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Housing maintenance: The post-devaluation impact and changes in rates on fixed expenses is worrying - INFOBAE
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Mantenimiento de la vivienda: inquieta el impacto post devaluación y de los cambios en tarifas sobre los gastos fijos
Con el anuncio del Gobierno de la poda de los subsidios en servicios esenciales como luz y gas, se anticipa un aumento significativo a partir de enero en expensas y cargos en propiedad horizontal
www.infobae.com
December 17, 2023
With the Government's announcement of the pruning of subsidies in essential services such as electricity and gas, a significant increase is anticipated starting in January in expenses and charges for horizontal property
By José Luis Cieri
The budget for the payment of essential services, such as electricity, gas and water, is one that is expected to increase sharply when the announced changes in subsidies are formalized (Getty)
After the devaluation and the implementation of the first management measures of the government of Javier Milei, being the owner or tenant of a property It will require greater economic effort to meet the “fixed” costs of home maintenance.
One of the items that month after month has been increasing the costs of housing maintenance are expenses, which include everything from adjustments to the salary of the building manager, to payments for elevator services, disinfection and basic electricity consumption, gas and water, as well as repairs in common spaces and cleaning products, and in some cases surveillance.
Pedro Dessel, founding partner of the Argentine Chamber of Computer Systems for Horizontal Property (Casiph) told Infobae that a marked increase in average expenses of 153% had already been recorded, reaching just over $81,000 in general, until November and 170% projected for December.”
However, after the initial impact of the “chainsaw” and in response to the announcements of the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, it is anticipated that the increases will be even more pronounced in the coming months.
Marcelo Menajovsky, a businessman in the consortia sector, specified to Infobae that in buildings of 20 to 30 departments, the average expense is $80,000. In addition, he emphasized the incorporation of new concepts in expenses, such as the AySA bill and the provision of central hot water in recent constructions. “This modification will impact both common expenses and individual consumption, especially after the recent abrupt elimination of subsidies.”
David Loisi, president of the Horizontal Property Consortium League Foundation, highlighted Infobae the difference between a 10-unit building in a simple area with no central services and an 80-unit tower in Puerto Madero with multiple employees and amenities. “Some consortiums pay more than $300,000 per month, while others do not reach $40,000, however, the greatest impact of the latest measures will be evident in January.”
Inflation is also very strong in the case of buildings that have major pending works that cannot be postponed, such as the repair of an elevator, the waterproofing of terraces or the comprehensive repair of the front in the case of balconies in poor condition.
Planning accounts and seeking energy savings will be two aspects that co-owners will begin to pay more attention to, so that budgets do not skyrocket (Getty)
“In these cases there is enormous uncertainty in what will be paid, since contractors cannot maintain the price for more than a week. Of course, the removal of energy subsidies will have a much greater impact on buildings with a boiler and central heating service than on those that are individual,” Loisi observed.
Juan Martín Luciani Otaño, lawyer and specialist in Horizontal Property, told Infobae that “the The upcoming rate increases, the increase in the costs of inputs and services, added to the salary agreements reached by a strong sector such as building managers, will affect the upcoming expenses.”
Inflation
Diego Medwed, director of Casiph, told Infobae that “the impact of inflation in expenses is total, without palliative benefits or consideration in government programs. An exponential growth is observed in public services, exceeding the inflation reported by Indec, which led to the delinquency rate rising to an average of 20%, and the lack of preventive maintenance, which leads to emergency repairs at secondary prices.Experts highlight the lack of credit in the sector, which makes access to promotions and discounts difficult.
“In emergency situations, they are forced to validate prices without considering cheaper options available from other suppliers. The lack of adequate financing for consortia contributes to this situation,” Medwed added.
In some cases, the consortia chose to hire unhoused porters to reduce expenses, suspend renovation works and adjust the consumption of services, such as limiting lighting due to movement and restricting staff overtime.
Reference values
For an apartment of 60 to 70 square meters in a condominium building, without amenities or garages and a central service in the central neighborhood of CABA, with approximate values and on average per month (prior to the deregulation of rates projected by the current government); which includes home public services with medium subsidy (occupancy 3 to 4 inhabitants), the following parameters are managed in the market:Ordinary monthly common expenses: $60,000;
ABL and Real Estate: $8,500;
Electricity: $5,500 (with partial subsidy);
Gas: $4,000;
AySA: $1,500 (in most cases they are included in the expenses per global invoice);
Landline telephony: $6,170;
Maintenance, repairs and cleaning: $52,000;
Cable plus Internet: $26,000.
The Internet is also another service that has been increasing month by month, and will surely increase more soon (Photo: Getty)
Jorge Resqui Pizarro, lawyer specialized in Horizontal Property and president of the Civil Association of Consumer-Consortium (Adeproh), told Infobae that “in rental operations, the owners usually agree with the tenant to be responsible for the cost of fire insurance: starting at $3,500 per month for a two-room apartment; and from $6,500 per month for a 100 m2 house. If extra coverage is added, the fees will be higher.”
And Resqui Pizarro added: “If before you focused on comparing budgets for the maintenance and repair of common areas, now it is crucial to look for better prices on goods and services, considering the high volatility of values.”
In addition, owning your home faces expenses in municipal and territorial taxes.
Today there are various solutions to reduce energy consumption, such as the implementation of LED lighting, efficient thermal insulation in walls and openings, solar water heaters, and low-consumption appliances. In addition, online calculators make it easier to measure monthly energy consumption.
Another measure that can be taken according to experts is to replace the openings with more efficient ones and the appliances with those that have low energy consumption. Also use air conditioning devices efficiently, both hot and cold.
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