In short
Article 303 defines the condition as that which subordinates a juridical act’s efficacy to the occurrence of a positive or negative, future and uncertain fact, and separates the two classes: it is suspensive if the act’s effect is produced when the fact occurs, and resolutory if the effect is extinguished when it occurs. Article 304 prohibits impossible conditions and those contrary to the laws, morals and good customs, and adds a prohibition that governs only inter vivos: purely potestative conditions of the debtor. What follows is the most surprising part, because the sanction is not the same depending on the type of act. In inter vivos acts, a prohibited suspensive condition produces the nullity of the whole act, while a prohibited resolutory one is simply deemed unwritten. In acts by reason of death, by contrast, prohibited conditions are deemed unwritten whether suspensive or resolutory. The same defective clause kills a contract and is merely erased from a will. Article 305 protects whoever is waiting: while the condition is pending, the holder may perform the acts necessary to conserve their right and may collect the fruits for their own benefit. Article 306 makes retroactivity the rule, save a different agreement, and limits it: retroactive resolution does not affect acts of administration already performed nor the rights of third parties in good faith; if the performance is to do or not to do, the court determines the retroactive effect; if it is to give, the object is delivered or restituted with its accessories and pending fruits; and fulfilment of the condition is indivisible even if the performance is divisible. Article 307 closes with the rule that settles the most disputes: if the bound party impedes fulfilment of the suspensive condition, it is considered fulfilled; and if they provoke that of the resolutory one, it is considered not fulfilled.
What is it?
They are Articles 303 to 307 of the Civil Code of 2020: what a condition in a contract is, which are prohibited, and what its fulfilment does.
Who can do it?
Anyone who signed a contract that depends on something happening: an appraisal, an approval, a permit, a sale.
Requirements
- The condition subordinates the act’s efficacy to a positive or negative, future and uncertain fact.Verified against the official source
- It is suspensive if the effect arises when the fact occurs, and resolutory if it is extinguished then.Verified against the official source
- Impossible conditions and those contrary to the laws, morals and good customs are prohibited.Verified against the official source
- In inter vivos acts, purely potestative conditions of the debtor are also prohibited.Verified against the official source
- Inter vivos, a prohibited suspensive condition voids the act; a resolutory one is deemed unwritten.Verified against the official source
- While the condition is pending, the holder may conserve their right and collect the fruits for their benefit.Verified against the official source
- If the bound party impedes the suspensive condition it is deemed fulfilled; if they provoke the resolutory one, unfulfilled.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: Identify which class it is
Article 303: suspensive if the fact produces the effect; resolutory if the fact extinguishes it.
Step 2: Rule out that it is prohibited
Article 304: impossible, contrary to laws, morals or good customs, or purely potestative of the debtor.
Step 3: See which sanction applies
Inter vivos: a prohibited suspensive one voids the whole act; a prohibited resolutory one is merely unwritten.
Step 4: Protect your right while waiting
Article 305: while pending, you may perform the acts necessary to conserve your right.
Step 5: And collect the fruits
The same article: while pending, the right-holder may collect the fruits for their benefit.
Step 6: Count the retroactivity
Article 306: save a different agreement, efficacy or resolution operate retroactively to the day they would have taken effect.
Step 7: All or nothing
Same article: fulfilment of the condition is indivisible, even if it consists of a divisible performance.
Step 8: If it was blocked, say so
Article 307: if the bound party impedes fulfilment of the suspensive condition, it is considered fulfilled.
Where to do it
These five articles describe no procedure before any agency. The Code does not define here what makes a condition purely potestative, nor explain why that prohibition is limited to the debtor and to inter vivos acts. It does not define impossibility. It does not say who decides any of those characterisations. It does not say what the court weighs when Article 306 charges it with determining the retroactive effect for obligations to do or not to do. It does not say how long a condition may stay pending or what happens if the fact never occurs. Conditions in wills have their own articles, covered separately on this site. None of those gaps is filled here.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
The rule that settles the most fights is the last one and hardly anybody knows it. Article 307 says that if the bound party impedes fulfilment of the suspensive condition, it is considered fulfilled. That means whoever committed to something subject to an appraisal, an approval, a permit or a signature cannot sit still so the process dies and the contract falls away: if they block the fact, the Code acts as if it had occurred. The symmetrical rule is there too: if they provoke fulfilment of the resolutory condition, it is considered not fulfilled. The second thing worth checking before claiming is whether the condition was prohibited, because the consequence changes the whole case. Inter vivos, a suspensive condition that is impossible, illegal, immoral or purely potestative of the debtor is not erased: it drags down the nullity of the entire act. The same clause, were it resolutory, would merely be deemed unwritten and the contract would stand. And were the act one by reason of death, neither would void anything: both are deemed unwritten. Before asking for a clause to be struck you have to know whether you are asking for that or for the sinking of the whole deal. Three more details people forget. While the condition is pending you are not defenceless: Article 305 lets you perform the acts necessary to conserve your right and collect the fruits for your benefit. Article 306’s retroactivity is the rule, but it admits a different agreement, so it can be negotiated. And fulfilment of the condition is indivisible even if the performance is divisible: there are no half-fulfilled conditions. MiPRFácil does not represent anyone in court and gives no legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Letting the process the condition depends on die: Article 307 deems it fulfilled if the bound party impedes it.
- Asking to strike a prohibited suspensive condition inter vivos: that one drags the whole act into nullity.
- Applying the wills rule to a contract: there, prohibited conditions are merely deemed unwritten.
- Confusing suspensive with resolutory: one makes the effect arise, the other extinguishes it.
- Believing you can do nothing while the condition is pending: Article 305 allows conserving your right.
- Failing to collect the fruits while waiting: the same article gives them to you for your benefit.
- Treating retroactivity as unavoidable: Article 306 subjects it to there being no different agreement.
- Alleging a half-fulfilled condition: fulfilment is indivisible even if the performance is divisible.
Frequently asked questions
The other side blocked the condition. Do I lose the contract?
Article 307 says that if the bound party impedes fulfilment of the suspensive condition, it is considered fulfilled.
Is an impossible condition merely erased?
It depends. Inter vivos, a prohibited suspensive one voids the act; a resolutory one is deemed unwritten.
May I collect rents while the condition is pending?
Article 305 says that, while pending, the right-holder may collect the fruits for their benefit.
Once fulfilled, from when does the contract count?
Save a different agreement, Article 306 makes it operate retroactively to the day it would have taken effect.
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 12, 2026
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