P.R. Laws tit. 23, § 6873
(a) Assessments on a unit, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, shall constitute a statutory lien on said unit, which shall have priority over any other liens on the property, regardless of their nature or whether the unit has been encumbered before or after any assessment is made, except that the same shall be less than:
(1) The fiscal lien that secures transferred delinquent tax debts pursuant to the provisions of §§ 5921 et seq. of Title 21, better known as the “Tax Debts Sale Act.”
(2) The lien related to the assessments on property imposed under §§ 5001 et seq. of Title 21, better known as the “Municipal Property Tax Act of 1991,” or any successor law.
(3) Any lien on account of imposts for benefits established in a Tourism Improvement District, as defined under §§ 6601 et seq. of Title 21, better known as the “Tourism Improvement District Act of 1998,” or any successor law.
(4) Any lien on account of a special tax imposed on a Commercial Improvement District or Residential Improvement Zone established under §§ 4001 et seq. of Title 21, better known as the “Autonomous Municipalities Act of 1991.”
(5) Any tacit statutory lien that secures the payment of any imposts for benefits used to finance a public structure.
(6) Any liens constituted prior to the date of effectiveness of this act.
(b) After the first sale, the voluntary acquirer of a unit shall be severally liable, together with the seller, for the payment of any sums related to assessments owed by the latter until the time of transfer, without impairment of the acquirer’s right to file a claim against the other party to the sale for the amounts he/she has paid as a joint debtor. However, an involuntary acquirer shall only be liable for assessments that have arisen and have not been paid during the eighteen (18) months preceding the unit’s acquisition without impairment of the acquirer’s right to file a claim against the other party to the sale for the amounts he/she has paid as a joint debtor. For purposes of this chapter, an involuntary acquirer shall be deemed to be a creditor whose fundamental interest is not to become the owner of the unit, but rather to protect a financial claim usually constituted prior to debt accrual on account of assessments on the unit.
(c) The lien for assessments shall be enforceable against any person who is the unit’s owner, even if the same is not recorded in the Property Registry.
(d) Owners shall be delinquent if they do not pay assessments within thirty (30) days as of their due date. After said thirty (30) days have elapsed, the owner shall be notified in writing and he/she shall have fifteen (15) days to remit his/her payment. If such fifteen (15) days elapse and no payment is received from the owner, the agent authorized by the tourist residential project shall collect, as part of the assessments, any interest on the amount owed at the rate specified in the constituent documents in question, or in its default, at an annual rate of ten percent (10%), as of the date fixed for payment. Such additional sum on account of interest shall be collected together with the principal of the assessments that gave rise to such interest, as well as any demand for payment costs, if any. As soon as owners incur delinquency, and after such fifteen (15) days have elapsed, the tourist residential project, through its agent, may immediately seize the unit and any owner’s personal or real property in an amount sufficient to cover the payment owed, and shall, within ten (10) days of the attachment, notify such attachment in writing to the owner of the seizure instituted. Such notice shall be sent to such owner’s last known address according to any available records. If the owner believes that there were irregularities in the notice of assessment or in the notice of attachment by the tourist residential project’s agent, he/she may file a petition for review before the Court of First Instance of Puerto Rico within the inextensible term of thirty (30) days from the date the notice of attachment is received, if he/she is a resident of Puerto Rico, and within the inextensible term of forty-five (45) days if he/she is not a resident of Puerto Rico. If the owner fails to file a petition for such review, the tourist residential project or its agent shall then proceed, as soon as possible, to sell the property thus seized at public auction in order to collect assessments, including fees, costs, and interest, as of the thirty-first day from the date of the notice of attachment. The sale shall be carried out in the manner prescribed in §§ 5103 and 5105 of Title 21, better known as the “Municipal Property Tax Act of 1991.”
History —Dec. 16, 2009, No. 172, § 5.