2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TEN - Commerce (§§ 1 — 4196) › Subtitle 1 - Regulation of Business Generally (§§ 1 — 998q) › Chapter 35 - Innkeepers (§§ 711 — 724) › § 717 - Innkeeper’s lien

(a) The innkeeper is hereby given a lien upon, and may detain, baggage and other property brought upon his premises by a guest, as security for the payment of the charges due him for accommodations, board, room, lodging, and the like, and as security for the repayment of any moneys advanced to, or for account of, such guest, including the amount of any money paid to such guest by reason of checks cashed or negotiated, for or at the request of such guest. Such lien shall not be defeated by the claims of any third person, unless the innkeeper had actual knowledge that such property, when brought on his premises, was not legally in the possession of such guest, or that such property did not belong to such guest, or that a third person had another lien on such properties previously registered in Puerto Rico. The term “guest” as used in this section shall include not only the guest himself, but the members of his family who accompany him, and for the purpose of this section, it shall be conclusively presumed that a man and woman registering as man and wife are such, and that an adult accompanied by one (1) or more minors, is the parent or custodian of such minor or minors.
(b) Any innkeeper having a lien upon property under the provisions of subsection (a) of this section and any innkeeper who shall have in custody any unclaimed baggage or other personal property or personal effects may at the end of six (6) months, counted from the date on which the property was seized under the provisions of subsection (a) or deposited in custody, as the case may be, sell the same at public auction to the highest bidder, and for cash, in the manner herein provided. Not less than fifteen (15) days prior to the date of the sale, a notice of the time and place of such sale and a description of the property to be sold, shall be published in a newspaper having a general circulation in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and if the name and address of the owner of such property appears on the records of the innkeeper, such notice shall also be sent by certified mail to such owner at such address within the same period.
(c) Out of the proceeds of any sale held pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, the innkeeper shall first pay all costs and expenses incurred in seizing and storing such property and in the sale, including the cost of advertisement, and the fees of any auctioneer, notary, or other person employed to conduct the same, and shall apply the balance on account of the debt secured by the said lien. If there should be any surplus, the innkeeper shall, on demand made within ten (10) days after such sale, pay over the same to the owner of such property or his duly authorized agent. In case such surplus should not be demanded and paid as aforesaid within the above mentioned period of twenty (20) days, the innkeeper shall pay such surplus over to the Secretary of the Treasury of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and shall at the same time file with the said official a statement in writing containing the name and place of residence, if known, of the owner of the property so sold, a description of the articles sold, the price realized at such sale, the name and address of the auctioneer or other person conducting the auction, and a copy of the notice published under the provisions of subsection (b) of this section. The said official shall retain such funds for a period of one (1) year, and if proper and duly authenticated claim is made therefor by the owner of the property so sold, the said official shall pay the same over to the owner, or to his heirs or successors in interest. If such claim is not made within one year from the date upon which the said funds were delivered to him, the Secretary of the Treasury of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall cover such funds into the Treasury of the Commonwealth, and no action shall thereafter lie against the Secretary of the Treasury, or any of his agents, officers, or employees, or against the Commonwealth for recovery thereof.
History —June 23, 1956, No. 85, p. 540, § 7, eff. 90 days after June 23, 1956.