Housing · CABA
Long term rentals, temporary sublets and roommate posts, put up by the people who actually live here. Free to post, no agency in the middle. Read the guide below before you hand anyone money.
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Written for someone who has never rented here, and for locals who are tired of the same traps.
The formal one, in pesos, with a two or three year contract, a garantía and a real estate agency in the middle. And the informal one, in dollars and cash, month to month or a few months at a time, usually furnished and aimed at people passing through. The second is faster and needs no garantía, but you pay a lot more per month and you have far fewer rights if something goes wrong.
A formal contract normally asks for a garantía propietaria: someone who owns property in CABA who backs your rent. If you do not know anyone, there are insurance style alternatives sold by companies that charge a monthly percentage of the rent. Ask up front which the owner accepts, before you fall in love with the apartment.
Budget for the first month, a deposit of one month, and expensas, the building fee, which is separate from the rent and can move a lot in an older building with a lift and a doorman. Ask for the last two expensas receipts. If an agency is involved, ask in writing what their fee is.
Even for a two month sublet, put on paper who you are renting from, the address, the dates, the amount, the currency, what happens to the deposit and who pays the bills. Photograph the apartment the day you move in, including any damage, and send the pictures to the owner so the state of the place is not a debate at the end.
The classic one: a beautiful apartment, a price well under the market, an owner who is abroad and cannot show it, and a request to transfer a deposit to hold it. Never send money for a place you have not seen with your own eyes, or that a trusted person has not seen for you. Never pay before you have a signed paper and, if it is cash, a receipt. Reverse image search the photos: stolen listings reuse them.
Water pressure and hot water, whether the heating is central or individual, damp on the walls and ceilings, natural light at the hour you are actually home, phone signal, noise from the street and from the bar downstairs, and how the building handles rubbish and packages. Ask the doorman how the building is, they will tell you the truth.
