P.R. Laws tit. 21, § 5114

2019-02-20 00:00:00+00
§ 5114. Redemption—Procedure and term

Except for what is provided in § 5109 of this title, the person who on the date of the sale is the owner of any real assets that are later sold to another natural or juridical person or to the Collection Center for the payment of taxes, or any person, or his/her heirs or assigns, who on the date of the sale has any right or interest in the same, may redeem them within the term of one year from the date the certificate of purchase is issued, by paying to the Collection Center or its [representative], or to the purchaser, heirs or assigns, the total amount of the purchase value plus the improvements and expenses incurred by the buyer, together with the costs accrued and taxes due up to the date of the redemption, to which twenty percent (20%) of all of the preceding shall be added as compensation to the buyer. When payment of said amounts is verified, the person who redeems the property shall be entitled to receive from the buyer, or his/her heirs or assigns, said purchase certificate, on the back of which shall be issued in due form and before a notary public the receipt of the money paid, and the person who redeems the property shall pay the notary public’s fee. The certificate duly issued on the back of the purchase certificate, or in lieu thereof; the certificate from the Collection Center prescribed below, will have the effect of a letter of payment of all claims of the Collection Center on the property title of the real estate property sold because, or by virtue of said auction for the payment of unpaid taxes and cancellation of the purchase certificate. If the property has been adjudicated to the Collection Center, once the amounts indicated above have been paid, the Collection Center shall issue a certificate for the Property Registry, attesting to the redemption and ordering that the aforesaid be recorded in the Property Registry cancelling the purchase in its favor. The person who redeems the property may cause said letter of payment, or in lieu thereof, the Collection Center certificate, to be duly registered in the Property Registry against the purchase certificate through the payment of the registration cost required by the Registrar. The property thus redeemed will continue to be subject to all encumbrances and legal claims against it other than taxes, to the same extent and manner as if said property had not been sold for the payment of taxes. When the property redeemed by a mortgage creditor the money paid by the aforesaid to redeem the property shall be accumulated to its mortgage credit and may be recovered at the same rate of interest accrued by the mortgage credit. When the ten[a]nt or lessee redeems the property, he/she may deduct the total of said redemption from the rent payable. Except as provided by § 5109 of this title, when the property has been adjudicated to the Collection Center, the aforesaid may agree, at its discretion, or after a year has elapsed from the date of issue of the sale certificate, to the redemption of the aforesaid by any person entitled to redeem the aforesaid within that year, provided that when the redemption is requested, the property is not being used by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and has not been sold, transferred or conveyed [by] lease [to] the Collection Center, or the remainder of the proceeds [of] the auction has not been delivered, and provided that the person who requests the redemption previously deposits at the Collection Center the total amount of the taxes to be collected at auction plus the improvements and expenses incurred by the Collection Center together with all the accrued costs and the taxes that would have been levied on the property had the same continued in the possession of any taxpayer, with its surcharges and interest, plus twenty percent (20%) of the preceding [sic] as a penalty. In these cases, once the Collection Center has agreed to the redemption, a certificate of redemption shall be issued and the sale shall be cancelled in the Property Registry in the same manner described in this section for cases of redemption within the year.

History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 83, § 4.14.