In short
The section closing the services chapter has three short articles and one important difference from the neighbouring chapter. Article 1387 lists two causes of ineffectiveness, and only two: where the death of the principal makes the provision of the services impossible or useless, and where the principal has not agreed to continue the contract with the provider’s heirs. The works chapter has four causes — including supervening impossibility not attributable to either party and destruction of the work; this chapter does not write them, and this guide does not add them. Article 1388 says what is then paid: in cases of ineffectiveness the principal must pay, in proportion to the price, the services already provided. And Article 1389 is the one worth reading slowly before cancelling: the principal may unilaterally rescind the contract of services, even though execution has begun; however, it must pay the provider the expenses it has incurred, the work done and the profit it could have obtained. That third item — the profit it could have obtained — does not appear in the equivalent works article, which orders payment only of expenses and work done. Two consecutive chapters with two different bills, and this guide reports each text as written without harmonising them. What these articles do not say, and neither does this guide: how that profit is computed, with how much notice or in what form the rescission is made, or whether the provider has an equivalent right to walk away.
What is it?
They are Articles 1387 to 1389 of the Civil Code of 2020: the two causes by which a services contract becomes ineffective, what is paid in those cases, and the principal’s unilateral rescission with its three items.
Who can do it?
Principals wishing to cancel a service and providers affected by that cancellation, under the Puerto Rico Civil Code; also the provider’s heirs.
Requirements
- For cause (a): that the principal’s death make the provision of the services impossible or useless.Verified against the official source
- For cause (b): that the principal has not agreed to continue the contract with the provider’s heirs.Verified against the official source
- For unilateral rescission: to pay the provider the expenses incurred, the work done and the profit it could have obtained.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: The two causes of ineffectiveness
Article 1387: where the death of the principal makes the provision of the services impossible or useless, and where the principal has not agreed to continue the contract with the provider’s heirs. Two, and the article writes no more.
Step 2: The principal’s death is not enough by itself
Cause (a) is conditioned: that death must make the provision impossible or useless. The article does not say every services contract dies with the principal.
Step 3: This chapter has fewer causes than the works one
The works chapter adds supervening impossibility for causes not attributable to either party, and destruction or deterioration of the work. The services chapter does not write them. This guide flags that and does not import them.
Step 4: What is paid if the contract becomes ineffective
Article 1388, one line: in cases of ineffectiveness the principal must pay, in proportion to the price, the services already provided.
Step 5: Cancellation at the client’s will
Article 1389: the principal may unilaterally rescind the contract of services, even though execution has begun. No reason is needed and the article sets no period.
Step 6: But the bill has three items
The same article: it must pay the provider the expenses it has incurred, the work done and the profit it could have obtained. That third one surprises many people.
Step 7: The difference from the works contract is literal
The equivalent article in the works chapter orders payment of the expenses incurred and the work done, and stops there. Here the profit that could have been obtained is added. Two consecutive chapters, two different bills; this guide does not equate them.
Step 8: How that profit is computed: the Code does not say
There is no formula, no percentage and no cap. This guide publishes none, and distrusts any figure quoted without saying where it comes from.
Step 9: And may the provider walk away?
The article writes the faculty for the principal. It gives the provider no equivalent right, and this guide does not invent one; other exits would have to be sought in the general contract rules, with their own guides.
Where to do it
Rescission is exercised by the principal against the provider; the Code orders no permission from any agency or court. If the amount is disputed — the profit above all — the Court of First Instance decides. What passes to heirs is governed by the succession rules, which we did not read here.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
If what you contracted was a work rather than a service, unilateral rescission lives in the works chapter and only requires paying expenses and work done. If your contract is a consumer one, consumer statutes may give different cancellation rights, with their own guides, which we did not read here. If the contract had no term, see the definition guide first, because the chapter then points to supply provisions. These articles do not say how the profit is computed, fix no notice or form for rescinding, and give the provider no equivalent right. MiPRFácil does not represent anyone in court and gives no legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Cancelling a service believing only the work done is paid: the profit the provider could have obtained is paid too.
- Applying the works rule to services, which orders payment only of expenses and work done.
- Treating the contract as ended because the principal died: that death must make the provision impossible or useless.
- Believing the provider’s heirs continue automatically: the article speaks of the principal agreeing to continue.
- Adding causes of ineffectiveness this chapter does not write, such as destruction or supervening impossibility.
- As the principal, not paying in proportion to the price for the services already provided when the contract becomes ineffective.
- As the provider, not documenting the expenses incurred or the work done.
- Quoting a profit percentage: the Code publishes none.
- As the provider, believing you have the same unilateral rescission faculty: the article writes it for the principal.
Frequently asked questions
I want to cancel a service already begun. May I?
Article 1389 lets the principal rescind unilaterally even though execution has begun, but they must pay the provider the expenses incurred, the work done and the profit it could have obtained.
Must the profit they never made really be paid?
That is what the article says: "the profit it could have obtained". It is the difference from the works contract, whose equivalent article orders payment only of expenses and work done. The Code does not say how it is computed.
The provider died. Do their heirs continue?
Article 1387(b) contemplates the principal agreeing to continue with the heirs; if no agreement is reached, the contract becomes ineffective.
What is paid if the contract becomes ineffective?
Article 1388: in proportion to the price, the services already provided.
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 9, 2026
MiPRFácil is an independent informational website and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the Government of Puerto Rico or any government agency.
MiPRFácil does not submit applications on your behalf.
Was this guide helpful?
Did you find out-of-date information?
The services contract, and how it differs from a contract for works
The provider supplies a service, without being subordinate, for a price. It is agreed for a set time; if not, supply-contract rules apply.
Services contract: what the client owes and what the provider owes
Two duties for the principal and four for the provider, including the ordinary materials and a reasonable time where none was agreed.
Getting out of a works contract: the 20%, the five days, and what you pay
If necessary changes raise the price by 20%, the principal may rescind — but only within five days. And they may always cancel by paying for work done.
The work collapsed, someone died, or it became impossible: what gets paid
Where the contract fails, the principal pays for usable materials and the proportional value of what was executed. With its own rules if the work is destroyed.
Cancelling a contract the same way you signed it
Act 132-2015 requires an adhesion contract to be terminable the same way it began, and that you be told the cancellation routes before signing.
What is claimed when someone breaches: loss suffered and gain not made
A good-faith debtor answers for what was foreseeable at contracting; one who breaches wilfully, for everything. On money debts, interest.