PUERTO RICO Law and Practice Contributed by: Antonio J Santos and Donald E Hull, Pietrantoni Mendez & Alvarez LLC
Pietrantoni Méndez & Alvarez LLC 208 Ponce de León Avenue 19th Floor Popular Center San Juan
Puerto Rico 00918 Tel: +787 274 4917 Fax: +787 274 1470 Email: asantos@pmalaw.com Web: www.pmalaw.com
1. General 1.1 Main Sources of Law
the rehabilitation, maintenance and operation of highways PR-52, PR-53, PR-66 and PR-20. This transaction closed in December 2023. Hospitality-tourism transactions consisted prin - cipally of the sale of existing hotel facilities and resorts, including the acquisition of distressed assets and strategic purchases. Transactions in this sector were driven mostly by existing tour - ism tax incentives in Puerto Rico. The private equity market also remained strong in Puerto Rico during 2023. Transactions in this sector consisted mostly of the sale of privately owned mature companies based in Puerto Rico in transactions that were driven principally by the tax incentives under the Private Equity Funds Act that was codified in the Puerto Rico Incen - tives Code, known as Act 60. As a result, several local private equity funds were organised and have capital available for investment. 1.3 Proposals for Reform There are currently no legislative proposals that would have a significant impact on the real estate market in Puerto Rico.
The main sources of real estate law in Puerto Rico are the Civil Code, the Real Property Reg - istry Act, the Notarial Law, and Supreme Court of Puerto Rico jurisprudence. 1.2 Main Market Trends and Deals The higher cost of capital, higher interest rates and geopolitical tensions have resulted in a slowdown in M&A, real estate, and other com - mercial transactions in Puerto Rico during the past year. The top target industry sectors in Puerto Rico during the past year were energy transition projects, PPP projects and hospitality- tourism transactions. The energy sector was driven mostly by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding as part of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA)’s 2024 Integrated Resource Plan and the ongoing process to restructure PREPA’s debt under the Puerto Rico Over - sight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA). The principal PPP project for 2023 was the award of the PPP contract for
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