Rents Fall and Listings Increase After Javier Milei Ends Rent Control In Argentina
President Javier Milei’s sweeping economic reforms have touched many sectors, but few have felt the effects more acutely than Argentina’s housing market. His decision to repeal rent control laws late last year has reshaped the country’s rental market, increasing housing supply and stabilizing rents.Â
The 2020 Rental Law, enacted under former President Alberto Fernández, aimed to protect tenants. It mandated three-year lease terms and required rent to be paid in pesos—a currency rapidly losing value due to rampant inflation. Rent adjustments were limited to once a year, based on a central bank rate that factored in inflation and wage growth. The law also allowed tenants to dictate the conditions for lease termination.
While the law seemed to offer relief for tenants, it backfired. By late 2023, one in seven homes in Argentina sat empty, yet Buenos Aires residents struggled to find available rentals.Â
Faced with inflation and rigid restrictions, landlords were hesitant to sign long-term leases. Many either set excessively high rents to hedge against future inflation or withdrew their properties from the rental market altogether. Others opted to sell in U.S. dollars or list them on short-term rental platforms like Airbnb, where they could charge in foreign currencies.Â
The crunch of rental properties triggered a full-blown housing crisis. As the supply of rental units dwindled, rental prices skyrocketed, far outpacing inflation. A study by the Institute of Economic Research of the Cordoba Stock Exchange found that rents increased by an average of 140 percent in inflation-adjusted terms between 2020 and 2023.Â
“In the last three years, the [number of properties in the] normal rental offer has shrunk to a size that I have never seen in my 25 years in the market,” Diego Nocera, an estate agent in central Buenos Aires, told the Financial Times earlier this year.Â
In December 2023, Milei repealed the law as part of his broader push to deregulate
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