Argentina liberalizes the rental market: supply grows by 88%, prices fall by up to 29%, and families regain purchasing power
The recent liberalization of the rental market in Argentina, promoted by President Javier Milei, has generated a profound change in the urban dynamics of the capital and other major cities in the country.
According to official data and recent studies by economists Martin Elfert and Stephan L. Thomsen in the paper «The Impact of Chainsaw Unlocking on the Housing Rental Market in Buenos Aires» (SSRN), the supply of rental housing has increased by 88% and prices have fallen by between 13% and 29%, marking a historic turning point after years of state intervention.
The reform repealed the rental law in force since the Kirchner administration, eliminating the mandatory use of the Rental Contract Index (ICL), removing restrictions on annual increases, and allowing contracts to be denominated in foreign currencies, primarily US dollars.
Likewise, the minimum contract duration was reduced to two years, giving owners greater flexibility and reactivating a market that had remained paralyzed for years.
Before these measures, the rental market in Buenos Aires remained between 4,000 and 6,000 units, with constantly rising prices that outpaced household incomes.
This shortage and state intervention generated economic stress, forcing citizens to accept unfavorable conditions or move to peripheral areas.
Following liberalization, in a period of just 20 weeks, supply reached nearly 16,000 available units, and real prices began a sustained decline, bringing relief to thousands of families and restoring their purchasing power.
Experts emphasize that this phenomenon is no coincidence: when the market is freed from arbitrary restrictions, private investment is revived, property owners can adjust their prices according to demand, and citizens find more options tailored to their needs.
In the words of Elfert and Thomsen, «liberalization demonstrates that free market policies generate efficiency, increase housing availability, and allow households to regain purchasing power.»
This success stands in stark contrast to countries that maintain interventionist policies, such as Spain, where rigid government regulation of the rental market continues to lead to housing shortages and ever-increasing prices.
While left-wing governments continue to implement controls that strangle private enterprise and restrict supply, Argentina demonstrates that respect for economic freedom is not only compatible with social stability, but also strengthens family cohesion and protects working families.
The impact of liberalization goes beyond the economy: restoring freedom in rental contracts strengthens legal security and respect for private property, fundamental pillars of social order.
Furthermore, by enabling families to access decent housing at fair prices, essential values such as family stability, individual responsibility, and personal initiative are consolidated.
The lesson is clear: the left, with its insistence on controlling markets and setting prices, not only fails in its social objectives, but directly harms those it seeks to protect.
Excessive intervention curbs supply, impoverishes families, and discourages investment, creating a vicious cycle of scarcity and rising prices that destroys prosperity and social cohesion.
Argentina, with bold and liberal measures, demonstrates that economic freedom is the most effective way to strengthen the social fabric, guarantee economic security, and return decision-making power to its citizens.
This case should serve as a warning to progressive governments in Latin America and Europe: controls, restrictions, and excessive regulation only generate crises, while policies based on freedom, respect for property, and individual responsibility produce tangible and beneficial results for society.
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