Buying rural land as a foreigner

[broc]

I'm aware of the law 26.737 but I've recently been told that Milei made a change to the tierras rurales law in 2023.

Can someone please clarify if it's possible to buy rural land as a foreigner?

 

[carride]

You could always, and still can, buy rural land. What your posted article describes, and what seems similar to what I have read before is there are limits, such as 1000 hectares (2471 acres) of some rural lands, and other limits to minimize large foreign ownership.
Are you only curious, or actually thinking to make a large purchase of agriculturally productive land?

 

[broc]

You could always, and still can, buy rural land. What your posted article describes, and what seems similar to what I have read before is there are limits, such as 1000 hectares of some rural lands, and other limits to minimize large foreign ownership.
Are you only curious, or actually attempting to make a large purchase of Agriculturally productive land?

I guess I read the law wrong then, I thought I read that any land outside the zona urbana (for any purpose) was unavailable to foreigners. I'm only interested in buying less than 1 hectare for purpose of building a house.

 

[carride]

Are you asking about 1 hectare, which equals ~24 US/British acres? Without any possibility of ever receiving provided electricity or water or any services? Or something that even on the outskirts of small rural towns, where the phrase of zona urbana means an area that has been approved, planned, and divided into big (1+ hectare) and small (0.1 hectare) lotes or terrenos, probably with some existing or future (near or far off) services.

Search the country for available 1 heactre = 10000+ meter square lotes to get an idea. For example:

https://www.zonaprop.com.ar/terrenos-venta-buenos-aires-costa-atlantica-10000-20000-m2-cubiertos.html

 

[broc]

Are you asking about 1 hectare, which equals ~24 US/British acres? Without any possibility of ever receiving provided electricity or water or any services? Or something that even on the outskirts of small rural towns, where the phrase of zona urbana means an area that has been approved, planned, and divided into big (1+ hectare) and small (0.1 hectare) lotes or terrenos, probably with some existing or future (near or far off) services.

Search the country for available 1 heactre = 10000+ meter square lotes to get an idea. For example:

https://www.zonaprop.com.ar/terrenos-venta-buenos-aires-costa-atlantica-10000-20000-m2-cubiertos.html

Sorry, I'm not well educated, I thought a hectare was 10,000 m2.

Ideally it would have services already or I could pay to get the services from the street installed on the lot.

I've already had mixed success searching properties online here and contacting reality agents. I'm going to contact my local escribano to get a better idea of what's available where I live.

Anything I should know before I get too far invested? I've already read Buying a rural property in Argentina is HARD and all of its' links.

Do I need both a DNI and CDI to purchase? Or is a passport sufficient?

 

[steveinbsas]

Sorry, I'm not well educated, I thought a hectare was 10,000 m2. .

Do I need both a DNI and CDI to purchase? Or is a passport sufficient?

One hectare equals 10.000 m2 and that also equals 2.471 acresm

You will not need a DNI, but you will be asked for both your passport and a CDI.

 

[carride]

Sorry, I'm not well educated, I thought a hectare was 10,000 m2.

Yes that is what it is. But as @steveinbsas has pointed out, my math was wrong about how many US acres that equals.

Ideally it would have services already or I could pay to get the services from the street installed on the lot.

that is what I figured. In your early post you indicated that you were worried that you are restricted to buying only in a zona urbana. If you want a property with electricity and other services available at the street, that is considered zona urbana. So to finalize an answer to your original question, even when buying in a rural area, you have little concern about being restricted as a foreigner.

One hectare equals 10.000 m2 and that also equals 2.471 acresm

Uggg. Thanks Steve! My morning math was wrong with the decimal place off by one. 2.47, not what I said as 24.7

 

[broc]

You will not need a DNI, but you will be asked for both your passport and a CDI.

Thanks Steve.

that is what I figured. In your early post you indicated that you were worried that you are restricted to buying only in a zona urbana. If you want a property with electricity and other services available at the street, that is considered zona urbana. So to finalize an answer to your original question, even when buying in a rural area, you have little concern about being restricted as a foreigner.

I had no idea that anything with service was considered zona urbana. I've seen listings of land for sale on the side of a mountain (Cordoba / Tucumán) that supposedly has access to services nearby, I would have never have guessed it was included in the zona urbana.

I posted this question on r/DerechoGenial regarding buying land and a few comments advised me to purchase the property before getting married (as I plan to get married in the next few months). They told me that even if I make a prenup (convención matrimonial y elegir separación de bienes) that in case of a divorce, the judge could give my wife tenancy of the house after the divorce as part of an alimony. I want to ensure that in the case of divorce I would still keep 100% house, as I'm the one paying 100%.

Any advice or experiences with that?

 

[carride]

, I would have never have guessed it was included in the zona urbana.

In can't say for sure in every case. They also use that term in the traffic laws to mean you are in a populated area. There are zona rural which might have no services or solar/wind/etc services provided by a community, or other private infrastructure. Still Anytime I have seen official plans of a divided-up area that has been government approved along with services, I hear that term even in rural areas. My simple minded translation is "urbanized". Regardless, from your description there is no relationship to foreigner rural property laws.

Any advice or experiences with that?

No. Lacking thoughts related to divorce planning. Sometimes I hear what I understand to be that you can be past that point once living together for a certain time, but I never gave it thought.

 

[Alby]

The general principle I've come across for Argentina is that, provided one party (let's say the poorer party) can't show that they leave the marriage worse off than they would have been had they not married in the first place, the legal system here is more favorable to the other (let's say wealthier) party compared to common law jurisdictions. In other words, while some temporary alimony may be awarded, there is not the expectation that the wealthier party keep the other for life in the style to which they had become accustomed. Assuming, of course, simple case of a reasonably short marriage and no children involved.

Others who have been through it--I haven't--can comment about whether there is any grain of truth to that.