• Learn about the real estate laws of Puerto Rico.Jerusalem Real Estate image by A74.FR Ben Fontaine from Fotolia.com
  
  The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is an official territory of the United States, but it is not an actual state, so the laws that govern real estate in Puerto Rico are unique to that country and do not have to follow real estate laws in the United States. The Puerto Rico Civil Code is responsible to governing real estate transactions and transfers in Puerto Rico. As a result, those buying or selling real estate in Puerto Rico who are not residents of that country must take certain laws into consideration before completing the transaction. Fortunately, real estate laws in Puerto Rico are not necessarily complicated, but it is important to understand the rules before making any real estate decisions.
  
  

Jurisdiction

• The buying, selling and any other transference of real property in Puerto Rico belongs falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of that country and its legal system. In other words, when someone from a country other than Puerto Rico purchases or sells real property in Puerto Rico, he or she is acknowledging the laws in Puerto Rico. Should that individual attempt to transfer the property in Puerto Rico according to the laws or his or her own country, those laws become null in Puerto Rico, and the transference of the property falls to the Puerto Rican courts for the final decision. For instance, if a property owner dies and delineates the transfer of Puerto Rican property in a will, the transfer must first go through the courts in Puerto Rico to be reviewed and completed.
  
  

Purchase and Ownership

• Individuals may own real estate in Puerto Rico as long as they register their ownership of the property with the Property Register of Puerto Rico. This register delineates official ownership to the person(s) listed. Any other person, including a spouse, is not considered an owner if not officially named. (Property registered in the names of both spouses, however, is community property and must be sold or transferred only with the permission of both parties.) Corporations, on the other hand, are heavily limited in their legal ability to buy and sell real estate. According to the Puerto Rican Constitution, corporations are allowed to purchase real estate when it "may be reasonably necessary to enable it to carry out the purposes for which it was created." In other words, the corporation may participate in real estate transactions that pertain to the business. Corporations may not buy and sell property as pure income, however, and individuals may not set up corporations just to buy and sell property. Any corporations that exist and function outside of Puerto Rico are under the same legal obligation.
  
  

Inheritance

• Real estate inheritance in Puerto Rico once again falls under Puerto Rican law instead of under any foreign laws that may apply to the deceased. (This is not the case for personal property, such as the actual items within the real property, which fall to the law of the country where the deceased resided.) Puerto Rico applies a "forced heirship" of real estate to the closest family members, regardless of the nationality or residency of the deceased. The forced heirship gives one-third of the value of the real property to the immediate heirs, with the second third of the estate distributed according to the will and the final third is distributed as the testator sees fit. This distribution of real property after a death applies regardless of a will and regardless of foreign laws.