P.R. Laws tit. 17, § 758
Title shall be granted to occupants through certification issued by the Secretary of Housing in which shall appear the name of the acquirer, the time of occupancy of the lot, the date of conveyance, the area and description of the lot, the note of its entry in the Property Registry and any other information the Secretary of Housing may deem pertinent and necessary. The acquirers shall use the property as their main residence. Any person or family to whom a title deed has been granted for the amount of one dollar ($1), pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, and sells or transfers the title on or before the ten (10)-year period since the granting, shall return seventy-five percent (75%) of the value of the lot to the Department of Housing at the time of sale. The term sale includes other forms of transfer such as exchange, encumbrance, lease, mortgage or offering surety by using the property as collateral. Such amount shall be returned at the time of the transaction to the official who appears at the sale on behalf of the Department of Housing, who shall be responsible for receiving the corresponding amount outright. Those persons or families that have been exempted by the Secretary are the only ones to be excepted from compliance with the obligations set forth in this chapter. The exemption granted by the Secretary shall be made through written certification attesting compliance with any of the circumstances listed further below. This restrictive clause shall be included in all certifications issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and shall be extended to the legal heirs of the acquirer. Provided, That Property Registrars shall register said certification or sales deed and record the title in favor of the acquirer free of charge.
The Department of Housing shall exempt those persons or families from the payment of said money for the sale or transfer (mortgage, sureties, lease or encumbrance) of the lot before the established ten (10)-year period for any of the following reasons:
(1) Divorce. — When one of the spouses assigns his/her participation in the lot to the other party who shall acquire the corresponding share of the lot with the same restrictions as the assignor and shall have the duty of complying with said restrictions as an agreement in their divorce without receiving money or goods in exchange.
(2) Inheritance. — If the property is acquired from the deceased owner, who bequeathed it to his/her dependents or legatees, who shall acquire the lot with the same restrictions imposed on the deceased and shall be bound to comply therewith.
(3) Serious or terminal disease, as certified by a doctor to that effect. — Provided, That the disease suffered by the owner or its dependents who live together in the same lot, compels them to sell or transfer the lot in order to obtain medical treatment.
(4) To take on mortgage loans so as to conduct property improvements, without leaving a surplus.
(5) Any other situation that the Secretary may deem meritorious.
Any person who shall be exempted from the aforementioned reasons shall not be entitled to benefit once again from the program established under the Dwellings Located on Another’s Land Act. The money recovered shall be used for the present Housing Rehabilitation Program of the Department.
History —July 1, 1975, No. 132, p. 388, § 8; Aug. 6, 2008, No. 175, § 1.