Representatives of the Argentine Real Estate Chamber presented a proposal to revive the market. Promote the creation of a national board
By patrick eleisegui
30/04/2023 – 09,20hs
The availability of apartments for rent It is going through a historic collapse and the efforts of the real estate sector are multiplying to inject commercial oxygen into a market that is bordering on agony. The offer is subject to an unprecedented drop and among the marketers there are coincidences that, if a sudden change does not occur in the short term, the rental segment in terms of long-term rental alternatives could disappear outright. It is in this context that directors of the Argentine Real Estate Chamber (CIA) held meetings with Sergio Massa’s team to discuss urgent solutions for this niche.
The meeting took part, among others, Alejandro Bennazar, president of the CIA; Ricardo Casal, Legal and Administrative Secretary of the Ministry of Economy; Claudio Vodánovich, Secretary General of the CIA; and María del Carmen Linkoniene, second vice president and legal representative of the Real Estate Training Institute of the same entity.
in dialogue with iProfessional, Bennazar provided details of what was discussed with the representatives of the Government. In the first place, the director maintained that Casal recognized that the ruling party I evaluate the possibility of suspending or directly repealing the frameworkas it became known a few weeks ago.
Rental Law: why the Government did not move forward with the change
He also argued that the Government finally did not move forward with the change of the law from the complication to unify criteria in a single regulatory proposal.
The manager pointed out that the week in which the modification of the framework was evaluated 38 proposals prepared by technical teams and legislators linked to the ruling party were presented.
“During the meeting it was commented that there was an attempt by the government to suspend or directly repeal the law. But that in a matter of hours 38 alternatives were presented and it was not possible to agree on a single project. Now the possibility of moving forward with a proposal was discussed thematic table to deal with the issue of rents and the modification of the norm”, commented Bennazar.
May will start with increases of more than 95 percent.
“The table that would be formed would be made up of the housing businessmen gathered in the AEV, the chamber of urban developers, the union of the UOCRA, the college of notaries, the construction chamber, the tenant groups and the real estate federation FIRA: That is the proposal we discussed. The idea is that entities with national representation join in to analyze the possibility of changing the law,” he added.
Consulted regarding the inclusion of the associations of real estate professionals, Bennazar pointed out that they would only be called “those who have national representation“. At the same time, the manager stated that there will be meetings “in the short term” to advance with the inclusion of these actors.
Rentals: historic drop in supply
The head of the CIA said that the market requires urgent changes in a context in which the supply of rental properties is practically non-existent.
“Today we are with an offer of 1,100 apartments on offer throughout Buenos Aires. A good part of them, only available for the alternative of temporary rental,” he said.
Bennazar maintained that, divided by the total number of neighborhoods that make up the City –that is, 48–, the result of units offered is almost zero: just an average of 44 departments.
“The concern is enormous. There is a coincidence that the current law negatively impacted everyone equally. From owners to tenants, developers and builders. Profitability was pulverized by owners: from 4 percent per year prior to the regulation now, due to inflation, they have fallen to 0.3 percent,” he said.
The offer of extensive rentals is conspicuous by its absence.
Lastly, Bennazar commented that in the meeting with the Economy team, the CIA raised a bill for a new law that proposes lowering the length of contracts from 3 to 2 yearsthe existence of multiple update indices and the creation of a separate adjustment coefficient for the evolution of inflation.
“Regarding the possibility of establishing different update rates, we propose a maximum adjustment term of 6 months and a minimum of 3 months. The idea is to stimulate supply again and, of course, ensure that the value of the rentals also adapts to the pocket of the tenants”, he concluded.
