Argentina (AR) — civil law.
Nothing on this page describes United States practice. There is no certificate sold to an investor, no administrative sale, and no post-sale redemption window in Argentina. If you arrived carrying US assumptions, read falsos-amigos first.
Glosario
Spanish is the canonical vocabulary on this wiki. Where an English word appears below as a gloss, it is an approximation, not an equivalence.
The auction
| Término | Gloss and note |
|---|---|
subasta judicial | Court-ordered public auction. The only route by which property is taken from an unwilling owner in Argentina |
remate | Auction. Used interchangeably with subasta in practice |
martillero público | Licensed private auctioneer, court-appointed. Ley 20.266 / 25.028. Not a public officer |
postor | Bidder |
postura | Bid |
base | Opening price. CPCCN art. 566: two-thirds of the valuación fiscal |
sin base | Without a minimum, after a failed auction |
seña | Deposit paid on the fall of the hammer |
saldo de precio | The balance |
postor remiso | Winning bidder who fails to complete; forfeits the seña |
acta de subasta | The martillero’s record of the auction act |
auto de aprobación del remate | Judicial approval of the sale. The pivotal document |
edictos | Published notice of the sale; also the conditions of sale |
exhibición | The viewing |
comisión | The martillero’s fee, ordinarily borne by the buyer |
adquirente en subasta | The auction buyer |
The proceedings
| Término | Gloss and note |
|---|---|
juicio de apremio / ejecución fiscal | The fisco’s suit to collect unpaid tax |
ejecución hipotecaria | Mortgage enforcement |
juicio ejecutivo | Executory process generally |
título ejecutivo | The instrument sued upon |
boleta de deuda | The fisco’s certified debt, used as título ejecutivo |
sentencia de trance y remate | Judgment to proceed to sale |
excepciones | The narrow enumerated defences |
inhabilidad de título | Defect on the face of the título ejecutivo |
prescripción | Limitation. A real defence in an old apremio |
purga | Paying off the debt to stop the sale |
plan de pagos | Payment plan with the fisco |
ejecutado | The debtor being executed against |
nulidad de subasta | Annulment of a completed sale |
oficial de justicia | Court officer who serves process and executes lanzamientos |
mandamiento | The court’s warrant to the oficial de justicia |
lanzamiento | Physical removal of an occupant |
desalojo | Eviction action |
Money
| Término | Gloss and note |
|---|---|
remanente / sobrante | Proceeds above the debt. Belong to the ejecutado |
cuenta judicial | Court-controlled account holding the proceeds |
liquidación | The court’s account of the distribution |
giro | Release of funds from the cuenta judicial |
créditos privilegiados | Credits ranking ahead of the executing creditor |
ARS / $ | Pesos. $ in an Argentine source is always pesos |
U$S / USD | US dollars. How Argentine property is customarily priced |
Property and title
| Término | Gloss and note |
|---|---|
hipoteca | Mortgage. CCyC arts. 2205–2211; escritura pública + registration |
escritura pública | Notarial deed. Not what an auction buyer receives |
escribano público | Notary. Performs the assurance function |
estudio de títulos | Study of the chain of title |
informe de dominio | Registry statement. No priority reservation |
certificado de dominio | Registry certificate. Triggers the bloqueo registral |
bloqueo registral / reserva de prioridad | Short reservation of registral priority |
anotaciones personales | Registry index searched by person, not parcel |
inhibición general de bienes | Prohibition on disposing, recorded against a person |
embargo | Attachment |
valuación fiscal | Cadastral value. Drives the base |
estado parcelario | Cadastral status of the parcel |
usucapión / prescripción adquisitiva | Acquisitive prescription: 20 years, or 10 with justo título and buena fe |
propiedad horizontal | Condominium regime. CCyC arts. 2037–2072 |
expensas | Condominium charges. Follow the unit to the auction buyer |
consorcio / administrador | The owners’ body and its manager |
propter rem | Obligation attaching to the thing rather than the person |
impuesto inmobiliario | Provincial property tax |
tasas / ABL | Municipal service charges |
impuesto de sellos | Provincial stamp tax |
Structure
| Término | Gloss and note |
|---|---|
departamento judicial / circunscripción judicial | The judicial partition. Determines court, portal, boletín, colegio |
partido / departamento | Administrative division. Not the judicial one |
Registro de la Propiedad Inmueble | Provincial land registry. Ley 17.801 |
catastro | Provincial cadastral authority. Ley 26.209 |
fisco | Tax authority |
ARCA | National tax and customs authority; replaced AFIP (Decreto 953/2024) |
CDI | Identification key for a foreigner without residence |
concurso preventivo / quiebra | Reorganisation / liquidation. Ley 24.522 |
fuero de atracción | Insolvency court’s pull on pending actions |
verificación de créditos | Mandatory proof of claim in insolvency |
síndico | Insolvency trustee-administrator |
Words with no Argentine referent
These English terms name institutions that do not exist in Argentina. They appear here only so that a reader searching for one finds the correction. See falsos-amigos.
| English term | Argentine position |
|---|---|
| tax lien certificate | Does not exist. The fisco sues: juicio de apremio |
| tax deed / tax deed sale | Does not exist. All forced sale is judicial |
| trustee’s sale, non-judicial foreclosure, power of sale | No analogue. Ley 24.441 arts. 52–67 is narrow, rare, and still judicial |
| deed of trust | No analogue. The instrument is the hipoteca |
| MERS | No analogue. Mortgages register under Ley 17.801 |
| statutory redemption period | Does not exist. No post-sale buy-back window |
| title insurance, title company | No market. Escribano + estudio de títulos + bloqueo registral |
| quiet title action | No analogue. Closest function: usucapión |
| deed seasoning | A title-insurer concept with nothing to attach to |
| escrow, escrow agent | No analogue. Auction funds sit in the cuenta judicial |
| county, county recorder, county assessor, county clerk | No county tier exists at all |
| sheriff, sheriff’s sale, courthouse steps | No sheriff. Martillero conducts; oficial de justicia enforces |
| excess proceeds fund, unclaimed property division | No such office. The remanente is in the court file |
| HOA super-priority | Inverted: expensas follow the buyer (CCyC 2050) |
| upset bid, over-the-counter liens, bid-down interest | No analogue |