2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 99A - Real Estate Businesses and Profession of Real Estate Broker, Salesperson or Company (§§ 3025 — 3061) › § 3055 - Proscribed acts or practices—Locations outside Puerto Rico

(a) Acts or practices proscribed to salespersons, brokers and companies in the sale of real property located outside of Puerto Rico:
(1) Offer[ing] to sell or sell[ing] in Puerto Rico, directly or indirectly, real property located outside of Puerto Rico without first having filed the corresponding registration with the Department of Consumer Affairs.
(2) The double sale of real property.
(3) Offer[ing] to sell, or sell[ing] a real property directly or indirectly, with the promise of returning the advance payments, deposits or monthly rates paid, if after visiting said lot within the term agreed upon by the parties, the buyer is not satisfied with his/her purchase, provided said promise is not complied with, or there is no intention of keeping it, or when through the fault of the salesperson, broker or proprietor, the visit cannot be made within the stipulated term.
(4) Allow[ing] the sale of real property to a buyer who does not know how to read, without the presence of a witnesses [sic], and other requirements of §§ 2001 et seq. of Title 4.
(5) Allow[ing] the sale of real property without having included a warning to the buyer on the sales contract in block letters and in a prominent place thereupon, where it is impossible for it to go unnoticed, that he/she should not sign the contract without having first read it in its entirety.
(6) Offer[ing] tours in or outside of Puerto Rico with the sole purpose of getting people to buy real property, without first explaining to the participants that these tours are part of a promotional campaign to obtain clients for the direct or indirect sale of real property.
(7) Us[ing] a language which the buyer in Puerto Rico does not understand on the real property sales contracts or any other document whose purpose is to grant an option to the deed, or that otherwise reflects the transaction that has been executed.
(8) Fail[ing] to file any information with the Department of Consumer Affairs that said office deems is pertinent for the implementation of this chapter.
(9) Offer[ing] to sell or sell real property, promoting said property as being located “near to” any specific town, city or point of interest, without specifying the distance in miles between the property and the place mentioned.
(10) Fail[ing] to display to the public, at the workplace, the Certificate of Registration issued by the Department of Consumer Affairs.
(11) Offer[ing] to sell, or sell[ing] real property directly or indirectly, with the promise that the steps needed for the buyer to acquire the necessary financing for its purchase or the construction of a dwelling shall be performed, when it is not done, or there is no intention of doing it, or when there may be a reasonable doubt of the buyer’s capacity to qualify for said financing, or when the seller does not provide this service, or when all the data that is indispensable for the buyer to decide if this service is convenient or not, is not indicated. The broker or salesperson who offers this service shall always inform the buyer whether he/she will obtain any incentive, commission, or referral fee from the financing institution, or natural or juridical person that grants the loan to said buyer.
(b) Acts or practices proscribed to proprietors in the sale of real property located outside of Puerto Rico:
(1) Offer[ing] to sell or sell[ing] real property located outside of Puerto Rico in Puerto Rico, directly or indirectly, without first having filed the corresponding registration with the Department of Consumer Affairs.
(2) Cancel[ling] a sales contract of real property located outside of Puerto Rico for failure to pay without first mailing a notice cancelling the contract, by certified mail [return] receipt requested, so that the buyer may bring his/her payments up to date, if he/she wishes to do so.
(3) Unilaterally substitut[ing], exchang[ing] or alter[ing] the real property sold in Puerto Rico and located outside of Puerto Rico.
(4) The double sale of real property.
(5) Offer[ing] for sale or sell[ing] an unsegregated lot, giving the impression that it is already segregated, when it has not yet been (segregated) [sic].
(6) Offer[ing] for sale, or sell[ing] real estate under false promises of urban development.
(7) Offer[ing] to sell, or sell[ing] lots or any other type of real property without specifying the date of delivery, the time that the development of the subdivision of the land on which it is located will take, the sections of the subdivision that are being developed at the time of the offer or sale, in general, the stage of development of the project on the date of the transaction.
(8) Offer[ing] to sell, or sell[ing] real property located on swampy land, or that has any other characteristic that would hinder or render inappropriate the projected use thereof, without first explaining this circumstance to the buyer, and having included it, in writing, in the purchase-sale contract.
(9) Offer[ing] to sell, or sell[ing] real property when the description thereof or its location is not according to facts, when in the corresponding cases, the measurements of the rooms, or the width of the streets or sidewalks are not specified, or it is not specified whether there are power, potable water and sewer facilities, or in their absence, it does not specify the depth or width of the channels, whether they really contain or are filled with water, or if not, it does not specify the time it will take for water to flow through them.
(10) Offer[ing] to sell, or sell[ing] real property, directly or indirectly, with the promise of returning the advance payments, deposits, or monthly payments, if after visiting said lot within the term agreed upon by the parties, the buyer is not satisfied with his/her purchase, provided said promise is not complied with, or there is not intention of complying with it, or when, through the fault of the salesperson, broker or proprietor, the visit cannot be made within the stipulated term.
(11) Offer[ing] to sell, or sell[ing] lots without specifying the following on the sales contract:
(A) Everything related to the payment of property taxes, specifically, the annual amount of taxes thereon, to be paid to the state or country in which the property is located.
(B) Who will bear the tax debt during the period that adequate installments are being paid for the purchase of said lot, and if this rests on the buyer, the total portion of the adequate monthly installments to be devoted to this purpose, a detailed breakdown of the purposes to which the monthly payments shall be applied, and the term of duration of said contract, specifically including the expiration date.
(12) Offer[ing] to sell, or sell[ing] property without specifying in the contract who shall be responsible for the maintenance, leveling and clearing of the property subject to said contract during their term the indebted payments are being paid with regard to said real property. If it pertains to the buyer, the total portion of the indebted monthly payments to be devoted to such purpose, shall be specified.
(13) Offer[ing] to sell, or sell[ing] real property, including insurance, without specifying the total coverage thereof in the contract, the terms and other details thereof, and the total portion of the monthly payments which is to be devoted to this purpose.
(14) Allow[ing] real property to be sold to a buyer who does not know how to read, without the presence of two witnesses who know him/her, who shall read the contract in which said buyer is going to participate, to him/her, in its entirety.
(15) Allow[ing] the sale of real property without including a warning to the buyer, in block letters and in a prominent place in the contract, where it is impossible for it to go unnoticed, that he/she should not sign the contract without first having to read it in its entirety.
(16) Offer[ing] tours in or outside of Puerto Rico with the sole purpose of getting people to buy real property without first explaining to the participants that these tours are part of a promotional campaign to obtain clients for the direct or indirect sale of real property.
(17) That the proprietor is not authorized to, or does not meet the requirements to develop, urbanize and segregate real property, pursuant to the local laws, rules and regulations of the state in the United States of America or the country in which the real property is located.
(18) Publish[ing] or broadcast[ing], or caus[ing] any information to be published or [broadcast], offering for sale, or inducing another person to buy real property, directly or indirectly, whether through an option to title or in any other way, without having first registered a true and exact copy of the information to be published with the Department of Consumer Affairs, including a copy of the contract to be granted, and any photograph, blueprint or drawing of the facilities and physical conditions of said property.
(19) Fail[ing] to use the Spanish language in any real property sales contract; in any other document whose purpose is to grant an option to the deed or that in any way reflects the transaction that has been executed; in any promotional material to be used to induce a person to buy real property, directly or indirectly; or in any other documents directly or indirectly related to the transaction, when Spanish is the main language of the contracting party, optionee, buyer, or the interested party in the transaction.
(20) Fail[ing] to file any other information in the Department of Consumer Affairs that said office deems pertinent for the implementation of this chapter.
(21) Offer[ing] to sell or sell[ing] real property promoting said property as being located “near to” any particular town, city or point of interest, without specifying the distance, in miles, between the real property and the place mentioned.
(22) Offer[ing] to sell, or sell[ing] real property on which there is any limitation, restriction or reservation, whether for mineral, forestry or any other type of rights, without having first explained to the buyer where it consists of, in detail, and that it appears written into the contract.
(23) Offer[ing] to sell or sell[ing] real property using notes, without first explaining in detail to the buyer, the nature and consequences of the legal instrument that he/she is going to sign.
(24) Charg[ing] any type of fee for the use of the project’s clubhouse and other facilities, when the benefits to be derived from said fee that is being collected have not been explained in detail to the buyer, or when the amount of the fee does not adjust to the facts of the facilities being offered; or when said facilities are not operational and available to all the buyers.
(25) Offer[ing] to sell, or sell[ing] real property without having first complied with all the laws, rules, regulations, and orders related to the sale and offerings for sale of real property in Puerto Rico, and of the state in the United States or the country in which it is located.
(26) Offer[ing] to sell, or sell[ing] real estate using fraudulent or deceitful methods, which give the buyer a mistaken impression of the nature of the property, the conditions of the sale, or anything else related to the transaction.
History —Apr. 26, 1994, No. 10, § 32, eff. 90 days after Apr. 26, 1994.