How do you rent a home in Peru in 2026?

Have your passport, Carné de Extranjería when issued, local mobile number, and income or bank statements ready: Get a Carné de Extranjería and Open a bank account. Many owners prefer resident tenants for year leases. Decide early how you will handle an aval (guarantor) request: prepaid months, stronger income packs, or an agency used to foreigners often replace a missing Peruvian friend with property.

Shortlist by city and district first. Lima Miraflores, Barranco, and San Isidro behave like different products from Arequipa’s historic centre: Where to live in Peru, Living in Lima, and Living in Arequipa. Prefer owners or agents you can meet in person. Verify the lister before you share full identity packs: Avoid rental scams.

Read the Spanish contrato de arrendamiento for term length, rent in soles or dollars, who pays mantenimiento (building fees), utilities, and break rules: Rental contracts and deposits. Ask for a recent mantenimiento boleta before you celebrate a listed ask. Photograph water, walls, appliances, and meter readings at handover.

Budget first month, garantía deposit, agency fees when used, and setup cash outside the monthly rent sheet: Lima cost of living. Temporary furnished stock can bridge your first weeks, then you upgrade to a longer unfurnished contract once the carné and bank trail exist. Never transfer “reservation” money for a flat you have not walked through. In Arequipa, plaza-adjacent stock can still demand the same Spanish lease discipline even when headline rents look softer than Miraflores.