In short
While the inheritance is undivided, each heir has a quota and nobody yet has a specific good. From that come two rules Article 1604 places one after the other, and which should not be mixed. The first: the heir may dispose of their quota in the inheritance without the consent of the other co-heirs being necessary. Your fraction is yours and you may sell, assign or give it without asking anyone’s permission. The second says the opposite for something else: only by the consent of all the heirs may specific goods belonging to the community be alienated. That is, selling the house, the car or the land of the inheritance requires everyone, without exception. The line is not drawn by the size of the share, it is drawn by what is being sold. Article 1605 adds a brake in the family’s favour: the co-heir may exercise the right of tanteo if one of the co-heirs decides to alienate their quota to a stranger, and they have thirty days to exercise their right. Note the trigger, because it is narrow: “to a stranger”. As written, a sale between co-heirs does not open this tanteo. And if several want to exercise it at once, the second paragraph divides: when two or more co-heirs exercise their right of tanteo, they may only do so pro rata of the portion they have in the hereditary community. What these two articles do not say is as much as what they do: they do not define who is a stranger, do not say from when the thirty days run, do not say how the co-heirs are notified or in what form the tanteo is exercised, do not say what price the exerciser pays, and do not say what happens if the sale goes ahead without being offered. None of that is in the text and this guide does not fill it in.
What is it?
They are Articles 1604 and 1605 of the Civil Code of 2020: when the other heirs’ consent is needed to sell, and the thirty-day right of tanteo over a co-heir’s quota.
Who can do it?
Whoever wants to sell their share of an undivided inheritance, and whoever inherits alongside them.
Requirements
- The heir may dispose of their quota in the inheritance without the other co-heirs’ consent being necessary.Verified against the official source
- Only by the consent of all the heirs may specific goods belonging to the community be alienated.Verified against the official source
- The co-heir may exercise the tanteo if another decides to alienate their quota to a stranger, and has thirty days to do so.Verified against the official source
- If two or more co-heirs exercise it, they may only do so pro rata of the portion they hold in the hereditary community.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: Your quota is yours
Article 1604, first paragraph: the heir may dispose of their quota in the inheritance without the other co-heirs’ consent being necessary.
Step 2: A specific good is not
Second paragraph: only by the consent of all the heirs may specific goods belonging to the community be alienated. All of them, without exception.
Step 3: Where the line falls
It is not drawn by how much is yours, but by what is sold: a fraction of the whole, or a determined thing of the estate.
Step 4: If a co-heir sells to a stranger
Article 1605: the co-heir may exercise the right of tanteo. The sale of the quota remains free, but the family has preference.
Step 5: The trigger is narrow
The article says “to a stranger”. As written, a sale between co-heirs does not open this tanteo, and this guide does not extend the case.
Step 6: Thirty days
The same article: they have thirty days to exercise their right. The Code does not say here from what moment they start running.
Step 7: If several want to exercise it
Second paragraph: when two or more co-heirs exercise their right of tanteo, they may only do so pro rata of the portion they hold in the hereditary community.
Step 8: It is not the Code’s general tanteo
The right of tanteo of Articles 1033 to 1039, in Book Three, has its own guide on this site. Article 1605 is the hereditary-quota version, with its own term and its own pro-rata rule.
Step 9: What these articles do not say
They do not define who is a stranger, do not say how notice is given, nor in what form the tanteo is exercised, nor what price is paid, nor what happens if the sale proceeds without being offered. This guide does not assume it.
Where to do it
These two articles describe no procedure before any agency and do not mention the court. They fix who must consent and who has preference. The Code does not say here in what form the tanteo is exercised or before whom, and this guide does not invent it.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
If your co-heirs tell you that you cannot sell your share without their permission, the first paragraph of Article 1604 says otherwise: the quota is disposed of without the others’ consent. But if what someone wants to sell is the house or any specific good of the estate, the second paragraph of the same article requires the consent of all the heirs. If you learn a co-heir is going to sell their quota to an outsider, Article 1605 gives you thirty days of tanteo, and if several exercise it, it is divided pro rata of each one’s portion. The Code does not say from when those thirty days run or how notice is given, so you will not find a start date or a form here. The general tanteo of Articles 1033 to 1039 is a different figure and has its own guide. MiPRFácil does not represent anyone in court and gives no legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Believing the co-heirs’ permission is needed to sell one’s own quota: Article 1604 says it is not.
- Selling a specific good of the estate with only some signatures: the same article requires everyone’s consent.
- Confusing selling the quota with selling the house: they are the two opposite paragraphs of Article 1604.
- Thinking the tanteo of Article 1605 opens on any sale: the text ties it to alienation to a stranger.
- Letting the thirty days of Article 1605 pass.
- Believing whoever exercises the tanteo takes the whole quota when several do: it is divided pro rata.
- Mixing this tanteo with the general one of Articles 1033 to 1039: they are different figures.
- Looking in these articles for the price, the form or the notice: they are not in the text.
Frequently asked questions
May I sell my share of the inheritance without my siblings’ permission?
Article 1604 says the heir may dispose of their quota in the inheritance without the other co-heirs’ consent being necessary.
And selling the house of the estate?
The same Article 1604 says that only by the consent of all the heirs may specific goods belonging to the community be alienated.
How long do I have to match a stranger’s offer?
Article 1605 says the co-heir has thirty days to exercise their right of tanteo.
And if several co-heirs want to exercise it?
Article 1605 says they may only do so pro rata of the portion they hold in the hereditary community.
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 11, 2026
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Did you find out-of-date information?
Income from inherited goods belongs to the estate until there is a partition
Article 1603 of the Civil Code of 2020 says so, and 1600 adds that the hereditary community has no juridical personality.
A testator may forbid dividing for four years; the heirs may renew it
Article 1607 of the Civil Code of 2020 gives the testator a four-year cap that does not reach the legítima. Article 1608 lets the heirs renew theirs.
Passing on your share of an inheritance: what you answer for and what not
Whoever assigns an inheritance without listing its contents answers only for their capacity as heir. Fruits already taken are credited.
The right of tanteo: buying before an outsider does
With no agreed period it lapses thirty days after the notice. And if you were not notified, or the terms changed, it becomes a retracto.
Co-owned property: how it is managed and how it is divided
A co-owner is not required to remain in the community: they may demand division at any time. And management is decided by quota value, not by headcount.
An inheritance can be debts alone: the Code says so in those words
Article 1552 says the inheritance comprises rights and obligations even where obligations exceed rights, or where there are only obligations.