How to Find Long-term Accommodation in Buenos Aires
Life Abroad,  Living in Argentina

How to Find Long-term Accommodation in Buenos Aires

Are you planning to move to Buenos Aires for a couple of months? Or maybe even longer?

It might not be as hard to find long-term accommodation in Buenos Aires as in many other more popular big cities such as New York, London, Paris (you name it). But you still need to be aware of the ins and outs of renting in Buenos Aires because there are quite a few things to keep in mind.

I lived in Buenos Aires for over seven years until I moved back to Europe in 2023 with my Argentine husband and dog.

Over the years in Buenos Aires, I moved apartments several times and have faced a bit of everything in Buenos Aires’ rental market; from renting a room in somebody’s house over renting an apartment with an illegal contract to getting a long-term 3-year rental contract.

In this post, I share what I have learned over the years of valuable insights into long-term rentals in Buenos Aires!

Keep on reading to learn more about alquiler temporal, contrato de 3 aรฑos, honorarios de inmobiliaria, garantia de propiedad, and much more!

The Complete Guide to Long-Term Rental in Buenos Aires

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that at no additional cost to you, Becci Abroad will earn a commission if you purchase through one of those links. This helps to pay the bills and the maintenance of the site.

Here is all you need to know about how to find long-term accommodation in Buenos Aires!

In Argentina, in general, there are two ways of longer-term rental:

  • Alquiler temporal (temporary rental): the easier but more expensive option
  • Alquiler con contrato de 3 aรฑos (rental with a 3-year contract): the more difficult but more economical option.

Temporary rentals (alquiler temporal) in Buenos Aires

Temporary rentals are the easiest for foreigners since it has fewer requirements. But the contracts are also the most expensive option for long-term accommodation in Buenos Aires. Temporary rentals are normally fully-furnished or partly-furnished apartments.

Requirements for temporary rentals

Generally speaking, the requirements for temporary rentals are:

  • One month’s rent
  • One month’s rent as a deposit (to be returned to you when you move out)
  • A photocopy of your passport (or Argentine ID card if you have one)
  • Fees of the real estate office (called honorarios de inmobiliaria) if you rent through an office
  • The owner might also ask to see proof of ongoing studies and/or proof of income.

By Argentine law, a temporary rental contract can only be for 3 months. However, many apartment owners are open to renewing the contract if you wish to stay longer than the 3 months in the apartment. The 3 months limit is a legal issue. Remember to ask your landlord or real estate office about the extension before you sign the contract and move in.

With the ongoing economic crisis in Argentina, Argentines and foreigners who have invested in property and rent it out their apartments as temporary rentals might ask you to pay the rent in USD. If you have the possibility to pay in USD, it might save you some headaches regarding exchange rates.

By paying your rent in Argentine pesos, you are secured to benefit from any devaluations the Argentine peso might suffer. That is why it is recommendable to try to find long-term accommodation paid in pesos since it will become cheaper for you in the long run.

But again, many Argentine landlords will argue strongly for you to pay in USD, so they are protected against these devaluations.

Airbnb as an option for temporary rentals in Buenos Aires

Another option if you are only planning to stay a couple of months in Buenos Aires, is to look for an apartment on Airbnb.

I have heard many stories of foreigners who just rent a place on Airbnb for a couple of days. When they arrive, they ask the owner if they are interested in renting the apartment long-term outside Airbnb.

However, mind that this way tends to be through illegal rental contracts (or no contract at all) which does put you at risk if you end up with a bad landlord. Read more about illegal rentals below.

Here is all you need to know about how to find long-term accommodation in Buenos Aires!

Standard 3-year rental contract (alquiler con contrato de 3 aรฑos)

The apartments that are being rented under the standard contract of 3 years are what the real estate websites mostly just call alquiler (rental).

These rental contracts tend to be cheaper than temporary rentals, but they have a lot more requirements than temporary rentals.

Requirements for standard rental contracts in Buenos Aires

The requirements for standard rental contracts are normally:

  • One month’s rent
  • One month’s rent as a deposit (to be returned to you when you move out)
  • Fees of the real estate office (called honorarios de inmobiliaria) if you rent through an office
  • Proof of income
  • A property guarantee (garantia de propiedad) or a surety insurance (seguro de cauciรณn)

The difficult part comes in the last two bullet points: Proof of income and property guarantee or surety insurance

Proof of income

For the proof of income, the real estate offices tend to only accept registered income in Argentina, i.e. that you need to be legally registered for an Argentine company.

This normally means that if you earn your money abroad as a freelancer or contractor in an international firm, your income will not be taken as valid by many estate offices.

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Property guarantee (garantรญa de propiedad)

The property guarantee is proof that someone puts their own property in guarantee in case you mistreat or vandalize the property that you are renting. Generally, Argentines have some close relatives that own a house or an apartment which they can use as a property guarantee when renting.

On top of that, within the City of Buenos Aires, the real estate offices tend to only accept a property guarantee from within the city itself.

Surety insurance (seguro de cauciรณn)

In case, you don’t have a property to put in a guarantee for your rental contract, more and more landlords and real estate offices are also accepting the surety insurance or a seguro de cauciรณn as it is called in Argentina.

The surety insurance is insurance that you pay to guarantee the landlord that in case of incompliance of the rental agreement regarding payment of rent, building expenses, etc., this insurance will cover. Only special insurance companies that are regulated under a governmental entity are allowed to offer this kind of insurance.

The surety insurance charges you between one to two months of rent. In case you stop paying your rent, the landlord will notify the insurance company and they will cover the unpaid rent. Afterward, the insurance company will charge you the rent plus a lot of administrative fees. Read more about the seguros de cauciรณn here.

Here is all you need to know about how to find long-term accommodation in Buenos Aires!

Which Areas to Look for Long-term Rental in Buenos Aires?

Most expats, tourists, and other foreigners in Buenos Aires live in these neighborhoods:

  • Palermo (also, the largest neighborhood in Buenos Aires and consists of many smaller sub-neighborhoods)
  • Recoleta
  • Belgrano
  • Puerto Madero
  • Villa Crespo

There are also other nice areas such as Almagro, Villa Urquiza, and San Telmo.

When you are looking for accommodation in Buenos Aires remember that not every neighborhood is the same. Some areas as serious issues with crime – and being a foreigner will mostly not make you safer!

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Here is all you need to know about how to find long-term accommodation in Buenos Aires!

Where to Look for Long-term Accommodation in Buenos Aires?

There are plenty of websites to look for long-term accommodation in Buenos Aires. Some of the most popular ones are:

These sites are mostly for standard 3-year contracts. However, some of them also have the option to search for temporary rentals.

Another option is to look for rentals in Facebook groups. Here many people post offering within Argentina is referred to as “dueรฑo directo” which means that you rent directly through the owner of the department and avoid paying some of the many fees that the real estate offices charge you. Nevertheless, watch out for scams and illegal rentals (see more below).

Here are some of the Facebook groups for long-term rentals that I have followed over the years in Buenos Aires:

Facebook Groups Focused on Apartment Rental for English-speak Expats in Buenos Aires:

Facebook Groups for Rentals in Buenos Aires in Spanish:

Here is all you need to know about how to find long-term accommodation in Buenos Aires!

Avoid Scams: Legal Versus Illegal Rentals in Buenos Aires

There are a lot of illegal rentals going on in Buenos Aires. A rental contract is only legal if it fall under one of the two formats explained above 3-month temporary contracts or 3-year standard contracts.

Any other type of contract is not legally binding. And if you run into problems with your landlord the Argentine Justice system will most likely not help you out.

However, this doesn’t mean that all illegal rentals are scams. I have been living in rooms and apartments where the contract was not legally binding and I didn’t have any major issues with the landlord.

But there are also many many rental scams out there, and you need to keep in mind when you start looking for long-term accommodation in Buenos Aires. Read more about how to avoid scams when apartment hunting in Buenos Aires.

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Here is all you need to know about how to find long-term accommodation in Buenos Aires!

Are moving long-term to Buenos Aires? Did you find this post useful or is there anything else you would like to know about long-term accommodation in Argentina? Share your questions and comments below!

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Here is all you need to know about how to find long-term accommodation in Buenos Aires!

11 Comments

  • steve

    Fantastic article. I’m trying to decide on relocating to Argentina but the rental side of things (long term) does seem a bit of a challenge!

    • Rebecca

      Hi Steve! Thank you so much for dropping by my blog! I’m super happy to hear that you found the information useful! It can be a little bit confusing at first to find accommodation in Buenos Aires but it is definitely doable with a proper amount of research ๐Ÿ™‚
      If you are interested in more info about living in Buenos Aires, I recommend you check out this post about living in Buenos Aires: https://becci.dk/living-in-buenos-aires/
      Once again thank you!

    • Rebecca

      Thank you so much for dropping by my blog, Henry! I’m very pleased to hear that the information was useful for you ๐Ÿ™‚

  • ghunt

    Great article, and plenty useful! Thank you very much for publishing this information! Hope to get down to Buenos Aires within the next few months, to check one more item off the Bucket List๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ‘

    Cheers!

    • Rebecca

      Thank you for dropping by! I’m happy to hear that you found the information on my blog useful ๐Ÿ™‚ Good luck with your travels to Buenos Aires!

  • Richard

    Hey Beck!
    I’ve read your blog with very much interest. Great work. Witch of the neighborhoods would be the safest for a family with little kids? And some English speaking folks as a benefit!
    Cheers Richard

    • Rebecca

      Hi Richard,
      Thank you so much for dropping by my blog! I’m very happy to hear that you found the information useful ๐Ÿ™‚

      In my opinion, neighbourhoods like Villa Urquiza, Belgrano, Coglhan, and Nuรฑez are great for families with kids. There are plenty of parks and less cars in the street. There are more local residential area. That being said, they are properly not the best places to find English-speakers.

      For an English-speaking community, you should look more for areas like Palermo and Recoleta with more expats and foreigners living. Palermo is the biggest neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, so there are many different parts to it. So, if you look well and explore a bit the opportunities of housing you find available, you might be able to find somewhere nice in a less crowded and more kid-friendly area of Palermo.

      I hope this answered your question! Good luck with your apartment search!

      PS If you are moving or already moved to Buenos Aires and haven’t already read it, I strongly recommend that you also drop by my very detailed guide about living in Buenos Aires: https://becci.dk/guide-to-living-in-buenos-aires-argentina/ ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Richard

    Thank you so much for getting back to me in such a short time!
    I’ll be checking your recommended neighborhoods. I appreciate your help. Cheers to other side of the globe!
    Richard

  • austin griess

    I appreciate your thoughtful and detailed advice. I am actually in BA for two weeks and will likely move here. it still looks to be about half of costs in the USA with much better quality of life here (as long as you have dollars). Do you have any advice for meeting Argentinians? Expats are an easy jumping off point and going to go to first meetup in palermo but I love the Argentine culture, food and some very attractive mujeres. It sounds like you made it happen. I am in my 40s and i felt like the oldest guy at the bar last sat (only been here a few days). I am fine with shooting my shot but not one from half court: ) Any thoughts woud be appreciated. Gracias!!

    • Rebecca

      Hi Austin! Thank you so much for dropping by! I’m really happy to hear that you found the post useful!

      First of all; if you are moving to Buenos Aires permanently, be patient and you will soon see that you will start to make friendships ๐Ÿ™‚ Secondly, if you haven’t already, I would recommend that you sign-up for InterNations and start joining some of their events in Buenos Aires. I found that those events attracted a great mixed crowd of people; both internationals and locals. Other than that, my recommendation would also be to sign up for a class of something that interests you and join a soccer team or something a long those lines. When Argentines start seeing you week after week, you will be seeing more as part of the group and you will most likely be able to make other connections than when you are just visiting for a couple of weeks.

      I hope this helped you a little bit! I have a long very detailed post here about living in Buenos Aires (if you haven’t already found it): https://becci.dk/guide-to-living-in-buenos-aires-argentina/

      Good luck with your Buenos Aires adventure!

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