Expatriate Forums in Argentina

Argentina Info · Joined: 01 Dec 2006 Posts: 19 Home Country: argentina

HOUSING IN ARGENTINA

General

Finding reasonably priced accommodation to rent will be relatively easy in Argentina depending on the area you are looking in. This section gives you information about the Argentinean housing market, as well as a wide range of tips and tricks for your housing search.

Latin America has a high percentage of its inhabitants living in big cities. Argentina is no exception to that. The downtown areas are mainly characterised by apartment buildings. When moving away from the centre a wider variety of housing is found. Argentina is an immigrant country which is clearly noted by the architecture of its housing. For example, in the outskirts of Buenos Aires you are likely to come across English style houses, whereas the downtown area resembles Italy and Spain. Near Cordoba and in Bariloche you will often have the feeling of being in Southern Germany or Switzerland.

Things to bear in mind on your search
Accommodation prices in Argentina are determined by the size and location. This holds for both renting and buying. Accommodation is measured in square meters. Furthermore, and this may come as shock to some, buying a house or apartment in Argentina means most of time that payment in cash is required. With the economy improving this is slowly changing again.

Another factor to bear in mind is that in Argentina apartment and houses are described by the number of rooms or ambientes. This includes the living room and the bedrooms. Take into account that there can be several living or sitting rooms in a house or apartment. Kitchen, bathrooms and toilets are not included in the room count.

Housing in Argentina is either let furnished or unfurnished. The availability of one or the other ranges from where you want to live. In a mayor city like Buenos Aires or Cordoba both furnished and unfurnished are readily available. In a smaller city like Comodoro Rividavia finding a furnished place will be very hard.

The Rental Market

For many foreigners coming to Argentina finding a place will not turn out to be that difficult since prices are still relatively low. Renting a place also means paperwork.

For Argentineans finding a place to rent is becoming increasingly difficult. Since many Argentineans are not in the position to buy property (anymore) the demand for places to rent is high. To get an idea of rental prices, in the most solicited neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires a two room apartment will have an average monthly rent of AR$ 900 in Recoleta whereas in Belgrano it will range from AR$ 550 to AR$ 2000 a month. In the popular neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires a small place to live will hardly be found below AR$400/month. (Source: ReporteInmobiliario.com).

A development that is taking place in the mayor tourist and business areas in Argentina is the increase in short term rentals aiming at foreigners. Places offered in neighbourhoods like Recoleta in Buenos Aires as well as apartments in places that receive many tourists like Bariloche and Villa Langustura, are offered fully furnished at prices lower than the better hotels. Many of these places can be booked online.

Supply and demand can also vary considerably in the course of the year, particularly in cities with a large student population such as Cordoba and Buenos Aires. At the beginning of the academic semesters, which is around February/March and August/September demand tends to be high.

House Hunting

Looking for an apartment in Argentina can, despite the favourable prices, be a time-consuming experience. Whatever you do, give yourself a plenty of time as it will be much more likely that you get what you are looking for this way.

On arrival in Argentina, you may find it necessary to stay in temporary accommodation for a few weeks or months until you can move into an apartment. In Argentina your options for short-term stay comprise of hotels, residencies and short-term rental of furnished apartments. These short-term rentals are offered by a wide amount of real estate and housing agencies. Some specialise in providing only short-term rentals. Many of these agencies are found online and offer online reservation opportunities. Services are offered in English and Spanish.

After you find a place to sleep, your search can start. Unless you want to depend on getting lucky, you should consider several options for your apartment search. The most important thing is to have a very clear idea of what you are actually looking for. If you do not work this out it is easy to waste your time. The best start is to get familiar with your new environment by walking around, seeing how transport works and asking other people about different neighbourhoods and areas.

There is a wide range of options when looking for an apartment. As always in life, the more you are willing to pay (i.e. for an agent), the easier your search will be. For an efficient search, you should be familiar with the basic rental terms in Argentina.

Estate Agents
Real Estate Agents often have the most attractive accommodation, as many landlords do not wish to spend time looking for and contracting tenants. In many cases you never see the landlord as the agent handles all administrative tasks. In Argentina this is especially common practice as the Real Estate agents also check backgrounds and guarantees and have far more knowledge on dealing with tenants.

Many homeowners prefer to make use of Realtors and prevent any possible future conflicts with non-paying tenants. In Argentina tenants that are not capable of paying the rent have been reported many times over the years. To get tenants evicted is a long, difficult and costly process. Bad experiences also explain why, when renting a place, a third person that stands guarantee for the tenant is required.

In Argentina the remuneration for real estate agents in rentals differs per province. In the city of Buenos Aires (Capital Federal) remuneration is not covered by legislation which means common practice is viewed as the norm. In Capital Federal this means commission is one month of rent.

In other provinces 1-2% commission is charged over the total contract to both the owner as the tenant. Sometimes the real estate agent provides additional services, such as the complete management and administration of the premises. In this case commission could range between 5-10%.

Classifieds
Argentina is South America’s most literate country and there are many different regional newspapers. The best known newspapers to look into for housing are El Clarín and La Nación. El Clarín offers housing all over the country, La Nación focuses more on the Greater Buenos Aires Region, Los Andes covers the Mendoza area and El Territorio covers the province of Misiones. Of course there are many more newspapers than these, but these ones also offer good and easy online access. On their respective websites, look under clasificados. Next click on Inmuebles, where you can start searching in more detail.

Once you found a classified, the next problem comes up. Classifieds are filled with abbreviations and deciphering them can cause serious headaches. Not only is it hard to find the corresponding Spanish words, Argentinean Spanish vocabulary and housing options might differ from other Spanish speaking nations. Do not worry, you will soon learn how to interpret the numerous abbreviations. For more help, look at our glossary. Another surprise might be the different premises offered. Inmuebles covers business space, houses, apartments, country houses, land, parking spaces…even cemetery space.

Placing your own ad: You can place your own ad in the paper stating that you are looking for a place to rent. Most newspapers have websites where you can look up the costs of placing an ad and place the ad through internet. Prices to place an add in La Nación AR$ 6,80 per line. In El Clarín you will be charged AR$9,95 per line from Monday to Saturday and AR$ 12,95 per line for the Sunday edition.

Temporary Accommodation
Before finding a long-term rental you might have to stay at a hotel first. Although many of you might consider residencias, home-stays and apartments offered for short-term rentals. The minimum rental period in Argentina is two years. However, for tourists an exemption exists. Several real estate agencies offer furnished apartments and houses for short-term leases. Several agencies even offer additional services such a telephone service and airport pick-up. Short-term rentals can often be booked online and paid for by credit card.

Residencias are a popular places to stay with students. A residence resembles a hostel, but normally takes clients for longer-term stays. Home stays are apartments and houses where you live together with the family that owns the premises. Many homestays can be found in the countryside during the tourist season and all-year-round in the mayor cities.

Rental Contracts

When an apartment is rented a rental contract is signed. This contract contains details about the apartment in addition to the rights and obligations of tenant and landlord. Rental contracts in Argentina are generally of two years. If it concerns a commercial rental, the duration of the contract is normally three years. A contract can be for a maximum of ten years. The duration of contracts is covered by Argentinean Law (Ley 23091).

Besides the duration of the contract, rental agreements also state that if the tenant does not pay, the rental agreement is terminated and the tenant will have to leave. However, tenants do not always leave when asked which causes the owner to go to court and file charges. This can be a long and expensive way to get rid of tenants. In order to prevent any such trouble, a Convenio de Desocupación is often signed at the same time as the rental agreement. This Convenio covers the issues and procedures of reluctance to pay and the leaving the premises. The aim of the convenio is that if conflicts occur the tenant can be evicted easier. If during the rental period the apartment has been damaged beyond the normal tear and wear, the landlord is allowed to deduct damages from the security deposit.

To prevent tenants damaging the property or not fulfilling payment of rent, you might need a third person to stand as a garante which means he/she will guarantee that the tenant will pay the rent. If rent is not paid by the tenant, the landlord can claim the rent at the garante. The garante can after having paid the missing rent claim back the money from the tenant he/she stood bail for, claiming the tenant betrayed him. This can be a long process with uncertain outcomes and directly explains why it is often hard to find a garante.

By law a landlord may not accept advance payments more than 1 month before the tenant occupies the premises. Law also states that a security deposit may not exceed the equivalent of one month’s rent for every year of the contract.

It is not allowed to do any remodelling in the apartment without the landlord’s approval. Subletting is prohibited by Argentinean Law and most contracts will also state this separately.

Rental contracts normally contain the following details:

* Name, nationality and identification of the tenant and landlord
* Address the apartment is located at
* Description of the condition the apartment (and furniture) are in
* A clause stating fines for subletting
* Exact amount of rent (in US$ and/or Ar$) and conditions of payment
* A clause stating fines for not paying rent and the right of the owner to start the eviction procedure
* The period the apartment will be rented for and fines for exceeding the period
* Agreement not to make any adjustments in the premises without the owners permission
* Payment of utility costs and maintenance expenses
* The amount of security deposit and the owner’s right to use the deposit for unpaid costs
* Clause regarding where disputes will be solved.
* Signatures of tenant and owner and the date of contract.

Household Management, Utilities & Disputes

If you want to have an idea of the utility expenses of a place, ask to see previous bills before renting or buying a place. Important: If it is possible to pay your bills electronically in Argentina do so! Paying any bill in Argentina is an adventure that can easily exceed your worst expectations.

Utilities
Depending on the landlord, utility expenses and community fees may or may not be included in the rent. Community fees usually cover the costs of general maintenance and sometimes one or more of the utilities. Be sure to ask which items you will have to pay for yourself and which are included. Gas, electricity and water bills all add up and can end up being a large expense. Not all areas in Argentina have water or even electricity meters. In those cases a fixed monthly amount is charged.

Deposit
Law states that a security deposit may not exceed the equivalent of one month’s rent for every year of the contract.

Disputes in Real Estate
Disputes can arise in any given real estate relation. You could have trouble with your landlord, the seller, buyer or your tenants. In Argentina rights in real estate property are based on Roman Law. The national constitution guarantees the ownership right and ownership is ruled by the Civil Code. Argentineans and foreigners are treated the same way.

Besides going to court to solve problems there is also the option to go the Tribunal Arbitral para Asuntos Inmobiliaria (Real Estate Tribunal). The decisions of the Tribunal are binding and the process of starting up a procedure with the Tribunal is often more economic and easier than going to Court. However, in order to make use of the Tribunal both parties had to agree in their real estate contract that disputes will be solved in front of the Real Estate Tribunal.

sebastiani · Joined: 20 Sep 2009 Posts: 1 Home Country: italy

Apartment rental prices over the last few years in Buenos Aires have increased due to the high foreign demand. The short term rental market in Buenos Aires has a wide offering of upscale apartments along the most exclusive neighborhoods. Renting a two bedroom luxury apartment in Recoleta or Palermo range in value from to $1,500 per month up to $4500.