Learn French: Nous avons loué une cabane basique, sans eau ni électricité. - We rented a basic cabin, without water or electricity.

Because sans establishes a negative context. In English, we say 'without X or Y', but French treats 'without' as a negative, requiring ni (nor) to connect the items: sans eau ni électricité.

Where did the articles go? Why isn't it sans de l'eau ni de l'électricité?

When using sans, indefinite and partitive articles (like un, des, or de l') are dropped because you are expressing a total absence. You would only keep an article after sans if you were referring to a specific, previously mentioned item.

Could I just say sans eau et sans électricité instead?

Yes, repeating sans before each noun is grammatically correct and emphasizes the lack of each individual item. However, the sans... ni... structure is much more elegant and is the standard way to link multiple missing things without sounding repetitive.

Is there a liaison between sans and eau?

Yes, you must make a liaison here. Because sans is a short preposition followed immediately by a word starting with a vowel (eau), you pronounce the connection as a Z sound.