In short
Article 1351 of the Civil Code of 2020 defines a figure many people know by its English name: by the financial lease contract, the lessor, in exchange for the canon it receives from the lessee, binds itself to finance for the lessee the acquisition of a determined thing whose possession it transfers to them for use and enjoyment, while giving them the option to buy it. Three pieces in a single sentence: financing, possession and purchase option. Article 1352 says what its object may be: movable and immovable things that are at the legal disposal of the one leasing them. Article 1353 clears up a common doubt: the object may be chosen by the lessor or by the lessee. Article 1354 leaves the canon to the parties: its amount and periodicity are those agreed, and that amount may include the computation of the cost of the services and other performances necessary for the use and enjoyment of the thing. And Article 1355 protects the lessee at the point that matters most: the price and the duration of the option must be clearly determined in the contract, or the contract itself must agree the procedure by which, without need of an additional contract, that determination will be made. A scope warning the chapter itself carries in its final article: these rules complement and do not replace what the special legislation regulating financial leases provides.
What is it?
They are Articles 1351 to 1355 of the Civil Code of 2020, opening the financial-lease chapter: what the contract is, which things may be its object, who chooses them, how the canon is fixed, and what the statute requires about the purchase option.
Who can do it?
Lessees and lessors under a financial lease governed by the Puerto Rico Civil Code, over movable or immovable property.
Requirements
- That the lessor bind itself to finance the acquisition of a determined thing and transfer possession to the lessee for use and enjoyment.Verified against the official source
- That the lessee be given the option to buy the thing: without an option, Article 1351 does not describe this contract.Verified against the official source
- That the thing be at the legal disposal of the one leasing it.Verified against the official source
- That the option’s price and duration be clearly determined in the contract, or that the contract fix the procedure to determine them without need of another contract.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: The definition, in the Code’s words
Article 1351: the lessor, in exchange for the canon it receives from the lessee, binds itself to finance for the lessee the acquisition of a determined thing whose possession it transfers to them for use and enjoyment, while giving them the option to buy it.
Step 2: What sets it apart from an ordinary lease
Two things the article puts together: the lessor finances the acquisition, and gives the lessee the option to buy. An ordinary lease cedes use and enjoyment for a price, and nothing more.
Step 3: Which things may be leased this way
Article 1352: movable and immovable things that are at the legal disposal of the one leasing them. The figure is not limited to equipment or vehicles.
Step 4: Who chooses the thing
Article 1353, one line: the object may be chosen by the lessor or by the lessee. The lessee choosing it does not strip the contract of its character.
Step 5: The parties fix the canon
Article 1354: the amount and periodicity of the canon are those agreed by the parties. The Code sets no cap and no floor, and this guide invents neither.
Step 6: The canon may include services
The same article authorises it: the amount may include the computation of the cost of the services and other performances necessary for the use and enjoyment of the leased thing.
Step 7: The option must be clear from the start
Article 1355: the option’s price and duration must be clearly determined in the contract. It is the requirement that stops the purchase price from appearing at the end, once you have paid nearly everything.
Step 8: Or, at least, the procedure to fix it
The alternative the same article allows: agreeing in the contract the procedure by which, without need of an additional contract, the determination will be made. Note the phrase "without need of an additional contract".
Step 9: This chapter is not the whole law
The chapter itself warns in its Article 1363: the rules of this chapter complement and do not replace what the special legislation regulating financial leases provides. The Code does not name that legislation, and this guide does not guess at it.
Where to do it
The contract is executed between the parties; the Code orders no trip to any agency for it to exist. If the thing is immovable, registration runs through the Property Registry, and that is in another article of this same chapter, with its guide. Disputes are decided by the Court of First Instance.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
If yours is a store’s rent-to-own of furniture or appliances to a consumer, that figure is governed by a special statute with its own guide here, and it carries protections this chapter does not repeat. If your contract is an ordinary lease with no purchase option, the lease guides apply. If you want to know what each side owes, how it is formalised, or what happens if you stop paying, those are the other guides from this same chapter. These articles fix no rates, no cap on the canon, and no minimum option price. MiPRFácil does not represent anyone in court and gives no legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Confusing it with an ordinary lease: here there is financing and a purchase option.
- Confusing it with consumer rent-to-own, which has its own special statute.
- Signing without the contract stating the option price or the procedure to determine it.
- Signing without it stating the option’s duration.
- Accepting that the option price be fixed later in another contract: the article requires that no additional contract be needed.
- Believing the lessor always chooses the thing: either party may.
- Believing it only covers movables: the article admits movables and immovables.
- Assuming the canon may not include services: it may.
- Reading only this chapter: its rules complement, they do not replace, the special legislation.
Frequently asked questions
How does it differ from a normal lease?
In that the lessor binds itself to finance the acquisition of the thing and gives the lessee the option to buy it, besides transferring possession for use and enjoyment.
Must the contract say what buying it will cost?
Article 1355 requires the option’s price and duration to be clearly determined in the contract, or that the contract agree the procedure to determine them without need of an additional contract.
I chose the thing. Is it still a financial lease?
Yes. Article 1353 says the object may be chosen by the lessor or by the lessee.
May the canon include maintenance and insurance?
Article 1354 allows the amount to include the computation of the cost of the services and other performances necessary for the use and enjoyment of the thing. Who pays what is in another article, 1357, with its own guide.
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
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Financial lease: what the lessor owes, what the lessee owes
Once three quarters of the thing’s price are paid and the option is communicated, the lessor must sell, save agreement otherwise. And it pays the policy.
A financial lease goes in writing — and on an immovable, by deed and recorded
On immovables it needs a public deed and recording, whatever its duration, with a ten-year maximum. And without recording it is not effective against third parties.
You fell behind on the lease: what the lessor may do, and when
On immovables, the more you have paid the longer they wait: 60 days past a quarter of the cánones, 120 past three quarters. On movables, five days.
Rent-to-own: the right to reinstate your contract
If you fell behind and returned the item within 5 days, you may reinstate the contract without losing what you paid. Late fees cap at $3 or 10%.
The option to purchase: how long it lasts and what it must say
As a real right it lasts five years on immovables and two on movables. Once recorded it is an encumbrance and binds later buyers.
How long a lease lasts, and what if it expires, is sold, or someone dies
Absent a different term, a lease of immovables is understood as one year. Once expired, it continues until one party notifies its will to end it.