Renting housing in Uruguay: Part 5. More on rental pricing.

1. Rental price.

This is the clearest category. It is always stated in listings and cannot be confused with anything else.

It is paid either to the account of the real estate agency (inmobiliaria), the owner's account, or the account of the credit institution that issued the rental guarantee, as specified in the agreement.

2. Gastos comunes

or utilities. In essence, these are regular monthly payments, just like rent.

They are always charged for apartments in apartment buildings and houses in condominiums with shared grounds.

As a rule, this amount includes maintenance of common areas (lift servicing, cleaning, concierge, flowerbed and lawn care, pool, gym, patio and so on).

If a building has a central hot-water supply and/or heating system, these costs are included in this category as well.

These payments can be quite substantial and even equal to or greater than the rent.

They are paid separately into the account from which the building’s maintenance expenses are paid. Detached houses have no gastos comunes.

3. Taxes

An important category, as listings do not mention them at all and you need to ask separately.

Tax-payment practices are changing: three years ago, an owner could “pass on” virtually all taxes to you (property tax, primary education tax, sanitation levy, and the so-called “door tax” on detached houses). Now, as a rule, the tenant does not pay the owner's taxes, but this must be clarified before signing the agreement.

4. Electricity, gas and water are billed based on meter readings

After concluding the rental agreement, the tenant must contact the relevant utility provider and enter into a contract in their own name.

As a rule, you do not need to submit consumption readings; specially trained people collect them here. If they cannot access your meter without your presence, you can submit readings online.

1. Payment for internet, telephone, TV

is also made after the relevant contracts have been concluded in your name.

6. Payment for a garage or parking space.

There are cases where parking or a garage is assigned to an apartment and, as a rule, is already included in the rental price; this is stated in the description.

However, an apartment does not always have parking, and if you plan to use a car, you should consider whether you will be able to find public parking nearby, whether it will be safe in your area, and whether you can rent a parking space in this or nearby buildings.

THIS IS THE FIFTH PART OF A SERIES OF ARTICLES ABOUT RENTING HOUSING