Renting a shop in Buenos Aires: what to agree before signing

Before renting a shop in Buenos Aires, settle what business may operate there and the full cost of entering, occupying and leaving the premises. Get a lawyer to examine the draft and a qualified professional to assess the proposed activity at the address. A good shopfront does not make an unsuitable lease workable.

For an Australian already running local lessons, selling products or building a client base, moving into a local comercial is a separate decision from renewing your flat. Do not copy assumptions from your residential lease. The property contract, your permission to work and the business's authorisation each need their own answer.

Give the owner a precise business brief

Describe the actual activity, customer visits, delivery pattern and opening hours. Say whether you need storage, food preparation or alterations. If you will share the space with another business, make that part of the discussion before signing. A vague description can leave you arguing later about what the agreed use covers.

Ask a local professional to check the activity's compatibility with the exact address and building. Obtain the relevant plans and information from the owner. Find out what owner consent or building approval is needed for works. Do not pay on the assumption that a former shop's use matches yours, particularly if you are introducing a kitchen or changing customer access.

If coffee is the plan, read choosing a Buenos Aires café premises first. If you mainly need a quiet room to work for Australian clients, coworking on Australian hours may reveal a smaller commitment. A street-level retail lease is not necessarily the right solution to a noisy home office.

With the brief ready, compare street-level retail spaces on PlataStar. Enquire about the exact unit rather than treating the category label as evidence of permitted use.

Who signs and what guarantee is acceptable?

Settle the contracting party with your accountant and lawyer. If the business operates through a company, have them check who may sign, the entity's documentation and any personal guarantee being requested. Do not sign personally as a convenient shortcut without understanding whether the business can use the premises and what liability remains yours.

Ask the owner which guarantee they will consider before paying a reservation. A garantía propietaria refers to a property-backed guarantee; seguro de caución is a surety-insurance product an owner may accept. Neither is an automatic entitlement. Ask providers to assess your documents and obtain the terms, fees and coverage exclusions rather than assuming an Australian income statement will suffice.

Article 1196 of the Civil and Commercial Code lets the parties agree the amount and currency of a guarantee deposit and its return arrangements. Write down the return currency, deductions, evidence required and process at handover. Keep a record of the premises' starting condition so the deposit does not depend on a disagreement about an old mark on the floor.

Agree the term, currency and adjustment method

Article 1198 says the lease term is the one agreed by the parties. It gives a three-year default for uses other than permanent housing or temporary letting where no term has been established. That is a default, not a promise that every shop contract must run for three years. Put the actual start and end dates in the document and have your lawyer apply the rule to your agreement.

Article 1199 allows rent in legal tender or foreign currency and says the tenant cannot insist on paying a different currency from the one agreed. It also allows an agreed adjustment index, public or private, expressed in the rent currency. Do not accept a draft saying only “adjustable” or “dollar equivalent” without a clear mechanism.

Ask for the adjustment dates, index reference, calculation base and replacement mechanism if the index stops being published. If a payment involves conversion, have the draft identify the quotation source, relevant date and payment method. Compare the contractual obligation with how you receive your own Australian or local income. An AUD salary does not eliminate exposure to a USD rent or an ARS adjustment.

Turn the headline rent into a written cost schedule

Request separate lines for rent, building expenses, taxes if applicable and any other charges. Have an accountant identify the applicable IVA treatment and a local professional or lawyer check commission and stamp-duty treatment. Residential commission rules should not be assumed to apply to a shop. Obtain an invoice or written fee agreement for each professional charge.

Ask for recent expensas statements if the shop forms part of a shared building. Article 1209 distinguishes habitual expenses linked to normal permanent services from charges on the property and extraordinary common expenses. Have your lawyer read the draft allocation against that provision. A bill's heading alone is not a sufficient explanation of who bears a large works charge.

Use PlataStar's shop occupancy cost calculator with the quoted amounts. Add equipment and the cost of keeping the premises before it produces income. Keep refundable security apart from expenses, but include both in your opening cash requirement.

Make the fit-out and repair responsibilities explicit

Inspect with the people who will do the work. Photograph visible defects with permission and record the owner's promised repairs. Ask about electrical supply, water, drainage and any equipment left in place. Identify whether a fault is part of the building, an owner's installation or something you are adding. That helps the lawyer write a workable responsibility schedule.

Articles 1200 and 1201 address delivery in the agreed condition and the owner's duty to keep the premises suitable for the agreed use, including repairs for causes not attributable to the tenant. Articles 1211 and 1212 deal with improvements. Have your lawyer explain how those provisions apply to the alterations you want, rather than assuming every improvement is reimbursed or every repair is your problem.

Specify access for works, approved drawings, responsibility for contractors and what may remain at the end. If the business needs authorisation before opening, negotiate what happens when it cannot be obtained for the intended use. A verbal promise that you can “sort it out later” is poor protection after the builder and equipment supplier have been paid.

Read the exit clause before discussing the opening date

Article 1221 states that a tenant may end the contract at any time by paying the equivalent of 10% of the future rent balance, calculated from notice of termination to the agreed end. Ask your lawyer to review the applicable rule, notification method and your draft before you rely on it. Do not use an old apartment rule of thumb to price a commercial exit.

Have the adviser work through the calculation where rent changes during the remaining term. Ask which additional handover obligations or unpaid charges would still need settling. Returning keys, repairing fit-out damage and cancelling service accounts are separate practical matters from the termination compensation. Get the required steps into your exit plan at the start.

Discuss subletting, assignment and renewal if they matter to your business. Owner acceptance of your initial activity does not answer whether you may transfer the lease when selling the business. Have the draft settle that question rather than expecting a future purchaser to negotiate it under pressure.

A sensible sequence before you pay

1. Shortlist premises against the actual business activity, services and customer access.
2. Ask a qualified professional about suitability and authorisation at the address.
3. Obtain the full draft lease and fee schedule, then have your lawyer and accountant review them.
4. Price the required works and agree owner delivery, tenant alterations and any opening conditions in writing.
5. Verify the recipient and terms of any reservation money, including when it is refundable, before transferring it.
6. Record condition, meters and keys at handover and retain invoices for subsequent work.

If a separate office suits better than a shop, search offices for a small business on PlataStar. If the brief needs more explanation than a search filter allows, post your shop or studio requirement on PlataStar with the activity and services you need. Choose the premises whose documents and technical position fit your operation, not simply the one with the lowest advertised rent.