P.R. Laws tit. 28, § 553c
The Housing Development and Improvements Administration shall have the authority to cancel the usufruct contract of those parcels on which the usufructuary has built structures, when said parcel, as well as said structures or improvements, has been in a state of abandonment for one year or more, after officers of the agency have been unsuccessful in finding the usufructuary to show cause as to why the usufruct contract should not be cancelled. The Executive Director of the Housing Development and Improvements Administration, in such cases, shall authorize the publication of edicts, under his signature, summoning the absent usufructuaries; Provided, That within a term of fifteen (15) days, said edicts shall be published once a week in a newspaper of general circulation in Puerto Rico, and it shall simultaneously authorize the posting of edicts within the same period of time, in two (2) public places nearby or close to where the parcel is located.
Copy of the published edict shall be sent by registered mail to the usufructuary’s last known address. After fifteen (15) days have elapsed from the publication of the last edict, the usufructuary must appear, personally or through counsel, before the Executive Director of the Housing Development and Improvements Administration or the person whom he delegates, to show cause as to why his usufruct contract should not be cancelled. The determination of the Executive Director is appealable to the Secretary of Housing; the final determination of the Secretary is reviewable by the Court of First Instance of Puerto Rico within ten (10) days after notice of the decision is received. The Secretary of Housing shall adopt, by regulation, a speedy procedure for the holding of the administrative hearing, with the guarantees of due process of law. If the usufructuary fails to appear, the improvements shall be appraised and they shall be sold to the person who is eligible for the concession of the usufruct; Provided, That the amount of money obtained through the sale of the improvements shall be deposited in a reserve fund created for such purposes, to be delivered to the owner of the structure, if the latter requests it, within a term of five (5) years. In the event that no claim is made within the above prescribed period, said money shall be covered into the funds of Title V.
History —Apr. 12, 1941, No. 26, p. 388, added as § 76-C on June 24, 1977, No. 105, p. 265, § 2.