Need to rent a long term house in Lautoka

Hi! I am planning to stay long term in Fiji and have been advised that Lautoka is the best choice of the three major towns. My initial plan is to stay at a hotel for the first 2 weeks and during that time find a rental house. How hard is it for a foreigner to rent a house in Lautoka? Do real estate agents require references and rental history? How long is the lease for, is it 6 months or 12 months? Is it better to go through an agency like Inglewood or just respond to weekend ads in Fiji Times? Any advice is appreciated.

Hi John.
We are renting a 2 bedroom flat in Lautoka and have been here 19 months. We are here for 2 years and initially signed a 12 month lease, but terms vary and 6 months may be adequate.

Lautoka is NOT a tourist town, but is bigger than Nadi. It is also cheaper than either Nadi or Suva and a better place to live, in my opinion.
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There are agents but you really do need to be here before comitting to anything. Descriptions can mislead and location can be imprtant. Security needs attention too and you need to see the property to assess these things. Mostly places are found by chatting to locals and by driving around the areas where you might choose to live.
Two weeks should be long enough to find something suitable.

We provided no references. Expats are generally welcomed as tennants. The flat we rent was fully furnished and had pots and pans etc included. That is not an unusual situation.

What sort of place did you have in mind and what sort of rent are you prepared to pay?

Cheers,
Peter

Hi Peter,

Thanks for your prompt reply.

One of the reasons I chose Lautoka is that it is not a tourist town. I´m coming with my family which contains two kids aged 2 yrs and another 8 months, so an enclosed yard is a must. We prefer a 3 bedroom house which is furnished and not too far from town centre. Don´t really want to walk to shops for over 5 kms. Market is our preferred shopping place and I hear that there is a great market in Lautoka. We do not have a car nor do we plan to rent one. Public transport or walking is the way for us. Internet access is imperative as we work with computers. As far as price range goes then I have seen rental prices from wall to wall. I guess it depends on suburbs where houses are located. I really do not want to pay in excess of $F2500 per month but the cheaper the better. One of the sites that I have looked at is this one: http://www.buyinfiji.com/browse/properties/houses-to-rent/

Would be great if you could give some valuable local advice.

Cheers,
John

Hi John.
F$2,500 will get you plenty of choice. It is unlikely you will need to spend that much.
More of an issue for you will be location. Most 'expat' houses are in the suburb of Simla which is under 5km, but still a bit far to walk to town. There are local busses. Our flat is 100m from the bus station and the (great) market, that is quite unusual, but a large flat in town might be a possibility.

Internet access is available. We use wireless which varies in quality, but is OK for our purposes. I am not sure of the speeds over the copper. There are 2 or 3 providers.

I presume you have work visas sorted? They often take a long time to get and you probably don't want to have to leave the country and return every 4 months?

What is your timing? I can find a couple of locals to put you in touch with that sometimes have properties available. but there is not too much point in doing that much before you arrive.

Cheers,
Peter

hi im looking for a 1 or 2 bedroom place in lautoka closer to the hospital!maybe walking distance to hospital.if you could help me out with this one.thank you

Hi smafia.
Are you currently here in Lautoka? It is difficult to do very much until you are actually here.
Next question is furnished or unfurnished? Not much about that is furnished at the moment it seems.
Best option might be the lower floor of a larger house. Many have a flat underneath.

Cheers,
Peter

hey there again
im actually living in fiji
iam a medical student who wil be working in lautoka hospital this year..
i need a furnished place or unfurnished should do too..sth closer to the hospital would be preferable

Kathy, I have never heard of anyone house sitting in Fiji, but that does not mean that it does not happen. Expats will often employ full time 'caretakers' who look after properties and keep gardens etc in order.

Lautoka has a significant transient population of Japanese students who go there to learn English. Many are accomodated in homestays.
A friend of ours offers homestays (and also has a flat under his house). His name is Conrad. Call him on 7586640 (mob) or 6664169 (home).

I don't know of any agencies in this area. Generally it is not easy to arrange accomodation until you are ''on the spot''. The other place to go to ask around once you are there is the Northern Club in Lautoka. Many expats (and long term locals) frequent that place. Although the population of expats would be higher in Suva than Lautoka, I would prefer to live in Lautoka.

Cheers,
Peter

Does anyone looking for a flat to rent/share in Nadi area. 1 bedroom, share toilet & bathroom(hot&cold).