Real estate transactions in the Province -rentals, sales, mortgages- they are almost paralysed. It’s not the fault of the economic crisis, the “de facto dollarization” of the market or the contraction of supply: the activity was frozen two months ago due to a protest in the Property Registry, the body that authorizes any type of transfer of ownership or certifies the ability of people to dispose of their assets.
Namely: any person from Buenos Aires who must authorize a real estate guarantee to rent a house You have to go through the registry. And since March 2 there are the workers of that institution “permanent assembly” which delays and slows down official efforts.
The reason: the agents they ask for a plus, a “hierarchization” for the “technical and specific” task they perform. They try to get a bonus up to 157 thousand pesosequal to the value of 25 “urgent complaints” which is one of the files that leave those offices.
The conflict fueled by “self-summoned” nand they have gotten worse in the last few hours, because we have moved on to a tougher phase of the protest: they have decided “take” the building on Avenida 44 between 4 and 5, in the heart of the provincial capital. They did not allow – for two days – the entry of managers or interested individuals who were looking for the procedures.
It was in reaction to an agreement that the provincial authorities reached with the unionss ATE, UPCN and Aeri. It settled on a $25,000 capital gain, due to future increases. He was considered a “betrayal of the union hierarchy”as he said clarion one of those who promote the measurement of force, Luis Gratti.
The virtual paralysis of this key entity in the official management of real estate transactions It also affects notaries, auctioneers, surveyors and lawyers. All the collegial representations of these professionals have asked the Buenos Aires government to resolve the dispute that hinders the completion of the procedures.
In these dependencies are allowed -on average- 8,000 procedures per day. They are certifications, domain complaints, consultancy, registration in the register of social housing and also precautionary measures of Justice. They work between 900 and 1000 agents. Most are permanent state employees and there are also “legal convention” contracts with the College of Notaries.
They all earn more than any worker in the provincial public administration.
“This situation prevents us from signing purchase and sale tickets, transfers and rental agreements, this is attentive to the market. For now, in the registry they deliver the necessary certificates for the acts 48 hours before their expiry ”, which operates 80 or 90 days after the presentation, explained to Clarín, Geraldine Constant, second vice president of the College of Hammers from the province. In other words: every movement or presentation that is made – for example for renting an apartment – is delayed by almost three months.
“Every day we abandon the few operations that are processed. We ask – in lieu of a property guarantee – salaries exceeding one million pesos per month (for three or four formal workers) or deeds from other provinces where there are no delays,” they said in a real estate agency in La Plata.
“THE domain certificates (mandatory for any sale and purchase transaction) to leave La Plata on the last day that the deadlines foresee: that is, 14 or 15 days after requesting it. After that, there are only hours left to grant the deed,” a city-centre notary told this newspaper.
However, in March – the first month of the protest – the total number of women writers in Buenos Aires increased by 2.5% compared to 2022. 6,494 notarial deeds were issued for the exchange of real estate. “The impact will be substantial with the April data. Because the operations started in January and February are resolved in March ”, they explained in the body that brings together these professionals.
Even so, the figures are far from those recorded in November 2022 (9,299 written) and December of last year (14,894 performed). The inactivity of the register is a factor that has influenced this decrease, agree the notaries consulted.
Job applications have two recipients. The authorities of the Ministry of Finance of the government of Axel Kicillof. And the leaders of the “traditional” trade unions: ATE; UPCN and AERI (Association of Revenue and Real Estate Employees). These organizations are direct or indirect allies of the governor.
“Two weeks ago, UPCN did a huge deed to Kicillof. And the general secretary of the ATE wants to be a deputy of the Frente de Todos. I’m for something else,” said one of the protesters.
This is why the protest is organized by “autoconvocados”. They do not respond to this conduct because “they do not represent the interests of the workers. They say Yes to all the government’s proposals and forget the affiliates”, according to them they brandish. Last month – when the revocation of collaboration lasted for 40 days – the Province advanced with an agreement.
AS, The Ministry of the Economy has announced that the attention of the service will be regularized “in the short term”. It was a pact with the unions which provided for a fixed amount, which was not remunerative. And it has not led to an increase in wages. “It was not approved by the assembly and even so the unions accepted” was the claim of the demonstrators.
The Ministry of Economy informs it clarion that “the Province has dealt with the situation of the Real Estate Registry since the beginning, always through the appropriate channels, in compliance with the legal guidelines for trade union organisation”. That is, with the “formal” leadership of the trade unions.
In the area responsible for Pablo López they confirmed the agreement with the unions to improve the April model like all agents of the administration. But, they acknowledge that “a marginal group of workers claims -already without union protection, given the agreement reached with the union bodies- for additional claims that would be impossible to resolve in the long run, including increases of the order of $150,000 per worker, and additional to the increases of the rest of the civil servants of the Province. This would be impossible to respect over time, “they say to the Ministry of Finance.
In the opposite direction to the proposals of the trade associations, the Kicillof government assures that “in recent days there has been a continuous and orderly production of documentation due to the commitment of the majority of its workers”. Even if he acknowledges the delays. And he warns that “the Province will continue to use all the tools at its disposal to carry out the normal functioning of the Registry”.
La Plata (Correspondent)
Source: Clarin
