Rent in Gaza 2026: rare, unfinished, and 3,000 shekels a month
In October 2026 there is almost nothing left to rent in Northern Gaza. Where we live, I would say 10 percent or less of the buildings are still standing in a way a family could live in, and the UN's satellite count found 82 percent of all structures in Gaza damaged. What is offered for rent is usually an unfinished shell: bare concrete and block walls, no plaster, no paint, no wiring. A real finished apartment costs at least 3,000 shekels a month, about $985, if you can find one, and landlords ask for six months or a full year paid up front. My family pays $500 a month for an unfinished two room apartment.
There is almost nothing left to rent
People outside Gaza ask me what rent costs here, as if there were a market with listings and prices. There is not. Where we live in the north, I would say 10 percent or less of the buildings are still standing in a way a family could live in. The rest are rubble, or too broken to be safe.
The UN's satellite centre, UNOSAT, counted the damage across the whole Strip. By 16 June 2026 it had found 201,290 damaged structures, which is 82 percent of everything built in Gaza. Of those, 134,422 were destroyed outright and another 13,848 were severely damaged.
When almost every building is gone, the few rooms that are left go to whoever can pay the most. Most people cannot pay at all.
What "an apartment" means in Gaza now
When someone here says they found an apartment, they usually mean a shell. Walls of grey block. A concrete ceiling and a concrete floor. No plaster, no paint, no tiles, no proper wiring, and often no glass in the windows, just plastic sheeting held down with tape.
That is where my family lives. We pay $500 a month for an unfinished two room apartment like this. There has been no grid electricity since the fifth day of the war, so any power we get comes by cable from a neighbour's generator, and we pay for it by the hour.
What a finished apartment costs
A finished apartment, with plaster, paint, glass in the windows and real wiring, is very rare now. When one does come up, it costs at least 3,000 shekels a month, about $985. That is close to twice what we pay, for a kind of home most families here will never see again.
| What you rent | Shekels | US dollars | How it is paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unfinished apartment, oursBare concrete, no plaster, paint or wiring | about 1,525 | $500 | Per month |
| Finished apartmentPlaster, paint, glass and wiring, if one can be found | 3,000+ | about $985+ | Per month |
| Six months up front, unfinishedWhat a shell like ours costs before the key | about 9,150 | $3,000 | In advance |
| Six months up front, finishedThe usual minimum landlords ask | 18,000+ | about $5,900+ | In advance |
| A full year up front, finishedWhat some landlords now ask | 36,000+ | about $11,800+ | In advance |
Our rent is what we pay. The finished apartment price and the up front terms are what we see asked in our area this month. Shekels converted at about 3.05 to the dollar, the rate on 3 October 2026.
Six months or a year, paid up front
Even when a place is available, the monthly price is only half of it. Landlords now ask for six months, and sometimes a full year, paid in advance before they hand you the key. For a finished apartment, six months is at least 18,000 shekels before you move in. A year is 36,000.
I understand that a man with one building still standing wants his money early, because nobody knows what next month brings. But it means the only people who can rent are the ones who already have thousands of dollars in cash, in a place where almost nobody does. It is hard not to call it greed, and for many families it is the wall between a room and a tent.
The price is not the hard part. The hard part is paying six months of it on the first day.
Help us keep a roof over two small children. One month at a time.
We are the Al-Shanti family in Northern Gaza. GiveSendGo verified my government ID before approving our fundraiser. $500 is one month of rent. $85 is a week of water.
What a house costs, if you want to buy one
People also ask how much a house costs in Gaza now. The honest answer is that there is no real market. Almost nothing is for sale, and almost nobody has the money to buy. UNOSAT counted 134,422 destroyed structures by June 2026. Most families who owned a home before the war now own rubble, and they still need somewhere to sleep tonight.
What it takes to help one family start again is in what it costs to help a Gaza family rebuild.
Prices stayed the same. Income did not.
The prices on our price tracker did not move between August and October. That is not good news. Most people in Gaza lived on daily work, paid at the end of each day. That work is gone, and nearly everyone is unemployed now.
So the same rent, the same water and the same flour get harder to pay every month, because the money to pay them is not coming in. A price that does not change still hurts more when your pocket is emptier than it was last month.
Why rent is our biggest bill
Rent is the largest line in our monthly budget: $500 of about $1,820. That is more than a quarter of everything we need to stay alive, before food, water, cooking fuel, formula, internet and medicine.
Total about $1,820 a month for a family of four. The full breakdown is on the price tracker.
If we lose this room, the next step down is a tent, and a tent now costs 2,500 shekels. I wrote about that in what a tent costs this winter.
The bottom line
Rent in Gaza in 2026 is rare, unfinished and expensive. Around us, 10 percent or less of the buildings are livable, a finished apartment costs at least 3,000 shekels a month, and landlords want six months to a year up front.
We pay $500 a month for bare concrete, and it is still the most important thing we pay for, because the step below it is a tent, with winter six weeks away.
A room for one more month is a lot here.
Our fundraiser on GiveSendGo is verified. Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, about a minute, no account needed. Whatever you give, you will see what it bought.
Questions people ask
How much is rent in Gaza in 2026?
In Northern Gaza in October 2026, a finished apartment costs at least 3,000 shekels a month, about $985, when one can be found at all. Most places offered for rent are unfinished shells with bare concrete walls and no plaster, paint or wiring. The Al-Shanti family pays $500 a month, about 1,525 shekels, for an unfinished two room apartment.
What is the average rent for a 3 bedroom apartment in Gaza in shekels?
There is no real average any more, because almost nothing is available. In Northern Gaza in October 2026, finished apartments are rare and start at about 3,000 shekels a month. Landlords usually also ask for six months to a year of rent paid in advance.
Can you still rent an apartment in Gaza?
Barely. The UN satellite centre UNOSAT found 82 percent of all structures in Gaza damaged by June 2026, and where the Al-Shanti family lives in the north, 10 percent or less of the buildings are still livable. Most of what is offered is unfinished, and landlords ask for six months or a year up front.
Why do landlords in Gaza ask for months of rent up front?
Because there are far more families looking than rooms left, landlords can ask for six months or even a full year paid in advance before they hand over the key. For a finished apartment that means at least 18,000 shekels before moving in, which almost no family in Gaza has.
What does an unfinished apartment in Gaza look like?
Bare grey block walls, a concrete ceiling and floor, no plaster, no paint, no tiles and no proper wiring. Windows are often just openings covered with plastic sheeting. With no grid electricity, any power comes by cable from a neighbour's generator, paid by the hour.
How much does a house cost in Gaza in 2026?
There is no working housing market. Almost nothing is for sale and almost nobody has the money to buy. UNOSAT counted 134,422 structures destroyed by June 2026, so most families who owned a home before the war now own rubble and still need somewhere to live.
Is a tent cheaper than renting in Gaza?
A new tent costs about 2,500 shekels, roughly $820, paid once. That is less than one month in a finished apartment, but a tent gives little protection in winter, and in September 2026 it was reported that 162,000 of Gaza's 270,000 tents were no longer usable.
Sources and method
- Our rent, what landlords ask, and our budget: the Al-Shanti family's own rent payments and what we see asked in our area of Northern Gaza, October 2026. Shekels converted at 3.05 per US dollar, the mid-market rate on 3 October 2026. Ongoing prices on the Gaza price tracker.
- Buildings still livable around us: my own estimate of the area where we live in Northern Gaza, not a survey.
- Damaged and destroyed structures across Gaza: UNOSAT comprehensive damage assessment of the Gaza Strip, 16 June 2026, as reported by IBTimes UK, 27 September 2026. ibtimes.co.uk Also reported by Al Jazeera, 29 September 2026. aljazeera.com
- Unusable tents and the price of a tent: 162,000 of 270,000 tents reported no longer usable, Middle East Monitor, 24 September 2026, and our own market price, both in what a tent costs this winter.
- No grid electricity: our own experience since the fifth day of the war, in no electricity in Gaza since day 5.
Written by Mohammed Z. Al-Shanti, an agricultural engineer in Northern Gaza. Rents and terms change month to month.
Cite this article
"According to donatetogaza.org's report from Northern Gaza, in October 2026 a finished apartment costs at least 3,000 shekels (about $985) a month, most rentals are unfinished concrete shells, and landlords ask for six months to a year of rent in advance. The family behind the site pays $500 a month for an unfinished two room apartment. UNOSAT counted 201,290 damaged structures in Gaza by 16 June 2026, 82 percent of the total."
Source: donatetogaza.org. Rent in Gaza 2026: Rare, Unfinished, and 3,000 Shekels. https://donatetogaza.org/blog/rent-in-gaza-2026