914sqm Warehouse with Tarred Roads in Belmont along Liverpool Road To Let

Under the Finance Act of 2025 (effective January 2026), ZIMRA aggressively shifted the tax collection burden onto the tenant. If you lease an industrial property from an informal or tax-evading landlord, the law designates you as a statutory agent. You are legally required to withhold a 15% Presumptive Rental Tax from your gross rent and remit it directly to ZIMRA.

If you pay your rent in full to a non-compliant landlord, ZIMRA will audit your business and hit you with a 100% penalty on the unwithheld tax. You can bypass this massive compliance risk entirely by leasing through an EAC-registered agency on Propertyzone. The agency acts as the legal intermediary, withholding the tax before disbursing funds to the landlord and insulating your manufacturing or logistics business from ZIMRA audits.

To operate an industrial facility, you will likely need to pour reinforced concrete slabs, install heavy gantry cranes, or build mezzanine floors. You cannot do this without prior written consent and City Council approval, but the real financial danger lies at the end of the lease.

Standard Zimbabwean commercial leases contain aggressive reinstatement clauses. If you do not explicitly negotiate these out of the contract before signing, the landlord can legally force you to pay tens of thousands of USD to demolish your own structural improvements and return the warehouse to an empty shell when you vacate. Always negotiate an exit clause that allows you to leave capital improvements in place at zero cost to you.

Do not sign a lease simply because the building has a three-phase ZESA connection. You must audit the ownership and capital maintenance liability of the transformer. In Zimbabwe, if a dedicated transformer blows, ZESA will often claim a lack of resources and refuse to replace it for months.

Your lease agreement must explicitly state that the landlord is financially responsible for the capital replacement of transformers and heavy electrical switchgear. If this clause is absent, you will be forced to spend $15,000+ of your own operating cash to buy a new transformer just to keep your factory running. Additionally, demand the last three months of ZESA bills to prove the landlord has not illegally bypassed the meter, which would result in your immediate disconnection.

Yes. Industrial leases in Zimbabwe are structured on a "triple net" basis—meaning you pay the base rent plus all municipal rates, water, and security costs. However, municipal debt and environmental liability bind the physical property, not the previous tenant.

If the previous occupier left $20,000 in unpaid Workington or Willowvale municipal rates, the Harare City Council will outright refuse to issue your Business Operating License. Furthermore, if the site has historical groundwater contamination, the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) can halt your operations until the site is remediated. Never sign an industrial lease until the agent provides a zero-balance municipal clearance certificate and an EMA compliance report.

Relocating an industrial plant requires months of logistical planning, making the notice period critical. Most industrial leases mandate a strict 3 to 6 months' written notice prior to lease expiry. If you miss this window by a single day, Zimbabwean landlords will ruthlessly enforce an automatic lease rollover or penalize you with month-to-month extortion rates.

Coordinate your exit timeline meticulously. Paying double rent on massive industrial square meterage because you missed a contractual notification window will destroy your cash flow.

This is the most critical operational distinction in your tenancy. It determines who controls the utility infrastructure and how disputes are resolved.

Fully Managed: You pay rent directly to the agency, and the agency handles all maintenance. In Zimbabwe, this is the safest option. When a borehole pump burns out or a solar inverter fails, the agency deploys vetted contractors and deducts the cost from the landlord's rental yield. You have a professional buffer ensuring your utility infrastructure remains functional.

Introduction-Only: The agency drafts the lease and steps away. You pay rent directly to the landlord and must negotiate directly with them when infrastructure fails. If the landlord lacks the USD cash flow to fix a burst geyser or replace dead solar batteries, you are entirely reliant on their personal financial situation. Always ask the agent which arrangement applies before signing.

In Zimbabwe, security deposit disputes are the number one cause of landlord-tenant friction. Private landlords frequently treat security deposits as immediate operating cash rather than escrowed funds, making it impossible to recover your money when you vacate.

If you lease a Managed Property through an EAC-registered agency on Propertyzone, your deposit is legally ring-fenced in a regulated Trust Account. The agency cannot legally release those funds to the landlord during your tenancy. If you lease an Introduction-Only property, the deposit is transferred directly to the landlord. If you must pay a deposit directly to a landlord, ensure the lease mandates a joint move-in inspection with photographic evidence, and never agree to a lease that allows the landlord more than 14 days to refund the deposit after you vacate.

Do not assume utility responsibilities are standard; they must be explicitly defined in your lease agreement to avoid sudden operational costs.

• ZESA and City of Harare Water: Tenants are almost universally responsible for their own prepaid ZESA tokens and municipal water/refuse bills. Ask to see the municipal statement before signing to ensure you aren't inheriting thousands of dollars in arrears that will result in the council disconnecting your water.
• Boreholes and Solar Infrastructure: Landlords are responsible for capital maintenance (replacing a burnt borehole pump or dead lithium batteries). However, tenants are typically responsible for operational maintenance (paying for bulk water deliveries if the water table drops, or servicing the generator).
• Levies in Sectional Titles: If you rent a flat or townhouse, ensure the lease explicitly states whether the monthly body corporate levy is included in your rent or billed separately. Unpaid levies will result in the body corporate restricting your vehicle access or water supply.