apt. q's: are agencies the safest? how long do they take? USDs?

[citygirl]

I'm aware of what the legal currency is here but if you have signed a contract agreeing to pay the amount in X currency, that contract does have force behind it. Yes, you as the tenant could go to the judicial system but that's not a very realistic option.

As I said, many/most landlords are more than willing to accept the rent at that day's conversion rate but it is the tenants responsibility to ensure they receive the FULL AMOUNT due to them if the landlord has to convert it.

If my rent is 1000 dollars, and I give my landlord 3995 pesos and then s/he has to convert that to buy dollars, s/he would wind up with about 998 dollars. Not a big difference but a difference nonetheless.

 

[darmanad]

I'm aware of what the legal currency is here but if you have signed a contract agreeing to pay the amount in X currency, that contract does have force behind it. Yes, you as the tenant could go to the judicial system but that's not a very realistic option.

Sorry, I'm confused by this statement.
If you mean that the tenant would prevail in court if s/he sought to invalidate the contractual clause requiring payment in dollars/euros/reais, then clearly the tenant need only tender the rental amount in pesos regardless of what the contract provides. If the landlord rejected the tender, it would be incumbent on the landlord to remove the tenant via the judicial system ...and he would not prevail if the legal rent were offered and refused.
p.s. There are oodles of furnished apts for temp rental in BA. It should not take more than a few days of determined searching to locate one to your liking.

 

[sesamosinsal]

I'm aware of what the legal currency is here but if you have signed a contract agreeing to pay the amount in X currency, that contract does have force behind it. Yes, you as the tenant could go to the judicial system but that's not a very realistic option.

The contract would be legitimate, according to the law. I'm not debating that. However, the landlord cannot demand that the rent be paid in dollars.

The law again, in English:

"In all cases, rent will be paid in the legal tender when the rental agreement is signed. A clause (without affecting the validity of the contract) that stipulates payment in non-legal tender will be void of effect. In this case, a judge will determine the price."

If the owner is demanding the rent be paid in dollars on the contract and he/she won't take pesos, you legally don't have to pay until a judge determines how much the rent would be. In other words, the judge would say, "Look idiot, you have to accept pesos."

 

[NYCExpat]

Check out nancy landi properties. I used her and she was quite nice and very responsible. Her apartments spanned bario norte and palermo. Good luck.

 

[citygirl]

Well.. interesting enough, dollars are legal tender here (you can use them in restaurants, bars, etc). So I don't know exactly how the law you stated would address that.

However, I am agreeing that you can usually pay the equivalent amount in pesos. My point simply is that if you sign a contract agreeing to X price in dollars, you are responsible for paying the landlord that amount in dollars and/or the equivalent of that in dollars (taking into account the exchange differential if the landlord than has to buy dollars).

Shrug - I've never had any problems but I've either paid my landlord in dollars as requested if s/he had an account overseas or covered any difference for the landlord to exchange it into dollars (usually a few pesos, not the biggest deal).

 

[sesamosinsal]

Well.. interesting enough, dollars are legal tender here (you can use them in restaurants, bars, etc). So I don't know exactly how the law you stated would address that.

However, I am agreeing that you can usually pay the equivalent amount in pesos. My point simply is that if you sign a contract agreeing to X price in dollars, you are responsible for paying the landlord that amount in dollars and/or the equivalent of that in dollars (taking into account the exchange differential if the landlord than has to buy dollars).

Shrug - I've never had any problems but I've either paid my landlord in dollars as requested if s/he had an account overseas or covered any difference for the landlord to exchange it into dollars (usually a few pesos, not the biggest deal).

Dollars are not the "moneda de curso legal" in Argentina. It's the peso.

The actual amount of money you should pay to the landlord is the market rate for USDARS, which right now is 3.97sh. (Generally speaking, just add the compra and the venta together, and divide that number 2.) The asking price is inflated (right now at 4.00) at banks and casas de cambio because they have to make money on the transaction. For every $4,000 ARS you kindly convert to dollars for a landlord, you'd be wasting $7 USD. No, it's not a lot of money, but I could spend it in better ways. Two coffees at Starbucks, my grocery bill for the day, a couple hours of parking, etc., etc.

 

[darmanad]

Well.. interesting enough, dollars are legal tender here (you can use them in restaurants, bars, etc). So I don't know exactly how the law you stated would address that.

However, I am agreeing that you can usually pay the equivalent amount in pesos. My point simply is that if you sign a contract agreeing to X price in dollars, you are responsible for paying the landlord that amount in dollars and/or the equivalent of that in dollars (taking into account the exchange differential if the landlord than has to buy dollars).

Shrug - I've never had any problems but I've either paid my landlord in dollars as requested if s/he had an account overseas or covered any difference for the landlord to exchange it into dollars (usually a few pesos, not the biggest deal).

Just because people accept dollars, it doesn't make them legal tender.
The law (if I understand it correctly as posted here) provides only AR pesos are legal tender, just as in the US the US$ is the legal tender, the only one.
It is not accurate to say you can "usually" pay the equivalent in pesos. You can always pay the equivalent in pesos...even if the landlord objects, even if the contract specifies payment in dollars. In court, the law will not enforce a contract clause requiring that the payment be in dollars.

 

[citygirl]

As you will- it's been my experience that fostering a good working relationship with my landlord is far more important to me than the 12 pesos, in our theoretical 1000 dollar example. And since I signed a contract that obligates me to pay X amount in dollars, I do whatever is required to get the landlord that full amount in dollars or its equivalent in pesos including exchange fees. If you want to try to charge your landlord 20 pesos for exchanging the money, or short-change him/her 12 or whatever pesos on principle and/or threaten to take him/her to court - have at it. My guess is you're not going to have the best relationship but whatever works for you

ETA - don't have any idea on how it would play out in court. Really, my guess is that if you took it to court, they might require the tenant to pay the equivalent amount in dollars, including exchange fees, which is all I've been advocating. But again, no idea and never really been a concern for me.

 

[va2ba]

Temporary furnished rentals must be paid in dollars according to the law. But many people will agree to do it in pesos.

I have found most of the agencies are not great. Avoid Deptos Temporarios at all costs. They bullied us out of our deposit and I am still angry about it.

With regards to the deposit, check the apartment when you get in for any damage or anything that is not clean and make sure to list it in the contract before you sign it. If there is damage or something is not working when you check in they could blame it on you when you try to leave.

And if they don't give the deposit back there are things you can do. You can report the agency or owner of the apartment to the local authorities. Most of the time just threatening to report them will make them fold.

 

[PhilipDT]

. The problem with waiting until you are in Buenos Aires to start looking for an apartment is that all the good stuff is probably already booked. .

This is such utter bullshit. For every good apartment that gets rented in this city, someone is moving out of a better one.

This isnt some tiny pueblo, there are probably thousands of places for rent to tourists here. And they go and off the market daily.