Rentals. The most controversial points of the law that the Senate could approve

[Redpossum]

I like how instead of looking at the reasons why nobody wants to lease their apartments, they just put laws to force you to lease.

Looking at the reasons why anything in Argentina requires going back at least 100 years.
Don't believe me? Search the name Hipolito Yrigoyen and see how often it has come up in these forums.

In Argentina's defense, however, look at what's happening in the housing market in the USA, and ask yourself if understanding the reasons why is simple, and how far back you'd have to go to explain it. At the very least you'd have to go back 40 years to Reagan's destruction of PATCO and subsequent union-busting. More realistically, the end of the Golden Age of the middle class in America began after the murder of JFK in 1963.

 

[Pierre Smith]

^ Well, not to get too far into this particular tangent, but the middle class in America is doing awesome right now. Like everyone I know is getting raises and moving to new jobs, the market has blown our 401ks sky high, real estate values are off the chart, etc. Sure, the rich have done a lot better, but we in the middle class here have absolutely no reasonable complaint. Not at all comparable with Argentina.

 

[gracielle]

10 February 2022 by Lucila Barreiro

Las dificultades para detectar cuando una vivienda está vacía

Ante la escasez de oferta de alquileres, se habla de una posible regulación sobre las propiedades que estén en desuso; cómo se podría aplicar y de qué manera se resuelve esta problemática en otros países

www.lanacion.com.ar

How to distinguish between idle and vacant housing and how a possible tax should be implemented....The issue resurfaced again after the statements made this week by the Secretary of Domestic Trade, Roberto Feletti, who referred to the shortage of rental supply and did not rule out regulations on vacant housing to begin to solve the housing problem.

How does an idle dwelling differ from a vacant dwelling? In the City of BA, according to the Housing Institute of the City (IVC) published in 2019, vacant housing is considered as "those properties of residential type that register an annual electricity consumption lower than the minimum indispensable considered for permanent use". That is, those properties that register a consumption of less than 50 kilowatt/hour per month.....According to a report by the City's Mesa de Estudio de Viviendas Vacías which took information provided by the ENRE (Ente Nacional Regulador de la Electricidad) on consumption levels in the 2017-2018 period, it determined a vacancy rate of 9.2% of residential users (138,328). The largest number of vacant homes under this criterion was concentrated in the northern corridor of the city....
The ARG Chamber of Real Estate agrees on the difficulty of delimiting vacant housing, although they do not agree on the term "idle". For the president of the Chamber of Property Owners, Enrique Abatti, this is a measure that is "impossible to implement" and at the same time "aggravates even more the lack of rental housing"....

 

[gracielle]

18 February 2022

El Gobierno de la Ciudad rechaza el impuesto a la vivienda vacía y presentaría una "contraoferta"

La administración Larreta sostiene que ya funciona un programa para brindar asistencia a los inquilinos de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, pero la situación de los alquileres es aún más compleja.

www.perfil.com

The CABA gov't rejects the vacant housing tax and would present a "counteroffer". Horacio Rodríguez Larreta's administration, on the other hand, is betting on providing incentives for rentals. They will seek to offer more ease of access to landlords and tenants throughout the City. According to the last survey carried out, 35% of the porteños are tenants, of which 70% are young people, so the City's Instituto de Vivienda told Infobae that "it is necessary to provide credits to lower the barrier of access to rent".

Although Larreta acknowledged a few months ago that a tax on idle housing "is not a bad idea", he clarified that, when the strategy is put into practice, it may fail, as he stated in a conversation with Radio Con Vos. He stressed that "to be able to make a policy you must have the possibility to implementing it, otherwise the implementation ends up being worse than not having it, which leads to a conflict".

The program which currently functions in the City. Tenants who cannot obtain a traditional guarantee from an owner of a property can access the "Garantía+Fácil" program. It provides surety insurance for those who need to access this benefit. On the other hand, the City gov't expects that in March the laws for the repopulation of the Microcentro will be enacted, which will allow this region of the Federal Capital to become a housing area and no longer just a commercial office zone....

 

[gracielle]

19 February 2022 by Delfina Casali

“El mercado está destruido”. Estas son las razones por las que alquilar se convirtió en un calvario

La ley de alquileres sancionada en junio de 2020, que establece nuevas reglas para los contratos de locación, fue una de las principales causas que terminó de romper un mercado ya dañado por la inflación y la incertidumbre

www.lanacion.com.ar

The rental law passed in June 2020, which established new rules for leasing contracts, was one of the main causes that ended up breaking a market already damaged by inflation and uncertainty....
....There is a technical debate as to whether or not housing lease agreements can be made in dollars. Esteban Otero, attorney with a Master's Degree in Notary Law, Registry and Real Estate Law, explains: "There are those who argue that it is possible because the Civil and Commercial Code recognizes the dollar as money. Another part of the doctrine, on the other hand, understands that it is illegal because the regulation establishes that in housing rents the only possible adjustment method is the Index of Lease Contracts (ICL) established by the Banco Central. Thus, they argue that it should be inferred that a contract can only be agreed in local currency, otherwise its application would be impossible".

Since the end of 2020, Congress has been considering a bill submitted by Inquilinos Agrupados that seeks to prohibit the closing of housing leases in dollars. It has not yet been dealt with in the general legislation committee. In the meantime, Otero points out that irregularities in the conditions established by landlords in the contracts can be reported to the Defensoría del Pueblo and, if a broker is involved, to the corresponding Colegio de Corredores Inmobiliarios....

 

[gracielle]

20 February 2022 by Ximena Casas

Impuesto a la vivienda vacía y Ley Lipovetsky: 8 claves de las medidas que analiza el Gobierno

En todo 2021, el precio medio de las locaciones para uso familiar para contratos nuevos acumuló una suba de 52,8%, levemente por encima de la inflación

www.infobae.com

Vacant housing tax and the Lipovetsky Law: 8 keys to the measures analyzed by the Gov't....
1. Who would pay the tax on vacant properties? The project is still under analysis. Next week, real estate chambers and tenants' associations will submit their proposals to the Secretary of Commerce. The idea of Inquilinos Agrupados is that the tax will be applied to landlords who have more than three properties in their name and some of them are unoccupied.

2. How many empty residential properties are there in the City of BA? A survey carried out in 2019 by the Housing Institute of the City of Buenos Aires (IVC) determined that 9.2% of CABA homes are empty (about 138,000 properties). The methodology used was the electricity consumption of residential users of Edenor and Edesur: those with a monthly electricity consumption between 0 and 50 kwh were considered empty. As a reference, the consumption of a refrigerator is 45.36 kwh per month.

3. Rising prices....
4. Decreasing profitability. Rental income is currently 2.61% gross per annum over the value of the property, while the average for the last four years was 3.38%, according to data from Invertire.com's Real Estate Monitor. The most profitable neighborhoods are Parque Patricios, Agronomía and San Cristóbal.

5. The impact of a tax on supply....According to real estate sector specialists, due to the dynamics of the local market, a tax on idle housing would have little impact on an increase in supply. "It is a harmless measure because the middle segment (lower middle and upper middle as well) are few who have unoccupied properties. It can happen in a high segment, in properties in Puerto Madero, for example, or apartments whose owners live in the interior or outside the country and use them when they travel to Buenos Aires," José Rozados, head of the consulting firm Reporte Inmobiliario, told Infobae.

6. In which cities are unused properties taxed? In Montevideo, as of 2019, properties unoccupied for more than one year pay double a tax called "contribución inmobiliaria". Electricity and water consumption is used as a parameter....

7. What changes can be made to the Rental Law? In force since July 2020, generated changes in the rental market, with a lower supply of properties and price increases in new contracts. For this reason, in November last year, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Sergio Massa, announced that he would promote a modification of the current law. The key points to be changed, according to legislative sources, are two: the updating of rents, which is currently done once a year according to an index that combines 50% the variation of salaries and 50% inflation, and the duration of the contracts, which was extended from two to three years. The definition of the new project could start in Congress next month, according to Congresswoman Marcela Passo, who is coordinating the initiative. The idea is to create a special commission, which would accelerate its treatment, instead of going through the already formed commissions. Once the project has been defined, one option is to suspend the application of the current law for 180 days and return to the previous way of drafting contracts.

8. Increased tax burden. The accountants' opinion is that the tax may generate more tax pressure and cause the opposite effect to the one sought: properties for sale and less investment in the real estate sector. The accountants' opinion is that the tax may generate more tax pressure and cause the opposite effect to the one sought: properties for sale and less investment in the real estate sector. "There is already a similar tax, because a presumptive income must be declared in Ganancias for real estate destined as recreational or summer use. Applying another tax is going to generate more problems to the market, which already has negative effects due to this law. It is to continue intervening in the market with policies that are not positive", said Sebastián Domínguez, partner of SDC Asesores Tributarios....

 

[oldgringo]

I have a question on this rental law. Our landlord is wanting increases every 4 months now even though the contract says yearly according to the formula of increase. Is anybody else paying more before the yearly increase and where do you find how much is the yearly increase percentage is supposed to be. I dont blame them for trying to get some extra rent early if its like last year our rent went up 90 percent and next year probably the same but they are trying to raise our rent 30 percent every 4 months instead of waiting until the end of the year for the whole 90 percent . does anybody else have this happening and is it legal . thanks for any info

 

[Rich One]

In my building the apartment rental policies are handled by a few Real Estate Agents. Some handle 30 apartments and parking spots. The increases take place every six months following the Index of Lease Contracts (ICL) established by the Banco Central. Last year the increases for the entire year were between 90 and 100 %. Depending on the apartment conditions.

 

[gracielle]

I have a question on this rental law. Our landlord is wanting increases every 4 months now even though the contract says yearly according to the formula of increase. Is anybody else paying more before the yearly increase and where do you find how much is the yearly increase percentage is supposed to be. I don't blame them for trying to get some extra rent early if its like last year our rent went up 90 percent and next year probably the same but they are trying to raise our rent 30 percent every 4 months instead of waiting until the end of the year for the whole 90 percent . does anybody else have this happening and is it legal . thanks for any info

Automatic Google Translation of entire article:
Updated 03/24/2023 8:11am by Martin Grosz

Aumento del alquiler: cuánto vas a pagar desde abril de 2023 y cómo calcularlo

La ley vigente ordena ajustar los contratos cada 12 meses aplicando un índice oficial. Por la inflación récord, habrá un salto impactante.

www-clarin-com.translate.goog

Rent increase: how much will you pay starting April 2023 and how to calculate it. The current law orders to adjust the contracts every 12 months applying an official index. Those who have an ongoing rental contract signed with the new law and have been paying the same for 12 months should prepare to face a shocking increase in the coming days. Starting April 2023, these tenants will have to pay almost 93% more for their homes than they paid in March....

....The controversial national Law 27,551 defined that contracts must last at least three years. And it established that, during that period, on the monthly price "only annual adjustments can be made" following a certain formula. The regulation details that the adjustments must be made "using an index made up of equal parts by the monthly variations of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Average Taxable Remuneration of Stable Workers (RIPTE)".....

 

[oldgringo]

So if I already paid my increase in December I shouldn't have to pay the next increase till next December. The landlord wants to raise.it after 4 months and again in 4 more months but that's not what the contract says. Am I in my legal rights not to pay the increase?