In short
Antichresis is the real right constituted to secure an obligation by which the creditor acquires the right to receive the fruits of an immovable of their debtor, with the obligation to apply them to paying the interest, if any is owed, and then the principal of their credit. That order and no other: interest first, then capital. In exchange for collecting from the fruits, the creditor assumes four duties over the property, absent agreement otherwise: paying the taxes and charges on it, making the necessary expenses for its conservation and repair, administering it diligently, and rendering accounts of the administration so as to apply the proceeds to what is owed; and the sums spent on those duties are deducted from the fruits. The debtor may not reacquire the enjoyment of the immovable without first paying the whole debt, but the Code leaves an asymmetric exit worth knowing before signing: the creditor, to free themselves from those duties, may always compel the debtor to re-enter the enjoyment of the property, absent agreement otherwise. The contracting parties may agree to set off the debt’s interest against the fruits. And antichresis is extinguished by extinction of the secured obligation and by the causes of extinction of the real right.
What is it?
It is Chapter IV of Title VII of Book Three of the Civil Code of 2020, Articles 1017 to 1021. It is the third real guarantee the Code regulates, alongside pledge and mortgage, and the least known: here the creditor does not wait to foreclose, they collect by harvesting.
Who can do it?
It falls on an immovable of the debtor that produces fruits. Like any real guarantee, the general provisions of Chapter I of the same title reach it, including the prohibition on the creditor appropriating the asset outside an execution.
Requirements
- That the asset be immovable and the debtor’s, and that it produce fruits.Verified against the official source
- Applying the fruits first to paying the interest, if any is owed, and then to the principal.Verified against the official source
- For the debtor to reacquire enjoyment of the immovable, having first paid the whole debt.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: What it is
Article 1017 defines it as the real right constituted to secure an obligation by which the creditor acquires the right to receive the fruits of an immovable of their debtor, with the obligation to apply them to paying the interest, if any is owed, and then the principal of their credit. The debt is not collected by selling the property: it is collected from what the property produces.
Step 2: The order of application is not a choice
Article 1017 itself fixes it: interest first, if any is owed, and then the principal. A creditor may not apply the fruits to the principal so as to leave the interest running.
Step 3: What the creditor takes on in exchange
Article 1018 imposes four duties over the property, absent agreement otherwise: paying the taxes and charges on it; making the necessary expenses for its conservation and repair; administering it diligently; and rendering accounts of the administration so as to apply the proceeds to what is owed. Receiving the fruits is not free.
Step 4: And where that money comes from
The final paragraph of Article 1018 settles it: the sums spent on performing these duties are deducted from the fruits. The creditor does not put money in at a loss; they deduct it from what they harvest, which is why the accounts in subsection (d) matter so much.
Step 5: When you get the property back, and the asymmetry of Article 1019
Article 1019 has two halves worth reading together. The first: the debtor may not reacquire the enjoyment of the immovable without first paying the whole debt to the creditor. The second shifts the balance: but the creditor, to free themselves from the duties the preceding article imposes, may always compel the debtor to re-enter the enjoyment of the property, absent agreement otherwise. The debtor cannot get out whenever they wish; the creditor can hand the property back whenever they wish.
Step 6: Setting off the interest can be agreed
Article 1020 allows it in one line: the contracting parties may agree to set off the debt’s interest against the fruits of the property subject to the antichresis. It is an agreement, not the default rule.
Step 7: How it ends
Article 1021 says it briefly: antichresis is extinguished by extinction of the secured obligation and by the causes of extinction of the real right. Once the debt is paid, it is over.
Step 8: What still applies from the general chapter
Antichresis is a real security right, so the general provisions of Chapter I of the same title reach it: the creditor may not appropriate or dispose of the encumbered asset except by acquiring it through the corresponding execution, and any agreement to the contrary is null and treated as unwritten. Receiving the fruits does not make them the owner.
Where to do it
It is a transaction between the parties; claims about the accounts, the administration or the return of the property go before the Court of First Instance. The Civil Code designates no agency to administer them.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
If the asset is movable, the figure is the pledge; if it is immovable and stays with the debtor without the creditor receiving its fruits, it is a mortgage. This chapter says nothing about recording an antichresis in the Property Registry: how rights over immovables are made effective against third parties lives in the real-property registry legislation, which we did not read. Nor does it explain the general rules on rendering accounts that Article 1018(d) presupposes. The Code publishes no cost and no term, so this guide gives none. MiPRFácil does not represent anyone in court and gives no legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Applying the fruits to the principal while leaving interest running: the order is interest first.
- Believing the creditor receives the fruits free of burdens: they pay taxes, conserve, administer and render accounts.
- Forgetting that what they spend on those duties is deducted from the fruits.
- Thinking the debtor can get the property back by paying part: the whole debt is needed.
- Not anticipating that the creditor may hand the property back whenever they wish to shed their duties.
- Taking the set-off of interest against fruits for granted: it must be agreed.
- Assuming that receiving the fruits makes the creditor owner: they cannot appropriate the asset outside an execution.
Frequently asked questions
Who pays the property taxes?
The creditor, absent agreement otherwise. Article 1018 obliges them to pay the taxes and charges on the property, make the necessary conservation and repair expenses, administer it diligently and render accounts. What they spend is deducted from the fruits.
When do I get my property back?
When you have paid the whole debt: Article 1019 does not allow reacquiring enjoyment before that. Watch the article’s other half: the creditor, to shed their duties, may always compel you to re-enter the enjoyment of the property, absent agreement otherwise.
Do the fruits pay interest or principal first?
Interest, if any is owed, and then the principal. Article 1017 fixes it that way.
Does the creditor keep the property if I do not pay?
Not outside an execution. Antichresis is a real security right, and Article 998 forbids the creditor to appropriate or dispose of the encumbered asset except by acquiring it through the corresponding execution; any agreement to the contrary is null.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico
Poder Judicial
bvirtualogp.pr.gov
Last verified
September 7, 2026
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Putting an asset up as security for a debt: the common rules
The creditor may not keep the asset outside an execution, and any agreement saying otherwise is null and treated as unwritten.
The pledge: leaving a movable asset as security for a debt
The creditor retains it until paid and may not use it without permission. To sell it: a notary, a public auction and summons to the debtor.
What the Civil Code says about the mortgage
Without recording in the Registry it is not validly constituted, unless the law recognizes it as tacit. The rest is governed by registry law.
What the holder of a usufruct may do
They receive all the fruits, may lease the asset, transfer their right and mortgage it, but what they sign ends when the usufruct ends.
Challenging your property tax assessment
Thirty days to ask CRIM for review, but you must pay 100% of what you accept and 40% of what you dispute. CRIM answers within sixty days.
Prescription: how long they can collect from you or sue you
Personal actions prescribe in 4 years and damages in 1 year from learning who caused them. Acknowledging the debt restarts the clock.
What an obligation is and where it comes from
Six sources, and the list stays open. Whoever performs knowing they were not bound cannot demand it back.