2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 7 - Municipal Property Tax (§§ 5001 — 6756) › PART I (§§ 5001 — 5252) › Chapter 245 - Attachment, Sale and Redemption of Property (§§ 5101 — 5120) › § 5105 - Attachment and sale of debtor’s assets—Attachment and sale of real properties

In case it should be decided in the first instance to attach the real properties of a delinquent taxpayer and these should not be sufficient for paying the taxes, interest, penalties and costs owed by him/her to the Collection Center, or should the taxpayer not own real properties subject to attachment and sale, the Collection Center or its representative shall attach the real property of said debtor not exempted from attachment pursuant to what is prescribed in § 5101 of this title and sell the attached real property belonging to said delinquent taxpayer for the payment of said taxes, interest, penalties and costs. The real properties thus attached shall be sold at public auction at a minimum rate that will be the value of the delinquent taxpayer’s equity in the attached property or the value of the credit represented by the tax debt, whichever is less. Equity shall be understood to be the difference between the real value of the property and the amount for which it is mortgaged. The credit represented by the tax debt includes surcharges, interest and costs. The minimum adjudication rate shall be fixed through the appraisal performed by the Collection Center for said real properties prior to the publication of the notice of auction. The minimum rate shall be a confidential matter between the Center and the taxpayer. However, the Center may only announce it during the auction after the best offer has been received, only when said offer does not exceed the minimum rate. The number of auctions to be held in each sale, as well as the minimum rate to be used in each, shall be determined by the Center through regulations.
Should there be no competitive bidding or adjudication in any of said auctions in favor of a particular person, the Collection Center may, through the representative before whom the auction is held, adjudicate upon itself the attached real property for the corresponding minimum amount of the adjudication rate. If the real property subject to the legal proceedings for collection is adjudicated to a third party at any auction held, and the amount obtained at the auction is not sufficient to cover the total amount owed for taxes, interest and surcharges, the Collection Center may collect from said delinquent taxpayer the amount of the tax with its surcharges and interest that is not covered as a result of the auction held as soon as the Center obtains knowledge that said delinquent taxpayer holds and is the owner of attachable real or personal property, in which case the legal proceedings for collection established by this part shall be filed against him/her. Notwithstanding the above provisions, no attached real property shall be sold through the legal collection proceedings for an amount lower than the total amount owed by said property for taxes, plus surcharges and interest.
The person to whom the real property is adjudicated at public auction acquires it “as is” and will not be entitled to take legal action for reparations against the Collection Center.
In case it is decided to collect the taxes through the attachment and sale of the real properties of the delinquent taxpayer without first attaching and selling personal properties belonging to him/her, the provisions of this section shall be followed insofar as they are applicable.
Notwithstanding the above provisions, no real property attached exclusively for the collection of the taxes comprised in § 5101 of this title shall be sold through legal collection procedures for an amount that is less than the total amount of the taxes owed by said property plus surcharges and interest.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 83, § 4.05.