reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 121 - Mortgage Foreclosure Proceedings (§§ 2701 — 2735) › § 2729 - Summary procedure—Standards and conditions of order or auction edict; parties affected

The standards, requirements, conditions and terms referring to the auction that were clearly expressed in the auction order or in the auction edict shall obligate and categorically affect all the parties in the mortgage procedure including subsequent creditors, bidders, endorsers, successful bidders, acquirers, and bidders in the auction, and their successors or assigns.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 229.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 121 - Mortgage Foreclosure Proceedings (§§ 2701 — 2735) › § 2730 - Summary procedure—Deed of conveyance granted by marshal; possession by new owner

When the property or mortgaged right is sold or awarded and, when appropriate, the corresponding price is deposited and the sale or award is confirmed, the marshal who held the auction shall proceed to grant the corresponding deed of conveyance in representation of the owner or titleholder of the mortgaged property, in the presence of the notary selected by the successful bidder or buyer, who shall pay the cost of this legal instrument, and he shall grant the new owner legal possession, if he so requests it within 60 days after confirmation of the sale or award. If said sixty days have elapsed, the court may order, without the need for further procedures, the eviction or ouster of the occupant or occupants of the property, or of all those who are occupying it by order or by sufferance of the debtor.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 230.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 121 - Mortgage Foreclosure Proceedings (§§ 2701 — 2735) › § 2731 - Summary procedure—Cancellation of entries

Once the conveyance deed of the mortgaged property or right is granted at the request of the successful bidder, the Court shall order the cancellation of the entries in the Property Registry which are in order, including those made in behalf of the person who recorded his right after the date of notation of the procedure to which § 2709 of this title refers.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 231.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 121 - Mortgage Foreclosure Proceedings (§§ 2701 — 2735) › § 2732 - Summary procedure—Secure homestead; measures taken

In accordance with the legal provisions in force concerning a claim for the right to a “Secure Homestead”, when the auction and sale of a mortgaged property is held and confirmed, the amount which the stated provisions order must be retained and deposited. The same rules shall apply in the event of an award, once it is confirmed, when the successful bidder must give the corresponding amount to the marshal for this purpose or deposit it in the Office of the Clerk of the Court before the deed of judicial award is granted.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 232.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 121 - Mortgage Foreclosure Proceedings (§§ 2701 — 2735) › § 2733 - Summary procedure—Procedures not to be suspended; exceptions

The court shall, in no case, suspend summary mortgage procedures not even because of the death of the debtor or third owner. Nor may it be suspended by motions or by any other procedures, either at the request of the debtor, the third owner or any other interested party or claimant, except in the following cases:
First.— If there is documentary evidence of a criminal proceeding for misrepresentation of mortgage title by virtue of which action was taken, in which probable cause was found for indictment.
Second.— If a third-party claim to ownership is filed, accompanied without fail by deed on the property in question, recorded in the name of the third party with a date prior to the registration of the forecloser’s loan and not cancelled in the Registry.
Third.— If a Registrar’s certification stating that the mortgage in question is cancelled, or a certified copy of the public document cancelling it is submitted with the Registry note of presentation granted by the forecloser or his predecessor or successors and documentary proof of conveyance of title, when applicable.
In the first case, the suspension shall subsist until the criminal case is over and, if no misrepresentation is found, the procedure may be resumed.
In the second case, the suspension shall subsist until the end of the third-party claim action.
And in the third case, it shall summon the parties to appear before the court in no less than five working days from the summons; it shall hear said parties, admit the documents they submit and resolve what it considers in order, within five days after the procedure is held. If it orders suspension, the resolution handed down shall be appealable by ordinary procedure.
All other principal or subsidiary claims which, because of summary mortgage procedures initiated or or after the date this law takes effect, may be formulated either by the debtor and third owners or the rest of the interested parties, including those claims dealing with fraud or nullity of the procedures filed after the first twenty days of the judicial demand for payment, shall be aired in the corresponding plenary suit without ever having the effect of suspending or obstructing the summary procedure but these claims shall necessarily expire three years after the date on which the legal instrument of sale or award is made, and shall be subject to the provisions in § 2355 of this title insofar as third-party acquirers are concerned, if the motives or causes of the action brought are not clearly shown in the Record. The competence to take cognizance of this ordinary procedure shall be determined by the rules governing it.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 233.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 121 - Mortgage Foreclosure Proceedings (§§ 2701 — 2735) › § 2734 - Summary procedure—Interim administration of mortgaged property

The court may order the interim administration of the mortgaged property under the terms and conditions that it indicates if there was an agreement outlined in the mortgage deed, or if it is really considered necessary during the procedure, by sworn petition of any interested party with a recorded right and after the parties are duly heard.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 234.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 121 - Mortgage Foreclosure Proceedings (§§ 2701 — 2735) › § 2735 - Summary procedure—Pending actions; application of prior law

No provision in this chapter shall apply to, or in any way affect, the summary judicial procedure in the collection and foreclosure of mortgage loans initiated before the date this act is in effect, and may on that date be pending action. These procedures shall continue being handled in accordance with previous legislation or regulations on the subject.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 235.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 123 - Concordance Between Record and Legal Reality; Registration of Property (§§ 2761 — 2777) › § 2761 - Concordance between record and legal reality; method of carrying out

Concordance between the record and legal reality outside the Registry shall be achieved, according to the cases, by registration of properties which are not recorded in anyone’s name, by the resumption of an interrupted successive tract and by the cancellation of encumbrances and liens.
The registration of properties, real rights, surplus area, as well as the resumption of the interrupted successive tract, may be made by using the means established in this chapter.
The State and its political subdivisions may record the real property and rights belonging to it as provided in the Mortgage Regulations.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 236.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 123 - Concordance Between Record and Legal Reality; Registration of Property (§§ 2761 — 2777) › § 2763 - Ownership without recordable title; proof of ownership—Hearing; decision by court

Once the period established in the next to last paragraph of § 2762 of this title has elapsed, the court shall hold a hearing, at the request of the petitioner, in order to hear the claims and evidence presented.
If there are no objections, the petitioner shall submit the evidence proving compliance with all the requirements contained in § 2762 of this title. The witness or witnesses presented shall testify under their own responsibility regarding the facts known to them personally.
In view of the allegations made by the petitioner and other interested parties, and evaluating the proof submitted, the court shall decide then and there whether the ownership of the property in question is proved.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 238; June 14, 1980, No. 143, p. 535, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 123 - Concordance Between Record and Legal Reality; Registration of Property (§§ 2761 — 2777) › § 2764 - Ownership without recordable title; proof of ownership—Recourse for parties affected; recording of ownership

The petitioner, the other interested parties, the District Attorney and the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works or, in their absence, the public agencies affected, may appeal the resolution issued by the court, and should they do so, the appeal shall be heard in regular civil proceeding.
With the admission or confirmation of the court’s resolution declaring the ownership proven, this shall be sufficient to be recorded in the Registry. The resolution must contain the fact that the alleged circumstances were proven, as well as a list of the legal transactions imposed in § 2762 of this title that were complied with, without which the registration cannot be made.
When the resolution reveals that there are other rights or liens besides the petitioner’s rights on the property to be recorded, the conditions required for its proper registry must appear in the resolution or in complementary documents. It shall be necessary to register these rights or liens along with the property registration.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 239.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 123 - Concordance Between Record and Legal Reality; Registration of Property (§§ 2761 — 2777) › § 2765 - Ownership without recordable title; proof of ownership—Measurement of property; certification

When verification of a property survey is required by this subtitle, it shall be done by certification of the measurement duly sworn to by the licensed surveyor who made it, where the summoning of the bordering landowners is attested to, as well as the fact that the survey was correctly made.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 240.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 123 - Concordance Between Record and Legal Reality; Registration of Property (§§ 2761 — 2777) › § 2766 - Ownership without recordable title; proof of ownership—Community property; summoning of co-owners

When registration of community property is sought, and all its members did not follow the proper procedures, the other co-owners must be summoned in the manner and terms established in § 2762 of this title.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 241.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 123 - Concordance Between Record and Legal Reality; Registration of Property (§§ 2761 — 2777) › § 2767 - Ownership without recordable title; proof of ownership—Deceased immediately prior owner; listing of heirs in initial brief; persons unknown

In the event that the immediately previous owner must be summoned, but has died, the petitioner shall list the names of the heirs in the initial brief if they are known, and if they are not, shall state that they are persons unknown.
It shall not be necessary to prove documentarily that they are heirs or successors, but those summoned must give to the Court, if they appear in the document, the names and addresses of other persons in the same position if they know them, in which case the Court may take the measures it deems proper in order to come to a more equitable conclusion.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 242.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 123 - Concordance Between Record and Legal Reality; Registration of Property (§§ 2761 — 2777) › § 2768 - Ownership without recordable title; proof of ownership—Lack of title; procedure transformed into contested lawsuit

A petitioner cannot be expected to submit the property’s acquisition title in the judicial proceeding to prove ownership when he has alleged that he does not have it. In the event that one of the persons summoned objects to the adjudication of title proposed by the petitioners, alleging that he has more right to it than the petitioner, the ownership procedure shall be understood to be transformed into a regular contested lawsuit.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 243; June 14, 1980, No. 143, p. 535, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 123 - Concordance Between Record and Legal Reality; Registration of Property (§§ 2761 — 2777) › § 2769 - Ownership without recordable title; proof of ownership—Plenary contested suit; subsequent filing

The decision on whether or not ownership is proved shall not prevent the subsequent filing of a plenary contested suit by the person who considers himself injured, without prejudice to the provisions of § 2355 of this title, with regard to a third party.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 244; June 14, 1980, No. 143, p. 535, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 123 - Concordance Between Record and Legal Reality; Registration of Property (§§ 2761 — 2777) › § 2770 - Registration of property already recorded; judicial determination

When the Registrar has good reason to believe that the property to be registered appears in the Registry or is part of another property already recorded, he shall demand the corresponding judicial opinion that it is a different property, with notification to those having a right in the Registry.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 245.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 123 - Concordance Between Record and Legal Reality; Registration of Property (§§ 2761 — 2777) › § 2771 - Owner of recorded property who does not appear as owner of record; proceedings and effect

When the owner of a recorded property or of a real right on it does not appear as owner of record, he must bring a regular action against those appearing in the Registry as titleholders, and if he wins the lawsuit, the court shall order a registration in the name of the plaintiff, and the cancellations which are in order.
In the case of a resumption of the tract, the intermediate owners shall be entered and notified in the third rule of § 2762 of this title.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 246; June 14, 1980, No. 143, p. 535, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 123 - Concordance Between Record and Legal Reality; Registration of Property (§§ 2761 — 2777) › § 2772 - Rectification of size of properties; proceedings

Rectification of the size of all properties already recorded may be entered in the Registry by any of the following means:
First.— By an unappealable verdict handed down in a regular procedure of judicial survey or to establish the dimensions.
Second.— By public document when it is a question of reduction of the area or an excess of no more than twenty percent of the recorded area, and it is done by proven technical surveying methods, in accordance with the provisions in § 2765 of this title. In each case of reduction of the area, it shall be necessary to register the corresponding authorization by the Planning Board or by the appropriate government agency.
Third.— By means of judicial proceedings to record a title in fee simple for the entire excess when it is more than twenty percent. In this case the immediate former owner shall be summoned even though he has conveyed the property by public document.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 247; June 14, 1980, No. 143, p. 535, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 123 - Concordance Between Record and Legal Reality; Registration of Property (§§ 2761 — 2777) › § 2773 - Real right on other’s unrecorded property; right to title; procedure for registration

The titleholder of a real right imposed on someone else’s unrecorded property may request the registration of his right, in accordance with the following rules:
First.— He shall present his title in the appropriate Registry section, requesting that a cautionary notice be entered for failure to record the property beforehand.
Second.— When the notation is made, by notarial demand, he shall order the owner of the property affected by his right to proceed to record his title within twenty days from the date of the demand, with the admonition that if he does not verify or take exception to this requirement during said period, the annotator of the real right may request the registration as established in the fourth rule.
Third.— The owner of the property affected may not make any objection whatsoever without, at the same time, requesting the registration of his title in any of the ways established in this subtitle.
Fourth.— Once the term of twenty days has elapsed, the annotator, by justifying the demand made, may request registration of the title of said affected owner by regular procedures in the Court of First Instance Part under whose jurisdiction the property is located.
Fifth.— The binding, unappealable judgment handed down in said procedures shall be sufficient title for its registration in the Registry, changing the notation made, if it has not expired, into a definite record. The cautionary notice shall expire one year after it is entered.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 248.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 123 - Concordance Between Record and Legal Reality; Registration of Property (§§ 2761 — 2777) › § 2774 - Registration by state, agencies, instrumentalities or municipalities—Possession for thirty years or less; limitations

The state, its agencies, instrumentalities or municipalities may register properties belonging to them, provided they have possessed the property, as shown in their records, for more than thirty years as owners, quietly, continuously, publicly and peacefully.
They may also register property possessed under similar circumstances for a shorter period of time, but its registration shall be subject to the following limitations: if possessed for more than twenty years, the registration shall not have public access until two years have elapsed; if for more than ten years, the registration shall not have public access until five years have elapsed; and if for less than ten years, the registration shall not have public access until 10 years have elapsed. Once said periods have elapsed uninterruptedly, said registrations shall have full validity and full Registry protection.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 249; June 14, 1980, No. 143, p. 535, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 123 - Concordance Between Record and Legal Reality; Registration of Property (§§ 2761 — 2777) › § 2775 - Registration by state, agencies, instrumentalities or municipalities—Registration procedures

In order to make the registration provided in § 2774 of this title, the head of the agency, in whose charge the administration or custody of the properties which are to be registered is, provided that because of his office he exercises public authority or has the power to certify, shall issue a certification in which, referring to the inventories or the official documents which are in his possession, is included:
First.— The nature, location, surface measure, boundaries, name and real encumbrances on the properties or rights which he is attempting to record.
Second.— The legal kind, value, condition and encumbrances on the real right in question, and the nature, location and boundaries of the property on which it is imposed.
Third.— The name of the titleholder from whom the real estate or right was acquired, if it appears.
Fourth.— The length of time he has had possession of it, if it can be established exactly or approximately.
Fifth.— The public service or purpose for which the property was destined.
If some of this data is not available, it shall be so stated in the certification.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 250.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 123 - Concordance Between Record and Legal Reality; Registration of Property (§§ 2761 — 2777) › § 2776 - Double registration; procedures

If a person who has real estate property registered in his/her name believes that another registration entered under a different number refers to the same real estate property or to the same titleholder, he/she may request that the Registrar, after summoning all interested parties pursuant to the provisions of the Rules of Civil Procedure; and provided, that the identity of both real properties as a single real property can be proved, shall resolve which registration shall subsist, and proceed to cancel one of them.
However, in those cases in which all the interested parties are unable to agree, they shall have to resort to the Court of First Instance in order to resolve the controversy.
When double registration refers to different titleholders, the identity of the property and the best right to the real estate shall be resolved in a regular plenary suit ordered.
In both cases, cancellation of the corresponding registration shall be ordered.
When the Registrar finds that a real property appears to be registered more than once in behalf of the same titleholder, he/she shall notify this fact to the presenter and to the authorizing notary. If there is no encumbrance on either of the two real estate properties, the title holder shall file the corresponding petition with the Property Registrar, who shall resolve the issue at hand. Should there be an encumbrance upon either of the two real estate properties, the titleholder with right of ownership shall comply with the procedure established in the first paragraph of this section.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 251; Feb. 13, 1996, No. 4, §§ 1, 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 123 - Concordance Between Record and Legal Reality; Registration of Property (§§ 2761 — 2777) › § 2777 - Unrecorded documents; inadmissibility in judicial and administrative proceedings; exceptions

No document or legal instrument that has not been recorded in the Registry by which rights, subject to registration according to this subtitle, are constituted, conveyed, recognized, modified or extinguished shall be admitted in the courts or in those government bodies which exercise quasi-judicial powers.
Nevertheless, a document that is not recorded and should have been may be admitted in prejudice of a third party, if the purpose of the presentation is only to corroborate another later title which was recorded.
The document mentioned may also be admitted when a rectification is made in the Registry or when it is presented in order to request a statement of nullity and subsequent cancellation of an entry that prevents the registration of that document.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 252.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 125 - Registry Books and Repeals (§§ 2801 — 2802) › § 2801 - Books; closing, filing, transfer, restoration and issuance of certifications; applicable provisions

All that pertains to the closing and filing of Registry books existing in old accounting offices, annotating offices and mortgage-receiving offices, transfer of the Day Books, or operations of the different Registry sections to the general files, the issuing of certifications of these books, restoration of totally or partially deteriorated or destroyed books and the transfer of their entries, shall be provided by the Regulations approved by the Secretary.
The Regulations shall also provide for the filing and elimination of other Registry documents such as plans, deeds for the constitution of horizontal property, powers of attorney, certifications and others.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 253.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 4 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; General Provisions (§§ 2001 — 2821) › Chapter 125 - Registry Books and Repeals (§§ 2801 — 2802) › § 2802 - Repeals

The “Mortgage Law for Overseas Provinces”, approved on July 14, 1893, and the Regulations for its enforcement, approved on July 18, 1893, as both bodies of law have been amended, §§ 1-556, 621-777, 831-1465 and 1531-1644 of this title; Act No. 3, approved on September 2, 1955, as amended, sections 1748-1765 and 1768-1770 of this title, except § 19 concerning Registrar’s salaries, § 1766 of this title; Act of March 1, 1902, known as the Governmental Resources Act, as amended, §§ 1771-1779 of this title; Act No. 62, approved on July 21, 1923, as amended, §§ 215, 1723 and 1724 of this title, are hereby repealed.
No statute shall affect the provisions of this subtitle unless expressly so provided.
History —Mortgage Law, 1979, § 254.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 5 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; Additional Provisions (§§ 4001 — 5005) › Chapter 201 - Property Registrars (§§ 4001 — 4003) › § 4001 - Number of registrars

The Property Registry shall have twenty-eight (28) Registrars. The Secretary of Justice may increase their number up to a maximum of thirty-six (36), except in case a Registrar is appointed as Administrative Director, when their number may be increased to thirty-seven (37).
History —June 3, 1980, No. 86, p. 239, § 1; July 26, 1995, No. 87, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 5 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; Additional Provisions (§§ 4001 — 5005) › Chapter 201 - Property Registrars (§§ 4001 — 4003) › § 4002 - Salaries

The salary of the Property Registrars shall be equal to the salary established for the office of Superior Judge of the Court of First Instance. The annual salary of the Administrative Director of the Property Registry shall be five percent (5%) higher than the salary of the Property Registrars.
History —June 3, 1980, No. 86, p. 239, § 2; Sept. 16, 1983, No. 14, p. 381, § 1; July 9, 1986, No. 93, p. 299; Dec. 15, 1991, No. 90, § 1; Aug. 10, 1995, No. 152, § 1; July 23, 1998, No. 168, § 1, retroactive to July 1, 1998.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 5 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; Additional Provisions (§§ 4001 — 5005) › Chapter 201 - Property Registrars (§§ 4001 — 4003) › § 4002a - Leave

Property registrars have the right to accumulate and enjoy vacation and sick leave in accordance with the applicable norms for other employees of the Justice Department.
History —June 3, 1980, No. 86, p. 239, added as § 3 (second) on Dec. 13, 1990, No. 40, § 5.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 5 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; Additional Provisions (§§ 4001 — 5005) › Chapter 201 - Property Registrars (§§ 4001 — 4003) › § 4002b - Lump sum payment

Upon separation from service property registrars shall have a right to lump sum payment of accumulated sick and vacation leave in accordance with the provisions of § 703a of Title 3.
History —June 3, 1980, No. 86, p. 239, added as § 4 on Dec. 13, 1990, No. 40, § 5.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 5 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; Additional Provisions (§§ 4001 — 5005) › Chapter 201 - Property Registrars (§§ 4001 — 4003) › § 4003 - Funds

The funds needed to carry out the purposes of §§ 4001-4003 of this title shall be appropriated annually in the Regular Budget Joint Resolution.
History —June 3, 1980, No. 86, p. 239, § 3; Sept 16, 1983, No. 14, p. 381, § 2, eff. Oct. 1, 1983.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 5 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; Additional Provisions (§§ 4001 — 5005) › Chapter 202 - Computerized Registry System (§§ 5001 — 5005) › § 5001 - Regulations

The Secretary shall approve the regulations that are needed for the implementation of this chapter.
The operational regulations of the Computerized Registry System, approved on March 29, 1999 by the Secretary, shall be deemed to be an approved regulation for the purposes of §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3.
The Secretary shall hold public hearings before approving the regulations required for the implementation of this chapter, unless he approves them according to the immediate effectiveness procedure, in which case he shall hold them no later than thirty (30) days after the effective date of these regulations.
History —Feb. 17, 2000, No. 48, § 20, eff. 90 days after Feb. 17, 2000.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 5 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; Additional Provisions (§§ 4001 — 5005) › Chapter 202 - Computerized Registry System (§§ 5001 — 5005) › § 5002 - Personnel and their training

(a) The Secretary may hire all the personnel that is needed for the updating of the operations of the Property Registry and the implementation of the electronic information systems. The Secretary may recruit temporary personnel, on a full-time or part-time basis, by designation or through a professional services contract, for a term that shall not exceed one year, and only renewable for another term that shall not exceed one year.
(b) The Secretary may hire any person who is a pensioner from the Registry and, in his discretion, shall fix the term and remuneration of these persons, which shall not exceed the full-time eight (8) -hour working day nor the maximum salary corresponding to a full-time employee who performs the same task.
Every person hired by virtue of this section shall also receive the pension they are entitled to by virtue of the laws of Puerto Rico. To such effects, they are exempted from the application of § 792 of Title 3, and from Section 1 of Act No. 40 of June 15, 1959. The hiring of said persons shall not impair any benefit or vented right they enjoy as pensioners.
The time that the persons hired pursuant to this section spend working on tasks they are assigned thereof, shall not be computed for retirement purposes, nor shall any withholdings be made in that regard.
(c) In the case of persons who work in other agencies or public corporations of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Secretary may request the Governor to detach them temporarily to the Property Registry.
The Secretary shall authorize the personal training programs that are needed for the implementation of this chapter, which may include training outside of Puerto Rico for the supervisory personnel and the Property Registrars.
History —Feb. 17, 2000, No. 48, § 21, eff. 90 days after Feb. 17, 2000.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 5 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; Additional Provisions (§§ 4001 — 5005) › Chapter 202 - Computerized Registry System (§§ 5001 — 5005) › § 5004 - Interagency coordination

The Secretary of Justice and the Secretary of the Treasury shall establish a joint regulation for the electronic debiting of the filing fees.
The Secretary of Justice and the Secretary of the Treasury may contract the development and establishing of electronic systems with the Notarial Bond Fund of the Puerto Rico Bar Association, for the transfer of information, electronic presentation and registration of documents, and the debiting of the presentation, registration, and any others fees required for all the notaries of Puerto Rico in the public registries.
History —Feb. 17, 2000, No. 48, § 23, eff. 90 days after Feb. 17, 2000.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY - Mortgage Law and Regulations (§§ 1-5 — 5005) › Subtitle 5 - Mortgage and Property Registry Act of 1979; Additional Provisions (§§ 4001 — 5005) › Chapter 202 - Computerized Registry System (§§ 5001 — 5005) › § 5005 - Presentation of documents

The Secretary is hereby authorized to provide by regulations for the filing of documents through simultaneous electronic channels or in stages for all the sections of the Property Registry, as deemed convenient for the operation of the Registry.
History —Feb. 17, 2000, No. 48, § 24, eff. 90 days after Feb. 17, 2000.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 1 - Title

This act shall be known as “The Civil Code of Puerto Rico”.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 2 - Ignorance of law

Ignorance of the law does not excuse from compliance therewith.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 3 - Retroactive effect

Laws shall not have a retroactive effect unless they expressly so decree.
In no case shall the retroactive effect of a law operate to the prejudice of rights acquired under previous legislative action.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 4 - Acts contrary to law; renunciation of legal right

Acts executed contrary to the provisions of law are void except when the law preserves their validity.
Rights granted by the laws may be renounced, provided such renunciation be not contrary to law, to public interest or public order, or prejudicial to the interest of a third person.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 5 - Repeal of laws

Laws shall only be repealed by means of subsequent laws; and disuse, custom or practice to the contrary shall not impede their enforcement.
Laws may be repealed either entirely or in part by other laws.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 5.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 6 - Express or implied repeal; repeal of repealing act

The repeal is either express or implied. It is express when it is literally declared by a subsequent law; it is implied, when the new law contains provision either contrary to or irreconcilable with those of the former law. The repeal of a repealing act does not revive the act repealed.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 6.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 7 - Refusal of court to render decision; application of equity in absence of statute

Any court which shall refuse to render a decision on the pretext of silence, obscurity or unintelligibility of the laws, or for any other reason, shall be held liable therefor.
When there is no statute applicable to the case at issue, the court shall decide in accordance with equity, which means that natural justice, as embodied in the general principles of jurisprudence and in accepted and established usages and customs, shall be taken into consideration.
—Civil Code, 1930, § 7.
History
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 8 - Months, days, and nights defined

If in the laws, months, days, or nights are referred to, it shall be understood that the months consist of thirty days, the days of twenty-four hours, and the nights from the setting to the rising of the sun.
If the months are referred to by name, they shall be computed by the number of days which they respectively contain.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 8.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 9 - Law governing—Family rights and status of persons

The laws relating to family rights and obligations, or to the status, condition and legal capacity of persons, shall be binding upon the citizens of Puerto Rico, although they reside in a foreign country.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 9.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 10 - Law governing—Personal and real property

Personal property is subject to the laws of the nation of the owner thereof; real property to the laws of the country in which it is situated.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 10.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 11 - Law Governing—Contracts, wills, and other public instruments

The forms and solemnities of contracts, wills and other public instruments are governed by the laws of the country in which they are executed.
When such acts are authorized by diplomatic or consular officials of the United States abroad, the formalities established for their execution by the laws of the United States shall be observed.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 11.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 12 - Deficiencies in special laws

In matters which are the subject of special laws, any deficiency in such laws shall be supplied by the provisions of this title.
—Civil Code, 1930, § 12.
History
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 13 - Discrepancy between spanish and english texts

In case of discrepancy between the English and Spanish texts of a statute passed by the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the text in which the same originated in either house, shall prevail in the construction of said statute, except in the following cases: (a) If the statute is a translation or adaptation of a statute of the United States or of any State or Territory thereof, the English text shall be given preference over the Spanish. (b) If the statute is of Spanish origin, the Spanish text shall be preferred to the English. (c) If the matter of preference cannot be decided under the foregoing rules, the Spanish text shall prevail.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 13.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 14 - Letter of law observed if free from ambiguity

When a law is clear and free from all ambiguity, the letter of the same shall not be disregarded, under the pretext of fulfilling the spirit thereof.
—Civil Code, 1930, § 14.
History
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 15 - General and popular use of words

The words of a law shall generally be understood in their most usual signification, taking into consideration, not so much the exact grammatical rules governing the same, as their general and popular use. Nothing in the Teachers’ Retirement Act shows an intention to give to the word “widow” a meaning different from the usual one; since usually the word “widow” does not include her, a mistress does not have a right to the benefits provided for the widow of a retired teacher. 1958 Op. Sec. Jus. No. 69.
—Civil Code, 1930, § 15.
History
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 16 - Technical terms and phrases

Technical terms and phrases used in the arts and sciences shall be interpreted according to their received meaning and acceptation with the experts and authorities in the science, art or profession to which they refer.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 16.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 17 - Dubious words

When the words of a law are dubious, their meaning should be sought by examining and comparing the obscure expressions with other related words and sentences in an orderly manner, in order to ascertain their true meaning.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 17.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 18 - Laws referring to same matter

Laws which refer to the same matter, or whose object is the same, shall be interpreted with reference to each other, in order that what is clear in one may be employed for the purpose of explaining what is doubtful in another.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 18.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 19 - Reason, spirit, and motives of law

The most effectual and universal manner of discovering the true meaning of a law, when its expressions are dubious, is by considering the reason and spirit thereof, or the cause or motives which induced its enactment.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 19.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 20 - Laws declaring acts void

When, in order to prevent fraud or from other motives of public utility, the law declares certain acts void, its provisions shall not be dispensed with or left unperformed on the ground that the particular act in question has been proved not to be fraudulent or contrary to the public good.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 20.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 21 - Distinction of laws as odious or favorable

The distinction of laws into odious or favorable with a view of limiting or extending their provisions, shall not be made by those whose duty it is to interpret them.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 21.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THIRTY-ONE - Civil Code (§§ 1 — 5305) › Subtitle Preliminary - Subtitle Preliminary Provisions (§§ 1 — 23) › Chapter 1 - The Laws, Their Effects, and the General Rules for Their Application (§§ 1 — 23) › § 22 - Civil laws applied without distinction

Civil laws are equally applied to all without distinction of person or sex, except in the cases otherwise specially provided in the law.
History —Civil Code, 1930, § 22.