Gualeguaychú is no stranger to the changes introduced by the national government in the real estate sector. Gradually, there is an increase in the offer because the owners have freed themselves from the rigid norms imposed by the previous law and that often harmed them by establishing the obligation of the rental price update per year and not always correlated to real inflation.
On the other side of the currency, in this new context, the offer has not led to the reduction of prices, which are not consistent with salaried pockets. To this we must add that the tenants are exposed to a free agreement between parties with increasingly followed adjustments. This situation deepens the housing crisis for those people or families that are still under the contract of the previous law (which in general favors them, having the prices still torn on) and now face this complex panorama that often excludes them.
Changes in the law
To give a framework to the discussion and understand the factors at stake, it is necessary to refer to modifications introduced by the National Government for the sector: today the regulations in force in Argentina in matters of rental housing rents is governed by the decree of necessity and urgency (DNU) 70/2023, implemented by the national government in December 2023. This decree repealed the law of previous rentals (Law 27.551), eliminating several of its key regulations and modifying articles of the Civil and Commercial Code. From this reform, the parties involved – inquiline and owners – have freedom to agree on the duration of the contract, without a minimum mandatory term. If a term is not specified, the contract is presumed two years when it comes to homes with permanent housing destination. In addition, the rental value can be established in any currency, including foreign currency, and the payment must be made as agreed, without the legal possibility of demanding the exclusive use of Argentine pesos.
Another of the central changes introduced by the DNU is the elimination of the mandatory limits and criteria for the update of the rental price. Now the parties can freely agree on both the periodicity and the adjustment index, without the need to stick to a specific indicator such as the IPC or the own house coefficient that was previously used.
The voices of the sector
Luis Cappelletti, owner of the real estate company that bears his last name, said Now Eldía that “there is a change in the market from the new law.” This is due, according to him, that by releasing the agreement between parties for the number of months, the availability of real estate grew: “The rent becomes a number in relation to what is rented in the world. The profitability returns,” he said.
Among another macro changes that make the sector reactivation, he said that by “ironing” the dollar, he gradually turned to the logic of a more stable economy. “The value of rentals, if you relate it to salaries, is much more accessible than before. It is now easier than when there was inflation. Buying land, for example, is more accessible at the moment than in the above conditions.”
As for availability, he said that there is more offer, although the recomposition will not be automatic. “For many years people did not build and that does not recover from one day to another.” He added that it is a good time for those who know how to do business, although he acknowledges that it can be difficult for some who are not accustomed.
Regarding the prices that are handled in the city, he said that from 250 thousand pesos some small properties for rent in the city center can be found, but mainly on the outskirts. To speak, for example, of a department in two -story towers, either with garage or not, we are talking about prices that are around 450 and 500 thousand pesos per month.
Price and conditions poll
The real estate broker Liliana Schultis said that “prices will vary depending on the location and comfort of the property. Today it is difficult to find a property to rent that it is central and has a patio at a fair value. They are usually high.”
As for the minimum amounts where operations begin, he said: “The properties with a value of $ 250 thousand pesos are the most precarious and withdrawn from the center, such as Belgrano town or new neighborhoods west of the city. Then, you can find more comfortable houses and with a patio between $ 300 and $ 400 thousand pesos.”
Finally, when we approach the range of $ 400 to $ 600 thousand pesos, “we are already talking about properties with more bedrooms, with patio, garage, with all services. Prices will always vary depending on the location and comfort and the state of the property.”
As for people’s reaction to this panorama, Liliana acknowledged that “for us who are working on this, we get used to high prices, but for those who have to rent it is not so. In the same way people always meet the contract that agrees.”
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