It is housed in the Legislature Palace (Spanish: Palacio de la Legislatura), an architectural landmark in the barrio of Montserrat.

Pursuant to this new policy, in 1882 President Julio Roca signed National Law 1260, which created the presidential prerogative of the appointment of the Mayor of Buenos Aires, as well as a city council by way of compromise towards the put-upon local gentry.

The body first met during the tenure of Mayor Torcuato de Alvear, with whom a precedent for a productive relationship was established by cooperating on an unprecedented urban planning a renewal agenda.

The council's resolution in 1921 for new grounds befitting a governing body of what had become one of the world's most prosperous cities was likewise approved by the Mayor at the time, José Luis Cantilo.

The body is led by the mayor's lieutenant, the Vice Chief of Government (Vicejefe de Gobierno), who acts as President of the Legislature.