P.R. Laws tit. 5, § 216
Whenever a landholder voluntarily and gratuitously cedes a parcel of land to any farmhand, laborer or agricultural worker for the purpose of cultivating it, and of building his house thereon if he so wishes, except in case of an agreement to the contrary, the cession shall be understood to have been made for the time specified in § 203 of this title.
Provided, That in such case the farmer may exercise actions analogous to those provided for in benefit of the sharecropper; Provided, further, That no sharecropper or farmer included in this chapter may, by virtue of this occupation of the land, allege any right to the property of the landholder, or prescription against the rights of said landholder to the parcel or lands cultivated by said sharecropper or farmer, nor shall he have any rights other than those specifically granted him by this chapter and no sharecropper or farmer cultivating lands under the conditions prescribed in this chapter shall be allowed to challenge in any court the title of ownership of his landlord.
The landlord cannot judicially eject the farmer on the pretext of a strike, disagreement, or conflict, or of need of the land for agricultural or other purposes, before the harvest and complete utilization of such crop as the property may yield in one year or at one time, even though two or more years may elapse to obtain such crop. In case the landlord demands of the cropper the vacation of the property before the expiration of this term, the parties, or either of them, may refer the matter to the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources and to the Secretary of Agriculture. The decision of said Secretaries rendered after an investigation of the facts and a hearing of the interested parties shall be final and binding on the parties; Provided, That if in any case the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources and the Secretary of Agriculture fail to agree, the Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico shall act as the third referee, and such decision as they may render by majority vote shall be binding on all parties.
History —May 4, 1931, No. 76, p. 466, § 16; Apr. 25, 1940, No. 62, p. 446, § 1; Apr. 24, 1951, No. 124, p. 274, § 1.