2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-THREE - Public Planning and Development (§§ 1 — 11273) › PART VI - Tourism (§§ 6001 — 6982i) › Chapter 161 - Tourist Residences (§§ 6951 — 6951t) › § 6951i - Purchase agreements

(a) No purchase agreement shall be executed for a vacation home project without a location assessment, a preliminary plan or development, or any other endorsement or permit that substitutes the same by law, approved by the Planning Board and/or the regulations and Permits Administration of Puerto Rico or any government entity that, by law, substitutes the same in their functions, as the case may be, or by an autonomous municipality in the event that the power over city planning has been duly delegated thereto.
(b) Purchase agreements may be drafted in either English or Spanish and shall be filed with the DACO before being used by the vacation home developer or any real estate broker or agent of the vacation home developer, and shall contain the provisions detailed in this section and any other provision that the vacation home developer wishes. The DACO shall decide whether the purchase agreement complies with the following content requirements:
(1) The name of the buyer and his/her personal circumstances, the name of the vacation home developer and the authorized official that shall appear, the capacity in which he/she shall appear, and the street address of the main office of the vacation home developer.
(2) The place and date on which the purchase agreement is executed.
(3) The price; amount of the deposit; and location of the vacation home unit, including a description and the measurements of the unit, and whenever pertinent, the measurements of the lot.
(4) An account of the liens that the vacation home developer shall cancel on or before the execution of the deed of sale, and at the time of closing, a copy shall be handed to the buyer of the documents cancelling the liens on the unit that the vacation home developer was committed to cancel.
(5) The due date for executing the deeds and the handing over to the buyer of the use permit and the key of the unit, which shall occur jointly.
(6) The approximate date of completion of the construction of the unit.
(7) A description of the common elements and amenities that the vacation home project shall have and a summary of the rules that shall govern their uses and management.
(8) A list of charges or fees that all buyers shall have to pay on account of maintenance, uses, mandatory memberships, affiliation to a chain or brand, or any other type of expenditure related to the operation of the vacation home project.
(9) The right of the parties to demand specific compliance with their obligations under the purchase agreement and to terminate the same.
(10) The grounds for termination of the purchase agreement and penalties.
(11) The right of the buyer to have the vacation home developer show him/her the specifications and plans of the unit subject to the purchase agreement.
(12) The specific sales price, which cannot be increased or decreased other than by agreement between the buyer and the vacation home developer.
(13) A breakdown of the possible closing costs.
(14) The obligation of the vacation home developer of handing to the buyer, free of charge, upon execution of the deed of sale, a copy thereof, a copy of the plans and specifications of the unit sold, without its attachments or supplements. If the unit sold was a condominium or a condo hotel apartment, the buyer shall receive a copy of the corresponding declaration of condominium regime with its bylaws and a clear and accurate drawing of the distribution of the apartment bought, as well as a complete copy of the plans and specifications of the condominium or condo hotel, as the case may be, to the management of the same.
(15) The obligation of the vacation home developer to offer the buyer an insurance policy that protects his/her title deed, through the payment of an additional premium and that, if he/she declines such offer, the buyer should express such declination in writing, provided, that every title policy issued according to this provision shall be issued by an insurer authorized to do business in Puerto Rico and shall be handed to the buyer at the execution of the deed of sale.
(16) That land taxes of the unit subject to the purchase agreement shall be prorated as of the date of the execution of the deeds, those of the period before such date shall be covered by the vacation home developer, and those of the period after such date shall be covered by the buyer.
(17) That the vacation home developer shall be liable for the damages caused to the buyer due to Construction Defects and for any misrepresentation of the unit sold. Misrepresentation means to build the unit differently from the one in the reservation contract, purchase agreement, brochure, or model home, or to use construction materials, accessories and equipment, parts or components of the structure that are inferior in quality instead of those specified in the plans and specifications approved by the government entities involved with the construction industry.
(18) That the buyer shall notify the vacation home developer of the defects or flaws within the periods established in the purchase agreement, consistent with the law in effect, so that the latter can correct the same, and the buyer shall allow the vacation home developer to carry out the appropriate repair works. As for flaws or defects, be they latent or evident, in home appliances, whether electric or gas (such as kitchens, washers, driers, dishwashers, garbage disposal units, air conditioners, ventilation equipment, intercom systems, etc.) that were sold as part of the unit, these shall have the warranty offered by their respective manufacturers or their representatives. At the execution of the purchase agreement or in the closing of the sale of the unit, the vacation home developer shall notify to the buyer the name, address, and telephone number of the dealer or representative of the manufacturer.
(19) In the case of sales of units, under the horizontal property regime or under the condohotel regime, the obligation of the vacation home developer that the common elements essential to the security, good performance, or necessary for the adequate use of the unit be finished and have a use permit issued by the government entities involved with construction before the execution of the purchase agreement.
(20) The obligation of the vacation home developer to keep the amounts of money given in advance by the buyer in a special escrow account, in the manner provided by this chapter and its regulations, and the name of the banking institution where the vacation home developer has a special escrow account related to the unit.
(21) In the event that the vacation home developer wishes to use the funds obtained through deposits for expenditures related to the development of the project, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and its regulations, it shall be recorded in the purchase agreement.
(22) The circumstances under which the vacation home developer shall be entitled to retain all or part of the deposit received on account of the purchase agreement and the amount of said retention.
(23) If the obligation of the buyer to buy the desired unit shall be subject or not to the contingency that the buyer obtains financing for the purchase of said unit, and in the event that it is not subject to such contingency, a provision to the effect of establishing whether the vacation home developer shall retain all or part of the deposit in the event that the buyer fails to comply with his/her obligation to complete the purchase due to a lack of financing, and the amount of such retention.
(c) The DACO may establish additional requirements through regulations, insofar as they are also approved by the Tourism Company and they are not inconsistent with this chapter.
(d) The purchase agreement shall be deemed an approved purchase agreement after it has been evaluated by the DACO, pursuant to the provisions of § 6951j of this title and its regulations, if it is approved, it shall be deemed an approved purchase agreement.
(e) None of the provisions of this chapter or its regulations shall be construed as to prohibit the parties to a purchase agreement from conducting negotiations and agreeing on terms and conditions that are different from those of the approved purchase agreement, insofar as the vacation home developer first shows the approved purchase agreement to the buyer and notifies him/her that the he/she is entitled to demand that such approved purchase agreement be used.
(f) The provisions of this section shall not apply to exempt reservation contracts.
History —Dec. 16, 2009, No. 181, § 12.