When it comes to houses to let Pretoria is hard to beat

Pretoria is a very popular place to stay – not only for those who study, work or who have chosen to retire here, but also for many who prefer to live in Pretoria even though they work in Johannesburg or one of the towns to the east and west. The weather is good (always a few degrees warmer than Johannesburg), the infrastructure is well developed and sound, and there are many who argue that as far as safety and security and the general quality of life goes, Pretoria is one of the best places in South Africa to grow up or raise a family in.

But choosing which suburb of Pretoria to call home is far from straight-forward. There are some who list some of the most popular areas as Doornpoort, Equestria, Faerie Glen, Garsfontein, Montana, Moreletapark, Silver Lakes, Sunnyside and Waterkloof. However there are more than these among Pretoria’s plus-minus 150 suburbs where, major recessions and depressions aside, properties are generally in demand both as places to buy and to rent.

Arcadia, Hatfield and Sunnyside are particularly popular with students and academics at the city’s universities and technikons. There are a number of property owners who’ve made investments in these suburbs with the specific intention of renting flats or houses to under-graduates and post-graduates. Whereas in terms of ultra-luxurious houses on bigger than average-size stands, it certainly appears that in recent years the majority of new developments of this sort have tended to go up in the eastern parts of the residential sprawl – in suburbs such as Brooklyn, Groenkloof, Lynnwood and Waterkloof.

And the cheapest houses to rent in Pretoria? Well, just to give some idea, if you need at least three bedrooms and want to be in one of the suburbs touched on above: R5000 a month will get you a house with two bathrooms and a nice garden in Doornpoort; R6000 to R7000 a month is the rent being asked for something similar in Equestria and Montana; and for a monthly rental of R8500 you can stay in a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house with a borehole in Lynnwood Ridge, say.

For affordable accommodation that’s also safe and clean, Jika Properties is a letting agent to be recommended for advice in more detail: Telephone 086 010-9237 or e-mail rentals@citiq.co.za