Short-Term and Vacation Rentals in Buenos Aires: The Investor's Guide

There are two kinds of foreign buyer in Buenos Aires. The first wants a place to live or to keep. The second wants the property to earn. This note is for the second, because the short-term rental market here is one of the most interesting income plays in Latin America, and also one of the easiest to get wrong.

I gave guest talks on this to the Vacation Rental Managers Association in Orlando, so I will spare you the theory and give you the operator's view.

Why short-term rentals work here

The math starts with a quirk of the country: most foreigners renting in Buenos Aires use furnished short-term rentals, not long-term leases, because long-term leases demand a garantia (Argentine collateral) that foreigners cannot easily provide. That structural fact creates constant, renewing demand for well-located furnished units from exactly the kind of tenant who pays in dollars and treats the place well: expats, remote workers, long-stay tourists, and business travelers.

You are not fighting for scraps in a thin market. You are supplying the format the entire foreign population actually needs.

The numbers that matter

• Commission to set it up: CUCICBA recommends 10 to 20% over the contract for short-term rentals. MGNI charges 5 to 10%, and we say so plainly because the spread is your money.
• All-inclusive is the norm: short-term furnished units are typically all-inclusive, meaning the owner covers utilities, internet, taxes, and HOA. Price your rent to absorb those, because the tenant will not pay them separately.
• Rental income tax: a non-resident foreign owner faces roughly a 21% effective rate on gross rent under the current withholding system. Build it into your model from day one, not as an afterthought. We cover this in the tax note.

The legal rule you cannot ignore

A vacation rental contract has a legal maximum of 3 months. It can be extended to 23 months only if the agreement states a "specific reason." Beyond that, you are in long-term-lease territory with different rules.

There is also the renewal mechanic: short-term contracts often renew with a potential price increase around the 4-month mark. As an owner, that flexibility works in your favor in a high-inflation environment, letting you reset to market. As a tenant it is a catch. As an investor, it is a tool. Use it deliberately.

Furnished, and furnished well

The unit must come furnished and, ideally, turnkey. This is not the unfurnished long-term market where the tenant brings a screwdriver. A short-term tenant arrives with a suitcase and expects to live the same day. The quality of the furnishing directly drives the rate you can charge and the reviews that keep you booked. Cheap furniture is a false economy here.

Where it performs

Location does the heavy lifting for short-term yield. The neighborhoods that fill reliably:

• Palermo (Soho and Hollywood): the strongest short-term demand in the city. Restaurants, nightlife, walkability. Expats and tourists want to be here, and they pay for it.
• Recoleta: old-world appeal, museums, a slightly more settled long-stay guest. Steady.
• Puerto Madero: premium, amenity-rich, attracts business travelers and higher budgets.
• Belgrano and Núñez: quieter, better value entry, reliable demand from professionals and longer stays.

A studio or one-bedroom in walkable Palermo is the classic high-occupancy starter unit. We have placed many of them.

The honest risks

• Regulation can shift. Short-term rental rules have moved in cities worldwide. Argentina's framework is currently market-friendly post-Milei, but build your model with margin, not on a knife's edge.
• Management is real work. Turnovers, cleaning, guest communication, maintenance. Either you are hands-on or you pay a manager, and that cost belongs in your yield calculation.
• Currency and tax handling. Earning in dollars and handling Argentine withholding correctly is not a guess-and-hope situation. Structure it properly from the start.

So is it a good investment?

For the right buyer, yes, genuinely. A well-located furnished unit, priced correctly, managed properly, and bought at today's prices (still around 12% below the 2017 peak) can produce real dollar income against a real dollar-denominated asset. That combination is rare, and Buenos Aires offers it openly to foreigners.

But "for the right buyer" is doing real work in that sentence. The wrong unit in the wrong barrio with the wrong tax handling is just an expensive apartment that occasionally has a stranger in it.

If income is your goal, tell me your budget and your appetite for management, and I will tell you exactly which units and which neighborhoods produce. The first call is free, and the numbers will be honest.

Max.-