Rural Land Law 26737 to Be Repealed

One of the measures in the Emergency Decree 70/2023, published today, Decembre 21, 2023, in the Official Gazette, has been the repealing Law 26737, called Regime for the Protection of the National Domain on Property, Possession, or Tenure of Rural Lands. Since the Decree does not establish which is its effective date, the regulation of the Civil and Commercial Code stating that the laws are in force after the eighth date of publishing in the Official Gazette will apply. Therefore, unless a clarifying decree about this matter is issued, the repeal should enter in force on December 30, 2023.

What does the repeal entail?

The repeal ends certain limitations that apply to foreign natural or legal persons who want to acquire rural lands within Argentine territory.

What are the limitations?

The limitations are:

1. Foreigners cannot own or possess more than 15% of rural lands throughout the territory of the Nation, or of the territory in the relevant province, municipality, or equivalent administrative entity where the property is located.
2. Persons of one same foreign nationality cannot own or possess rural lands of more than 30% of the 15% mentioned above.
3. The same foreign person cannot own or possess more than 1000 hectares in the Argentine core area (north of the Province of Buenos and south of the Provinces of Córdoba and Santa Fe) or an area equivalent to those 1000 hectares core area in the rest of the country. These equivalences were determined by each province.
4. Foreigners cannot own lands containing or adjacent to “large and permanent bodies of water” (such as rivers, seas, lakes, etc.).

What effects does the repeal have?

Following the repeal of Law 26737, these limitations will have been eliminated, and foreigners will be able to freely acquire rural lands to use for all kind of investments.

However, for the time being, the border security zone regime established in Decree-Law 15385/1944 remains in force. This means foreigners seeking to acquire rural—and, in some cases, urban—properties within the Argentine border (150 km when the limit is land and 50 km when the limit is maritime) must obtain the National Directorate of Technical Border Affairs’ prior approval (an administrative entity that currently depends from the Ministry of the Interior). Only the Province of Buenos Aires is exempt from this limitation.