Nina — a 29-year-old German graphic designer who arrived in Medellín on a 90-day tourist stamp in March 2025 — spent her first two weeks in an Airbnb at COP 120,000/night (≈ USD 27), burning through her relocation budget faster than planned. She had found three apartments she liked on a popular classifieds portal — one in El Poblado, two in Laureles — but each landlord asked for the same list of documents she didn't have yet: cédula de extranjería, Colombian bank account statements, and a Colombian guarantor (codeudor). She had none of them. By week three she had figured out the workarounds that actually work: prepayment instead of guarantor, a fixer as intermediary, and one landlord who accepted international bank statements in lieu of Colombian ones. This is the playbook she assembled.
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The Four Documents Landlords Ask For — and What to Do If You Don't Have Them
Colombian landlords renting long-term typically ask for: (1) cédula de extranjería or cédula de ciudadanía, (2) bank statements from the past 3 months showing income of at least 3× the monthly rent, (3) a codeudor (Colombian national guarantor with property), and (4) employment certificate (certificado laboral) or income documentation. Most newly-arrived expats have none of these on day one. The workarounds that work in practice:
- Codeudor problem → Prepayment solution: Offer 3–6 months rent upfront (depósito anticipado). Most landlords accept this in lieu of a guarantor. Legal basis: Ley 820/2003 permits rental deposits up to 2 months' rent by law, but prepayment above that is negotiable between parties. Document the prepayment in the rental contract (contrato de arrendamiento) explicitly.
- No Colombian bank statements → International statements accepted: Ask the landlord (or their finca raíz agent) to accept PDF statements from your US, European, or Australian bank account for the last 3 months. Many landlords accept this, especially in high-expat neighborhoods. Have them apostilled or notarized if the landlord requests it — but often a clean PDF is sufficient for informal-market rentals.
- No cédula de extranjería yet → Passport + visa stamp: If your visa is approved but cédula not yet issued, most landlords in the expat market accept passport with visa stamp. Build in time: you need cédula for the formal rental contract registry (if the landlord registers the contract with the local government, which is good for your protection under Ley 820).
Where to Find Apartments: The Real Platforms
The Colombian rental market operates on three tiers: formal finca raíz agencies, classified portals, and direct social media listings. Each has different friction levels for foreigners.
- Metrocuadrado.com — Colombia's largest property portal. Listings from agencies and individuals. Filter by "arriendo" (rent), "amoblado" (furnished). Most listings in estrato 5–6 zones where expats live. Contact via the portal form or WhatsApp number (most listings include one).
- Finca Raíz (fincaraiz.com.co) — second largest portal, similar inventory. Some listings are agency-exclusive. Agents can facilitate the contract and sometimes the guarantor documentation.
- Facebook Groups: "Arriendos El Poblado Medellín," "Expats in Medellín," "Bogotá Expats & Apartments," "Cartagena Expats Housing" — these groups have direct landlord-to-tenant listings, often with lower documentation requirements and negotiable terms. This is the primary channel for short-to-medium term furnished rentals in the expat market.
- Finca raíz agencies (oficinas): Local agencies in each neighborhood specialize in rentals. In El Poblado: agencies on Avenida El Poblado and Calle 10. In Laureles: Circular 73–76 corridor. An agent typically charges the tenant 50–100% of one month's rent as commission. In exchange, they handle the codeudor documentation and registration.
Step-by-Step: Signing a Rental Contract in Colombia
- Agree on rent, duration, and prepayment in writing via WhatsApp before visiting. Establish: monthly rent, administration fee (cuota de administración — building fee, separate from rent), furnished/unfurnished, contract duration (typical: 12 months, auto-renewable), and whether you'll pay 3–6 months upfront in lieu of a codeudor.
- Property visit + condition inspection. Take photos of all existing damage (walls, floors, appliances, fixtures) before signing. Send them to the landlord via WhatsApp with a message stating "estado del inmueble al momento del ingreso." This WhatsApp record protects your deposit on exit.
- Draft or review the contrato de arrendamiento. The contract must include: monthly rent amount, administration fee (if any), start and end date, deposit amount and return conditions, inventory of furniture and appliances (for furnished units), and the document number of both parties. Use a written contract — verbal contracts are valid under Ley 820 but nearly impossible to enforce.
- Notarization (optional but recommended for amounts over COP 3M/month). Have the contract notarized at any Notaría — cost approximately COP 15,000–40,000. This creates a public record and simplifies any dispute resolution.
- Services transfer. Arrange transfer of utilities (agua, luz, gas) to your name or confirm they remain in the landlord's name with a fixed monthly pass-through. In many furnished apartment rentals, utilities are included in the rent up to a fixed amount.
- Register with your building's portería (reception/security). Give them a copy of your ID and emergency contact. This also triggers your tenant rights under the building's horizontal property regime (Ley 675/2001 — propiedad horizontal).
As a tenant in Colombia you have: right to 3 months written notice before non-renewal (Art. 22); right to receive deposit return within 30 days of exit minus documented damage (Art. 15); right to receive rent receipts (recibos) for all payments; right to habitable conditions (Art. 8); protection against arbitrary lockout — a landlord cannot change locks or cut services without court order. If your landlord violates these: file a Petición at the Personería Municipal of your city (free) or consult a Centro de Conciliación (low cost mediation). For Medellín: Personería de Medellín — Cra. 52 #42-73, tel. 604-386-3737.
Red Flags to Avoid
In the expat rental market, the most common problems are: landlords who ask for deposits via informal transfer with no contract (never pay without a contract), listings that show photos of a different unit than the one being rented (always visit before paying anything), and "administration" fees that keep growing after signing (cap them in writing in the contract). Rental scams targeting foreigners operate primarily on Facebook Marketplace — always visit in person and never wire money abroad to an account that claims to be "holding" an apartment.