Usucapión in Puerto Rico: acquiring property by possession, and getting the title

Usucapión comes from the Latin usus (use) and capĕre (to take), and means acquiring ownership of property by having possessed it under the conditions and for the period the law establishes, without the previous owner having legally claimed it. There are two kinds. Ordinary is possession with good faith and just title: good faith is the belief that you received the property from its owner, who could transfer it, and just title is the legal transaction transferring ownership. Extraordinary is possession in bad faith — knowing the property is not yours — and without just title; the Judiciary’s example is someone who enters land they know is not theirs, builds a house, puts up a fence and stays to live there.

Private property can be acquired by usucapión, both that of private persons and that of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, its agencies, municipalities and instrumentalities. The private property of the United States federal government cannot be acquired by usucapión, nor can property of public use, such as streets, sidewalks and parks. For movable property, anyone who stole, robbed or unlawfully appropriated an item cannot acquire it by usucapión, and neither can their accomplice or accessory.

• Possessing the property civilly: behaving as if you were the owner, doing things like building, making improvements, putting up fences or identifying yourself as owner to the community.Verified against the official source
• That the possession be public: that the people around — neighbours and relatives — know it and recognize you as owner.Verified against the official source
• That the possession be uninterrupted. It is interrupted if you stop possessing the property for more than 1 year; if you receive a summons or demand from a judicial proceeding against you related to the property, brought by the owner; or if you acknowledge the owner’s rights.Verified against the official source
• That the possession be peaceful. If violence is used to acquire or keep possession, that time does not count toward usucapión: only the time from when the violence ceases is counted.Verified against the official source
• That the property be capable of usucapión: private property of individuals or of the Commonwealth, its agencies, municipalities and instrumentalities. Not the private property of the US federal government, nor public-use property such as streets, sidewalks and parks.Verified against the official source

• The Judiciary’s page publishes no document list for the declaratory usucapión action: it states you must evidence the usucapión requirements before the court.

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   Step 1: Check the property can be usucaped

   Private property can be acquired by usucapión, both that of individuals and that of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, its agencies, municipalities and instrumentalities. The private property of the US federal government cannot be usucaped, nor can public-use property such as streets, sidewalks or parks. And for movable property, anyone who stole, robbed or unlawfully appropriated it cannot acquire it by usucapión, nor can their accomplice or accessory.

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   Step 2: Review the four possession requirements

   Civil: behaving as owner, with acts such as building, making improvements, putting up fences or identifying yourself as owner to the community. Public: that neighbours and relatives know it and recognize you as owner. Uninterrupted: it is interrupted if you stop possessing for more than 1 year, if you receive a summons or judicial demand from the owner related to the property, or if you acknowledge that person’s rights. And peaceful: if violence was used to acquire or keep possession, that time does not count and only time from when the violence ceases is counted.

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   Step 3: Determine whether your usucapión is ordinary or extraordinary

   Ordinary is possession with good faith and just title. Good faith is the belief that you received the property from its owner, who could transfer it; just title is the legal transaction by which ownership is transferred. Extraordinary is possession in bad faith, knowing the property is not yours, and without just title. How many years you need depends on this classification.

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   Step 4: Count the years: the key date is 28 November 2020

   Ordinary usucapión: if possession began on or after 28 November 2020, 2 years for movable property and 10 years for real property. If it began before that date, 3 years for movable, and for real property 10 years where the previous owner has been outside Puerto Rico, up to a maximum of 20 years where they were outside for the entire possession period. Extraordinary usucapión: if possession began on or after 28 November 2020, 4 years for movable and 20 years for real property. If it began before, 6 years for movable and 30 years for real property.

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   Step 5: Once the term is complete, you are already the owner

   On completing the term, the person is legally considered the owner of the property without needing to take any further step. That happens by operation of law, not through any procedure you have to complete. What is missing is the paper.

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   Step 6: If you want the document: declaratory usucapión action

   If you want a document proving you are the owner, you can go to court and file a declaratory usucapión action. Once you evidence the requirements, the court will issue a judgment declaring you the owner of the property by usucapión. In that same petition you can ask the court to order registration of the property in the Property Registry.

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   Step 7: If the problem is the property is unregistered: expediente de dominio

   An expediente de dominio is the judicial process declaring who owns a property and correcting any error about it in the Property Registry. The Judiciary’s example: a couple who owned a parcel wanted a mortgage loan and found the parcel was not registered; although they had the public deed of sale, the Registry told them that to assign it a number and register it for the first time — to immatriculate it — a court resolution stating they hold the property right was needed. They filed a petition for an expediente de dominio.

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   Step 8: If the problem is different, there is a different suit

   The Judiciary names several processes and they are not interchangeable. The interdicto posesorio is a writ to retain or recover possession of real property when you have been disturbed in it; it is summary and protects the fact of possession, not ownership. Eviction is for the owner or titleholder with a right to possess to remove someone staying without right. The acción reivindicatoria is brought by the owner against whoever unlawfully possesses the property to recover physical holding, and is generally used in complex cases where the faster summary procedures are unavailable. The acción de deslinde applies when the boundaries between two parcels are confused: a survey is done and, once the limits are fixed, markers can be placed. And expropriation is the State’s power to acquire private property for public purposes with just compensation.

Before the Court of First Instance, filing the declaratory usucapión action or, depending on the case, the expediente de dominio, the interdicto posesorio, the acción reivindicatoria or the acción de deslinde. Registration is ordered for the Property Registry.

• Using the old terms: they changed on 28 November 2020, and which applies depends on when possession began.
• Believing living there is enough: you must possess civilly, behaving as owner, and be recognized as such by the community.
• Leaving the property alone for more than a year: that interrupts possession.
• Ignoring a summons or judicial demand from the owner related to the property: receiving it interrupts possession.
• Acknowledging the previous owner’s rights in writing without realizing that also interrupts possession.
• Trying to usucape a street, sidewalk, park or private property of the federal government: it cannot be done.
• Thinking you must go to court to acquire: once the term is complete you are already the owner; the declaratory action is only to have the document and register it.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico

  Poder Judicial

  poderjudicial.pr

• Judiciary — Eviction

  Poder Judicial

  poderjudicial.pr