Hi friends, I have arrived in Argentina, no DNI yet, working on getting out of the Airbnb bubble. Seems a lot of places I have spoke to require almost triple the rent to move in after all is said and done, the fees don't bother me, I just want to know if this is standard practice. Thank you.
Honestly, finding an apartment in Argentina is a bit of a pain. I think most (not all!) people here would agree with that. I can share my experience in case it helps.
I’ve been moving from Airbnb to Airbnb across different parts of the country for about 6 months, I don't have DNI too. Two months ago, I finally ended up in Salta, mainly because I managed to find a decent, affordable furnished place.
At one point, I had a gap between my Airbnb stays and spent a few days in a small hotel in Salta. The woman managing it was incredibly kind, so I asked her if she knew anyone renting an apartment. She offered to post on my behalf in local Facebook groups, and about a week later I started getting messages on WhatsApp with offers.
Out of maybe 7 offers, 6 were… not great. But one turned out to be the place I’m living in now.
So yeah, if you have Facebook (yes, people without social media still exist

), I’d definitely recommend checking local rental groups. They’re usually in Spanish and specific to each city, but that’s probably one of the most effective ways.
Airbnb, in my experience, has been very hit-or-miss. I’ve messaged a lot of hosts and never heard back from many of them, so it feels like quite many listings are inactive.
So I totally get the struggle. From what I’ve seen, word of mouth works best, and Facebook groups are probably the next best option.
Good luck! Hope you find something decent.