yoff, Parcelles Assainies, and parts of Ouakam, while the highest 1-bedroom rents are usually in Almadies, Ngor, Plateau, Fann, and Point E.
What's the average monthly rent for a 2-bedroom in Dakar as of 2026?
As of 2026, the average monthly rent for a 2-bedroom apartment in Dakar is about 650,000 CFA, which is roughly $1,080 or €990.
For most 2-bedroom apartments in Dakar in 2026, a realistic monthly rent range is 300,000 to 1,500,000 CFA, which is about $500 to $2,500 or €460 to €2,285.
The cheapest 2-bedroom rents in Dakar are usually in Grand Yoff, Parcelles Assainies, Liberté, Maristes, and parts of Ouakam, while the most expensive 2-bedroom rents are usually in Almadies, Ngor, Plateau, Fann, Point E, and Mamelles.
By the way, you will find much more detailed rent ranges in our property pack covering the real estate market in Dakar.
What's the average rent per square meter in Dakar as of 2026?
As of 2026, the average rent per square meter in Dakar is about 8,000 CFA per month, which is roughly $13 or €12 per square meter per month.
Across Dakar neighborhoods in 2026, most rent per square meter values fall between 4,000 and 16,000 CFA per month, or about $7 to $27 and €6 to €24 per square meter per month.
Compared with most other Senegalese cities, Dakar rents per square meter are much higher because Dakar concentrates jobs, universities, embassies, hospitals, government offices, and premium coastal housing in a small urban area.
In Dakar, rent per square meter usually rises above average when an apartment is furnished, close to the Corniche, near Plateau or Almadies, secure, modern, air-conditioned, and protected against water or power problems.
How much have rents changed year-over-year in Dakar in 2026?
As of 2026, average residential rents in Dakar are estimated to be about 5% to 8% higher than one year earlier.
This 2026 rent increase in Dakar is mainly driven by population pressure, limited central land, strong demand for secure apartments, and higher interest and construction costs that slow new supply.
Compared with the previous year, rent growth in Dakar in 2026 looks slightly stronger in prime furnished areas and more moderate in lower-income neighborhoods where tenant budgets are tighter.
What's the outlook for rent growth in Dakar in 2026?
As of 2026, projected rent growth in Dakar for the rest of the year is about 4% to 7% citywide.
The main forces behind Dakar rent growth in 2026 are urban density, young household formation, expat and NGO demand, transport improvements, and the shortage of well-located modern apartments.
The strongest rent growth in Dakar is likely in Almadies, Ngor, Mermoz, Point E, Fann, Mamelles, and good furnished apartments near the Corniche or major job corridors.
The main risk is affordability, because Dakar rents cannot rise endlessly if local households, students, and young professionals cannot follow the same pace.
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Which neighborhoods rent best in Dakar as of 2026?
The best rental neighborhoods in Dakar in 2026 are not only the most expensive ones, because a landlord also needs tenant depth, realistic pricing, and low vacancy risk.
Which neighborhoods have the highest rents in Dakar as of 2026?
As of 2026, the three highest-rent neighborhoods in Dakar are Almadies at about 1,000,000 to 1,800,000 CFA per month, Ngor at about 900,000 to 1,600,000 CFA, and Plateau at about 800,000 to 1,500,000 CFA, or roughly $1,330 to $3,000 and €1,220 to €2,745 for the full range.
These Dakar neighborhoods command premium rents because Almadies and Ngor offer coastal lifestyle and expat comfort, while Plateau gives direct access to offices, banks, ministries, and corporate tenants.
The typical tenants in these high-rent Dakar neighborhoods are expats, diplomats, NGO managers, executives, returning diaspora families, and corporate tenants who need security, convenience, and furnished comfort.
By the way, we’ve written a blog article detailing Sources and methodology: we compared Keur-Immo Almadies, Expat-Dakar, and CoinAfrique. We removed villas from the rent comparison. We also checked our own premium-neighborhood rent observations.
Where do young professionals prefer to rent in Dakar right now?
The top three Dakar neighborhoods for young professionals in 2026 are Mermoz, Sacré-Cœur, and Ouakam, with Point E, Fann, Liberté 6, and Mamelles also very popular.
Young professionals in these Dakar neighborhoods usually pay about 250,000 to 700,000 CFA per month, which is roughly $415 to $1,165 or €380 to €1,065.
These areas attract young professionals in Dakar because they offer easier commutes, cafés, gyms, newer apartments, VDN access, Corniche access, and lower rents than Almadies.
By the way, you will find a detailed tenant analysis in our property pack covering the real estate market in Dakar.
Where do families prefer to rent in Dakar right now?
The top three Dakar neighborhoods for families in 2026 are Mermoz, Sacré-Cœur, and Fann, with Point E, Maristes, Cité Keur Gorgui, Ouakam, and Mamelles also strong.
Families in these Dakar neighborhoods usually pay about 550,000 to 1,500,000 CFA per month for 2-bedroom or 3-bedroom apartments, which is roughly $915 to $2,500 or €840 to €2,285.
These family-friendly Dakar neighborhoods are attractive because they offer larger layouts, calmer streets, parking, better security, school access, and more practical daily life than very dense central areas.
School and education options near these Dakar family areas include UCAD around Fann, Institut Sainte Jeanne d’Arc near Plateau, Enko Dakar, Cours Sainte Marie de Hann, and several French or bilingual private schools around Mermoz and Fann.
Which areas near transit or universities rent faster in Dakar in 2026?
As of 2026, the fastest-renting Dakar areas near transit or universities are Fann and Point E near UCAD, Plateau and Colobane near central transport flows, and Grand Dakar or Liberté along busy movement corridors.
In these high-demand Dakar areas, correctly priced apartments often stay listed for only 10 to 30 days before finding a tenant.
A Dakar apartment within easy walking distance of UCAD, Plateau transport, or a strong VDN corridor can often earn a rent premium of about 40,000 to 150,000 CFA per month, or roughly $65 to $250 and €60 to €230.
Which neighborhoods are most popular with expats in Dakar right now?
The top three Dakar neighborhoods for expats in 2026 are Almadies, Ngor, and Mermoz, with Mamelles, Fann, Point E, and Plateau also very common choices.
Expats in these Dakar neighborhoods usually pay about 600,000 to 1,800,000 CFA per month, which is roughly $1,000 to $3,000 or €915 to €2,745.
These neighborhoods attract expats in Dakar because they offer furnished apartments, security, restaurants, sea access, international schools, embassies, good roads, and easier access to professional networks.
The most visible expat groups in these Dakar neighborhoods include French, Lebanese, American, European, West African, NGO, diplomatic, and returning Senegalese diaspora communities.
And if you are also an expat, you may want to read our Sources and methodology: we used Keur-Immo furnished rentals, Keur-Immo Almadies, and Expat-Dakar. We focused on furnished, secure, and premium apartment listings. We also matched this with our own expat-demand research.
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Who rents, and what do tenants want in Dakar right now?
Dakar rental demand in 2026 is broad, but the highest-paying tenants are not the same as the largest tenant group.
What tenant profiles dominate rentals in Dakar?
The top three tenant profiles in Dakar rentals are local households and workers, students and young professionals, and expats or diaspora tenants.
As an estimate for 2026, local households and workers represent about 55% of Dakar rental demand, students and young professionals about 25%, and expats, diplomats, NGO staff, executives, and diaspora tenants about 20%.
Local households in Dakar usually seek unfurnished 1-bedroom to 3-bedroom apartments, students and young professionals seek studios or small 1-bedrooms, and expat or diaspora tenants often seek furnished 1-bedroom to 3-bedroom apartments with security and comfort.
If you want to optimize your cashflow, you can read our Sources and methodology: we used ANSD EHCVM, ANSD Dakar, and Keur-Immo furnished listings. We separated tenant volume from tenant spending power. We then adjusted with our own tenant segmentation for Dakar.
Do tenants prefer furnished or unfurnished in Dakar?
In Dakar in 2026, around 65% to 75% of long-term tenants prefer unfurnished or lightly furnished rentals, while around 25% to 35% prefer fully furnished apartments.
Furnished apartments in Dakar usually earn a premium of about 100,000 to 400,000 CFA per month, which is roughly $165 to $665 or €150 to €610, depending on location and quality.
Furnished rentals in Dakar are most popular with expats, diplomats, NGO staff, corporate tenants, returning diaspora tenants, and medium-stay professionals who want to move in quickly.
Which amenities increase rent the most in Dakar?
The five amenities that increase rent the most in Dakar are backup power, water tank with pump, 24-hour security, air conditioning, and parking or elevator access.
In Dakar in 2026, backup power can add about 50,000 to 180,000 CFA per month, water systems 30,000 to 120,000 CFA, security 40,000 to 150,000 CFA, air conditioning 40,000 to 180,000 CFA, and parking or elevator access 30,000 to 120,000 CFA, or roughly $50 to $300 and €45 to €275 for each major feature.
In our property pack covering the real estate market in Dakar, we cover what are the best investments a landlord can make.
What renovations get the best ROI for rentals in Dakar?
The five best ROI renovations for Dakar rentals are air conditioning, plumbing and water-pressure upgrades, a water tank with pump, a kitchen refresh, and bathroom modernization.
In Dakar in 2026, these upgrades can cost from about 300,000 to 4,000,000 CFA, or roughly $500 to $6,665 and €460 to €6,100, while each well-chosen upgrade can add about 30,000 to 200,000 CFA per month in rent when the neighborhood supports it.
Poor ROI renovations in Dakar usually include over-luxury decoration, fragile imported furniture, expensive finishes in low-budget areas, and upgrades that look nice but do not fix water, power, heat, security, or maintenance problems.
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How strong is rental demand in Dakar as of 2026?
Rental demand in Dakar in 2026 is strong, but a landlord still needs the right rent, the right tenant profile, and the right neighborhood.
What's the vacancy rate for rentals in Dakar as of 2026?
As of 2026, the estimated vacancy rate for well-located residential rentals in Dakar is about 5% to 8%.
Across Dakar, realistic vacancy ranges are about 5% to 8% for well-priced central apartments, 8% to 12% for average mid-market apartments, and 12% to 18% for overpriced luxury or poorly managed furnished rentals.
Compared with the longer-term pattern in Dakar, vacancy in 2026 looks low in good areas because demand remains strong, but badly priced premium units still sit empty for much longer.
Finally please note that you will have all the indicators you need in our property pack covering the real estate market in Dakar.
How many days do rentals stay listed in Dakar as of 2026?
As of 2026, a correctly priced apartment in Dakar usually stays listed for about 20 to 45 days.
Good studios and 1-bedrooms in Mermoz, Point E, Fann, Sacré-Cœur, and Ouakam can rent in 10 to 25 days, while overpriced furnished units in Almadies, Ngor, or Mamelles can stay listed for 60 to 120 days.
Compared with one year ago, days on market in Dakar in 2026 appear shorter for affordable and well-located units, but not for expensive units priced like short-stay rentals.
Which months have peak tenant demand in Dakar?
The peak months for tenant demand in Dakar are usually August, September, October, January, and February.
These months are busy because families move before school, students look near universities, expat families relocate, and NGOs or companies often start new assignments after holidays.
The quieter months for Dakar rental demand are often April, May, and parts of December, when fewer households want to move and many tenants delay decisions.
Don't buy the wrong property, in the wrong area of Dakar
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What will my monthly costs be in Dakar as of 2026?
For a normal Dakar landlord in 2026, monthly non-financing costs often take about 12% to 25% of rent, and furnished apartments can cost more because repairs, cleaning, vacancy, and furniture replacement are heavier.
What property taxes should landlords expect in Dakar as of 2026?
As of 2026, a simple planning estimate for annual property-related taxes and local charges in Dakar is about 5% to 10% of annual gross rent, so a landlord collecting 650,000 CFA per month might set aside about 390,000 to 780,000 CFA per year, or roughly $650 to $1,300 and €595 to €1,190.
Depending on property value, rent level, owner status, and location in Dakar, a realistic annual property-tax planning range for many small landlords is about 150,000 to 1,500,000 CFA, or roughly $250 to $2,500 and €230 to €2,285.
Property taxes in Dakar depend on Senegal’s tax rules, the rental value or taxable base, the owner’s situation, and whether a simplified framework such as Contribution Globale Foncière applies.
Please note that, in our property pack covering the real estate market in Dakar, we cover what exemptions or deductions may be available to reduce property taxes for landlords.
What utilities do landlords often pay in Dakar right now?
In Dakar in 2026, landlords most often pay or manage building charges, common-area security, generator or shared power costs, water-tank maintenance, major repairs, and sometimes internet or cleaning for furnished rentals.
Typical landlord-paid monthly costs in Dakar can be about 20,000 to 80,000 CFA for security, 15,000 to 70,000 CFA for building charges, 10,000 to 60,000 CFA for shared generator or water systems, and 20,000 to 80,000 CFA for internet or cleaning in furnished units, or roughly $15 to $135 and €15 to €120 for each cost item.
The common practice in Dakar is that tenants pay personal electricity, water, and internet in unfurnished long-term rentals, while landlords pay structural costs and may bundle more services in furnished rentals.
How is rental income taxed in Dakar as of 2026?
As of 2026, rental income in Dakar is taxable in Senegal, but the exact treatment depends on whether the landlord is resident, non-resident, individual, company, professional, or covered by a simplified property-tax regime.
Common deductible or relevant costs for Dakar landlords can include repairs, maintenance, management costs, certain taxes, and eligible property expenses, but the exact treatment must be checked under Senegal’s tax rules.
Common Dakar tax mistakes include treating gross rent as tax-free cash, ignoring Contribution Globale Foncière when it applies, not keeping rent receipts, mixing short-stay and long-term income, and using informal agreements without clear tax records.
We cover these mistakes, among others, in our Sources and methodology: we used DGID tax laws, DGID tax procedures, and Senegal tax code. We did not pretend one flat rate applies to every landlord. We converted legal rules into practical landlord warnings.
We did some research and made this infographic to help you quickly compare rental yields of the major cities in Senegal versus those in neighboring countries. It provides a clear view of how this country positions itself as a real estate investment destination, which might interest you if you’re planning to invest there.
What sources have we used to write this blog article?
Whether it’s in our blog articles or the market analyses included in our property pack about Dakar, we always rely on the strongest methodology we can … and we don’t throw out numbers at random.
We also aim to be fully transparent, so below we’ve listed the authoritative sources we used, and explained how we used them and the methods behind our estimates.
| Source used | Why this source matters | How we used this source |
|---|---|---|
| ANSD, Situation économique et sociale de Dakar 2024 | ANSD is Senegal’s official statistics agency, so it is the strongest source for Dakar population and density. | We used this report to understand why housing demand is tight in Dakar. We treated density and population concentration as the base reason behind rental pressure. |
| ANSD, EHCVM 2021-2022 | This is Senegal’s official household living-conditions survey. | We used it for household and tenure context in Senegal. We did not use it as a 2026 Dakar rent index because it is not designed for that. |
| ANSD publications page | This is the official publication hub for Senegal’s latest statistical releases. | We used it to check whether a newer official Dakar rent index was available. We found no clean public residential rent index for Dakar as of June 2026. |
| DGID tax laws and regulations | DGID is Senegal’s official tax authority. | We used it to ground the landlord-tax section. We stayed cautious because tax treatment depends on each owner’s situation. |
| DGID Contribution Globale Foncière PDF | This official DGID document explains the simplified property-tax regime. | We used it to explain that some small landlords may fall under a simplified property-tax framework. We did not turn it into a single tax bill for every owner. |
| Primature, Code général des impôts | The Prime Minister’s office is an official government source for legal texts in Senegal. | We used it as a legal cross-check for rental income taxation. We avoided over-simplifying tax rules for residents, non-residents, individuals, and companies. |
| World Bank Senegal page | The World Bank is a strong source for macroeconomic and urban-development context. | We used it to frame Dakar’s rent outlook. We linked rent pressure to growth, urbanization, and investment rather than only to listings. |
| World Bank Dakar urban mobility project | This source confirms major mobility investment affecting Dakar and nearby urban areas. | We used it to understand transit-linked rental demand. We treated BRT, TER, and corridor improvements as demand shapers, not direct rent data. |
| IMF Senegal country page | The IMF is a standard source for macro forecasts and inflation context. | We used it to check Senegal’s macro backdrop for 2026. We used that context to judge whether rent growth could stay above general inflation. |
| BCEAO indicators | BCEAO is the central bank for Senegal’s monetary union. | We used it for inflation and interest-rate context. We treated financing conditions as one reason new supply can be slower to reach the market. |
| Numbeo Dakar cost of living | Numbeo is not official, but it gives transparent city-level rent ranges and sample-based data. | We used it as a cross-check for 1-bedroom and 3-bedroom rents. We gave it less weight than local listings because crowd-sourced samples can be small. |
| Keur-Immo Dakar apartment rentals | Keur-Immo is a recognized Senegal real estate portal with current Dakar listings. | We used it to observe asking rents by bedroom count and neighborhood. We corrected for asking-price bias by comparing it with other portals. |
| CoinAfrique Dakar apartment rentals | CoinAfrique is a high-volume classifieds marketplace in Senegal. | We used it to check lower and middle-market Dakar rents. We filtered out obvious villas, duplicates, and unrealistic outliers. |
| Expat-Dakar apartment rentals | Expat-Dakar is one of Senegal’s main classifieds platforms. | We used it to cross-check neighborhood names and asking rents. We treated it as private-sector evidence, not an official rent statistic. |
| Rentberry Dakar rentals | Rentberry gives international listing coverage and headline rental inventory for Dakar. | We used it as an extra international cross-check. We gave it less weight than local portals because coverage can lean toward formal or expat-facing listings. |
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