Servicios Legales de PR (SLPR) GivingTuesday 2021

We share a recent triumph that exemplifies how our litigation provides equal access to justice to low-income individuals and communities.

Servicios Legales de Puerto Rico (SLPR) prevailed before the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico in a case against the Puerto Rico Property Registry. The Property Registrar of San Juan Section V required the payment of the Registry's fees in order to inscribe certain documents related to a SLPR's client home title. The Puerto Rico Highest Court decided that the entity is exempt from paying fees in procedures filed with the Property Registry, benefiting the thousands of low-income clients that we represent.

The beginning of this case dates back to October 2019 when the San Juan Section V Property Registrar denied the registration of the main residence of a disabled and indigent person, who had received as a donation her sisters’ share of the house left by their parents as an inheritance. The Registrar claimed that SLPR's exemption did not apply to the Property Registry's fees. The payment of the Registry fee totaled more than $1300. Unable to resolve the controversy over the exemption of payments of SLPR clients with the Registry and fulfilling our mission to defend access to justice for the poor and working class of our island, our organization filed an appeal to the Puerto Rico Supreme Court. During February of this year, the Supreme Court notified its opinion which unanimously overturned the Property Registrar.

Our highest court reiterated that the requirements for payment of fees to the Registry do not apply to indigent persons, nor do they apply in judicial proceedings. The decision demonstrated that by constitutional imperative indigents are classified as exempt from payments such as the one disputed. This decision removes barriers and is an achievement for access to justice for indigent people.

The Supreme Court interpreted Law No. 122 of June 9, 1967, as amended, which established that SLPR is exempt from all kinds of fees, duties or taxes of any nature in the processing of judicial and notarial proceedings and in the issuance of government certifications, as well as in matters in which they are intervening in favor of the indigent, concluding that payment exemption applies to the Property Registry's fees.

At a time when hundreds of our clients need to update their property titles to, among other reasons, access funds to rebuild their homes, this decision allows families who need it, to register their titles and complete the necessary processes to vindicate their rights to have a decent and safe home.

We will continue to protect the rights of the most vulnerable with our litigation.