You've found the right apartment — now comes the paperwork. For a foreigner, renting in Medellín works differently from what you may be used to at home: there's no credit-score check, but a traditional lease requires a local guarantee that most newcomers simply don't have. Here's how it really works, and which route fits your situation.
Two routes: furnished with your passport, or a traditional lease
1. Furnished monthly rental — the route most newcomers take
Contracts from 30 days, booked with your passport, with furniture, WiFi and utilities included. No co-signer and no rental study. It's the practical option if you've just arrived, have no income history in Colombia or plan to stay less than a year — and it lets you get to know the city before committing to a neighbourhood. See how monthly furnished rentals work.
2. Traditional unfurnished lease — cheaper per month, more paperwork
Usually 12-month contracts. The landlord or agency runs a rental study (estudio de arrendamiento) and requires a guarantee: a co-signer or a rental insurance policy. For a foreigner this route becomes realistic once you have your foreigner ID card (cédula de extranjería), which Migración Colombia issues to holders of visas longer than three months, and income you can prove.
| Furnished monthly rental | Traditional lease | |
|---|---|---|
| ID needed | Passport | Cédula de extranjería |
| Guarantee | None (no co-signer) | Co-signer or rental insurance |
| Minimum stay | 30 days | Usually 12 months |
| What's included | Furniture, WiFi, utilities | The apartment only |
| Monthly cost | Higher | Lower |
Documents for a traditional lease
If you're employed
- Cédula de extranjería.
- Employment letter issued within the last 30 days, stating your position, salary and type of contract.
- Payslips for the last two to three months.
- Bank statements for the last three months.
If you're self-employed or work remotely
- Cédula de extranjería and an up-to-date RUT (Colombian tax ID), if you have one.
- Your last income tax return, or an income certificate signed by a Colombian public accountant (contador público) with professional card.
- Bank statements for the last three to six months.
- Chamber of commerce certificate, if you have a registered company.
Insurers decide case by case how to read income from abroad. Bring statements that show regular deposits and, if you can, the contract with your employer or clients.
Co-signer or rental insurance: the two guarantees
In Colombia, a traditional lease needs a guarantee. There are two ways to provide it:
1. Co-signer (codeudor or fiador)
A person who backs your contract, ideally owning property in the department and with provable ability to pay. They provide their ID, a recent certificate of title for their property (certificado de libertad y tradición, no older than 30 days) and proof of income. Few foreigners have someone like this, which is why the second route is far more common.
2. Rental insurance policy (póliza de arrendamiento)
An insurer studies your profile and backs the contract — no co-signer needed. It's the most common route today: the study is usually resolved in 24 to 72 hours, and the cost is generally covered by the landlord or included in the negotiation. It's the best option if you don't have a co-signer with property, or if your income is self-employed but provable.
What if I only have a passport?
Then a traditional lease will be hard to close, because the rental study is built around Colombian ID and income records. The practical solution is a furnished monthly rental: you book with your passport, with no guarantor and no study, and you can switch to a traditional lease later once you have your cédula de extranjería.
Tips to get your rental study approved quickly
- Gather everything before you visit apartments: good ones get taken fast.
- Check that none of your certificates is older than 30 days.
- As a rule of thumb, your income (or your household's) should be at least twice the rent plus the building fee.
- Be transparent: inconsistencies between documents are the first cause of rejection.
- Have documents issued abroad translated into Spanish if the insurer asks for it.
A note on deposits and scams
For traditional urban housing leases, Colombian law (Ley 820 of 2003, article 16) does not allow the landlord to demand a cash deposit. Be wary of anyone asking you to transfer money to "hold" an apartment you haven't visited, or before you've seen a written contract. Furnished monthly rentals are often contracted on different terms, so ask about any deposit and get the answer in writing.
At Find Home Colombia we guide you through the whole process, in English, and work with fast insurers. Browse our furnished apartments in El Poblado, Laureles and Envigado, or message us on WhatsApp with what you're looking for.