The lease law: the real estate sector asks for projects and goes to Congress

The lease law focused on the attention of lawmakers waiting for changes governing the unlocking of the market, nabaliw na naman in Congress. Basically because there are three dance projects that fail to homogenize a common proposition. Where, the subject will return to be treated in the enclosure, perhaps, next Sunday. According to real estate companies, “none of the three proposals take into account the demands of the sector and, therefore, they will not solve the rental problem.”

In summary, these are the projects:

–The officer (In front of everyone). It aims to deepen the rules of law that have been in effect since July 2020. It does not admit the reduction of contracts to two years or the free agreement on rents. Conversely, it aims to inject more controls, such as bankarization of payments, on the part of owners and incorporates financial incentives for both parties to improve housing supply.

– The project of Together for Changeunlike before, suggests a free agreement of prices between tenants and owners but also that the contracts are for two years and the tenants have the option to stay on the property for another year (optional)according to inspiration gained from the Pensar Foundation.

-Finally, the project of deputy Graciela Camaño (Federal Interblock), proposes lease contracts with a duration of two years but maintains a staggered adjustment formula tied, among other variables, to inflation. Something that, according to real estate agencies, is “difficult to understand” and does not provide “predictability” in the market.

Marta Liotto, head of the Professional Real Estate Association (CPI), an entity that brings together brokers in the City of Buenos Aires, explained that “none of the three projects help tenants and landlords have predictability when makes a contract, ”he said. . So, next Monday, the entity will send a letter to deputies (both from the Caamaño bloc and those from Together for Change) examining the issue, to suggest that each lower the proposed conditions so that, finally, you can think about the lawn period of two years for the contract and the free agreement of locations between the parties. “These are necessary conditions to begin the reactivation of the supply of real estate for the lease,” according to real estate agents.

“I do not understand why the state wants to intervene here. Never increased more than 18% per semester in contracts, “Liotto said. And he added:” in contracts for the commercial area, which is the most aggressive segment, the index is between 22 and 25% . Whereas now, for individuals, who enter into contracts under current law, the increase is 54% direct annually. Which, one starts with higher prices because the owner is looking for a mattress to last a year in a reasonable way ”, says Liotto.

According to the directive, “the market does not flow with uncertainty but with predictability”. For this reason, in the last few hours, a statement from the CPI expressed its “disagreement with projects to amend the Rent Law given the opinion of the General Legislation Commission of the Chamber of Deputies.”

“We real estate agents feel like the representatives haven’t heard us. We need let tenants and landlords know when a lease will start and end. And how much will they pay for rent each month. If these areas are not taken into account, the policy is heading, again, to a failure in the reform of the Law ”, according to Liotto. Finally, the CPI asked lawmakers to continue efforts towards reaching a consensus that takes into account the needs of all parties.

Since the new rental law went into effect, the supply of real estate has fallen sharply. “Contracts collapsed. Right now, only short extensions are done because the owners want to take over the property. They feel insecure and the first thing they do is remove the property from the market, ”he described.