October 9, 2026
8 min
· Rédaction Imonga
Before you rent an apartment in Kara, Togo, one fact shapes every discussion with a landlord: Togo's 2022 decree capping the deposit at three months' rent applies, in its first phase, to Greater Lomé only. In Kara, the deposit (caution), the advance rent and the agent's fee are therefore negotiated case by case, and everything agreed has to be written into a lease. The model contract published by Togo's housing ministry is still the best starting point. This article gives no rent figures: we have no sourced record of rents in Kara.
Three channels work together: online listings, agencies or local brokers (démarcheurs), and word of mouth on the ground. On Imonga, listings for the country are grouped on the Togo real estate page: look there for those located in Kara. The site has no dedicated Kara listings page yet, and we publish no count of available properties here. For comparison with the capital, see apartments for rent in Lomé.
If you are coming to study, start with the university. The University of Kara states on its housing page (in French) that it has residences, though their number is limited, that applications are made at the start of each academic year to the Division de Gestion des Résidences Universitaires (DGRU), and that a great many students share apartments off campus. Flat sharing is a common arrangement to factor into your search.
For background on the city, read our Kara real estate guide (in French).
The reference text in Togo is decree no. 2022-001/PR of 5 January 2022, which regulates the deposit, the rent guarantee and residential leases. Its reach is limited, though. The Council of Ministers communiqué of 5 January 2022 states that, in a first phase, the measure applies in Greater Lomé and will be extended to other localities after evaluation, if judged relevant.
Togo's ministry in charge of urban planning confirms that a further decree adopted in the Council of Ministers must set its application in other cities, after evaluation. As of 9 October 2026, we found no decree extending it to Kara. Ask the town hall or a notary before signing: if the extension has happened since, the caps below become mandatory for your lease.
Until then, the Greater Lomé rules are a benchmark for negotiating in Kara. According to the ministry's presentation:
That time limit, under article 6 as quoted by Actulome (9 March 2026), is one month at most from the return of the keys. The same article reports that a landlord taking the home back gives two months' notice in writing with acknowledgement of receipt (article 29).
As long as the decree has not been extended, no legal cap limits what a Kara landlord can ask for at move-in. Ask for the breakdown in writing before the viewing and compare it with the Greater Lomé benchmark.
| Sum requested | Decree benchmark (Greater Lomé) | In Kara |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit (caution) | Three months' rent at most | Negotiable, to be written into the lease |
| Rent guarantee (advance) | Three months' rent at most | Negotiable, to be written into the lease |
| Agency or broker fee | Split equally | Ask for a written quote before the viewing |
| Return of the deposit | One month at most after the keys are returned | Set a time limit in the lease |
A lease can be signed privately between the parties or before a notary, as the office of notary Komi Tsakadi explains. For a notarial lease, that office quotes registration fees of 2% of the total lease amount, calculated over its duration, on top of the notary's own fees. For a private lease, ask the tax office of the Office Togolais des Recettes (OTR) for the current amount.
Budget for the housing tax (taxe d'habitation) too, which is owed by the occupant, tenants included. The scale published by Togo First on 28 October 2021 was 2,000 FCFA a year for a studio, 6,000 FCFA for a two-room apartment and 9,000 FCFA for three rooms. That scale is several years old: confirm the amount and the payment method with the OTR.
Pay nothing until you have viewed the apartment, identified the landlord and read the lease. The points to check:
Walk away from anyone who demands payment before a viewing or refuses to put things in writing. See our advice on avoiding real estate scams and our guide to leases, deposits and notice (both in French).
Not to our knowledge as of 9 October 2026. Togo's decree no. 2022-001/PR caps the deposit at three months' rent, but it applies in a first phase to Greater Lomé. Extending it to other cities requires a new decree. In Kara the amount is negotiated: use the Lomé cap as an argument and get everything in writing.
No, insist on a written one. In Greater Lomé, the 2022 decree requires the parties to draw up the contract. In Kara, even without that obligation, the written lease is your only proof of the rent, the deposit paid and the notice period. The ministry's model contract is available in town halls and on the urban planning ministry's website.
We publish no figure because we have no verifiable source: no official rent statistics for Kara, and no Imonga dataset covering enough listings. Compare several listings of the same size, ask two or three agencies, and each time ask for the total due at move-in, not just the monthly rent.
In Greater Lomé, the 2022 decree provides for an equal split between landlord and tenant (article 11). In Kara that rule is not yet mandatory, so the fee is negotiated. Ask for the amount in writing before any viewing and pay only when the lease is signed, against a receipt.
Yes, in practice, provided someone you trust views the apartment and you pay nothing before receiving the signed lease and a copy of the landlord's identity document. This answer is practical advice, not a rule drawn from a legal text: we have consulted no official text from Togo that deals with renting remotely. Before you commit, have the lease reviewed by a notary or a lawyer practising in Togo, who can tell you what Togolese law requires in your situation. A notarial lease gives you an authenticated deed, with fees to ask the notary about before you commit.
These rules apply to Togo only: lease law is different in other countries.
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The advice above is worth most when applied to a specific property. 119 listings are online, viewable without an account.