P.R. Laws tit. 31, § 1293c
Unit owners are legally bound to contribute proportionally to defray expenses for the administration, preservation, and repair of general common elements of the building, and as the case may be, of the limited common elements, as well as any other legally agreed-upon elements.
Unless the court or forum with jurisdiction so authorizes, no unit owners may refuse to make the payment of their contribution to such expenses by waiving the use and enjoyment of the common elements, nor by abandonment of the unit they own, nor due to having filed an administrative or legal claim against the Unit Owners Association or the Board of Directors regarding matters pertaining to the administration or maintenance of the common areas.
The proportional amount of the common expenses to be paid by each unit owner shall be calculated, set forth and imposed at the beginning of each calendar or fiscal year, and shall be due and payable in monthly installments. The regulations may set forth the collection of a penalty of ten percent (10%) of the amount owed if fifteen (15) days elapse from the established due date of the monthly payment. In the case of debts of the Commonwealth, the term shall be of one hundred twenty (120) days. In excess of said term, the penalty shall be of twelve percent (12%) of the total amount due. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall be exempted from the payment of such penalty in the case of public housing projects. In addition, the fees that the unit owners do not pay within the term set forth for their payment shall accrue interest at the maximum legal rate. Default of three or more consecutive installments shall entail an additional penalty equal to one percent (1%) per month of the total amount due.
Unit owners in default shall be required to pay by mail, return receipt requested, and if payment is not made within fifteen (15) days, it may be sought by legal means.
Unit owner’s debt for common expenses may be judicially claimed under the abbreviated procedure and up to the limit provided under Civil Procedure Rule 60, as amended.
When a debt is claimed by legal means, the court, at the plaintiff’s request, shall decree an attachment order on the goods of the defaulter or defaulters, with no further requirement than the presentation by the President and the Secretary of the Condominium Association of a certification sworn in the presence of a notary public or any other official authorized to take sworn statements, stating the agreement that approved the collectible expense and its amount, as well as the steps taken for its collection referenced in the fourth foregoing paragraph. Once the attachment order is decreed, it shall be the duty of the Board of Directors to submit a certified copy of the order to the Registry of the Property for its inclusion in the record of the pertinent parcel.
When the plaintiff so requests, in those cases in which the unit owner in default has leased the apartment, the court may order the lessee to legally consign the total amount of lease fees [on] behalf of the Condominium Association, as they become due, until the total amount of the unit owner’s debt is paid.
Those unit owners who owe three (3) or more consecutive maintenance fee installments, regardless of the number of apartments they own, shall temporarily be deprived from the exercise of their right to vote in Condominium Association meetings, including those matters that require unanimous consent. Their vote and their percentage of participation shall not count for purposes of quorum when this chapter requires such consent, until the unit owners’ debt is paid in full, or the Treasurer certifies that the unit owner is current in the payment plan approved by the Board of Directors prior to the assembly being discussed. In addition, the Board of Directors may order the suspension of drinking water, electricity, gas, and telephone utility services, as well as of intercom, video and data, and/or any other similar service when the same are supplied through the facilities that constitute general common elements of the real property. The suspension may also be ordered when the unit owner fails to pay his/her proportional part of the common insurance fees. No utility service shall be suspended on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday or holiday or the working day preceding a holiday without having been issued a written notice fifteen (15) days before such services are to be suspended, delivered by certified mail to the mailing address of the unit owner or in person to the apartment tenant.
The unit owner or occupant to whom any of the common services have been suspended, as set forth by this chapter, who without the authorization of the Board or the Administrator, by him/herself or through a third party, reconnects such services, or in any other manner illegally appropriates the common utilities of which the same has been deprived, shall incur a penalty equal to three (3) times the amounts owed, including the principal and interest, without prejudice to the civil, administrative, or criminal actions that may proceed.
History —June 25, 1958, No. 104, p. 243, § 39; June 4, 1976, No. 157, p. 461, § 9; Dec. 13, 1994, No. 129, § 2; Aug. 11, 1995, No. 153, § 1; May 21, 1996, No. 43, §§ 1, 4; Apr. 5, 2003, No. 103, § 32; May 7, 2004, No. 110, § 1; Aug. 4, 2009, No. 50, § 1.