Although the real estate market revolves around bricks, plans, lots and square meters, its true foundation is not physical, but legal. Legal certainty – concept as cited as it often underestimated – constitutes the guarantee that the rules of the game are clear, known and stable over time. In the world of Real Estate, and particularly in closed neighborhoods, this factor can make the difference between being part of solid development or being caught in a legal conflict.
Without regulatory predictability, investment loses livelihood. The launch of a project requires that its legal framework be rigorous from the beginning, as well as any acquisition process should be supported by certainties regarding the domain, use and availability of the good in question. Legal certainty covers multiple dimensions: from the stability of the regulatory framework to transparency in records, from respecting contracts to the effectiveness of judicial mechanisms. Its relevance is going through the entire real estate ecosystem, but acquires special centrality in ventures that are gestated from scratch, such as the developments “from the well” or private neighborhoods, whose expansion continues in different regions of the country.
In the Argentine case, the legal framework presents particular challenges. Each province, municipality and even some locations have specific regulations on land use, buildable density and qualification of services. In this context, the knowledge of the local regulatory frameworks and the evaluation of the history of developers and ventures becomes an essential component to guarantee safe operations.
One of the scenarios where these challenges are most evident is that of the field clubs and closed neighborhoods. This urban format has boomed for decades in response to demands for security, quality of life and controlled environment, requires special attention from the legal point of view. Sometimes, difficulties do not arise from the architectural or the functional, but from legal aspects. It is key that the owner of the domain is duly registered, that the project has administrative approval at the municipal and provincial levels, and that the subdivision plane is registered in the corresponding registry, clearly delimiting private spaces, common areas, access and green spaces.
The reform of the Civil and Commercial Code of the Nation, in force since August 2015, brought more clarity to the legal regime applicable to these developments. From this regulatory unification, the conditions for greater legal certainty were strengthened, both for developers and for owners. Among the central aspects that today structure this legality are the approval of the project by the local administrative authorities, the existence of a subdivision or approved measurement plane, the public deed of affectation to the real estate regime and its registration in the Registry of Real Estate.
A concrete example can be found in the case of developments such as Haras del Sur, whose five neighborhoods – from I to V – have all the approvals required at the municipal and provincial level. Each has the necessary technical and administrative documents: pre-faactibility, feasibility and, especially, the approved and registered subdivision plan. This regularity provides security to both those who promote projects and those who access them as buyers.
In this scenario, the real estate market faces the challenge – yet the opportunity – to consolidate as an exemplary space of institutionality. In a country where trust is usually a scarce resource, legal traceability, transparency in project management and rigorous compliance with the regulatory framework can function as essential pillars to build not only homes, but certainty.
Fernando Sciarrotta, commercial manager of Grupo Haras del Sur
By Fernando Sciarrotta
