Short answer. Four years from the date of the contract where the parties fixed no period. Where they did agree one, it cannot exceed ten years. And a seller who litigated the deal in good faith keeps thirty days from a final judgment holding that it really was a sale with right to repurchase.

What the law says

Should there be an agreement, the period cannot exceed ten years.

Civil Code, Article 1606 — Period to Repurchase. Read the full provision →

What the law says

the vendor may still exercise the right to repurchase within thirty days from the time final judgment was rendered in a civil action on the basis that the contract was a true sale with right to repurchase

Civil Code, Article 1606 — Period to Repurchase. Read the full provision →

Four years by default, ten by agreement, never more

Where the contract says nothing about how long the seller has, the right to repurchase lasts four years from the date of the contract. Where the parties did fix a period, the ceiling is firm: should there be an agreement, the period cannot exceed ten years. A clause promising fifteen or twenty years cannot deliver more than ten, so a seller relying on the long horizon written into the deed is relying on something the Civil Code will not enforce. The starting point is the date of the contract itself, not the date the seller ran into difficulty or the date the buyer first demanded anything.

The period is a deadline, not a waiting room

These periods do not merely time-bar a lawsuit; when they run out the right itself is gone and ownership consolidates in the buyer. That is why sellers who spend the fourth year negotiating, or waiting for a relative to raise the money, so often lose property they could have kept. Repurchasing means actually tendering what the law requires the seller to return, within the period, and being able to prove the tender was made. A promise to pay soon, or a request for more time that the buyer never accepted in writing, does not preserve the right.

The thirty days after judgment

The article's last sentence exists for the seller who honestly believed the transaction was a loan and said so in court. If the case goes against that seller, the vendor may still exercise the right to repurchase within thirty days from the time final judgment was rendered in a civil action on the basis that the contract was a true sale with right to repurchase. It is a narrow second chance, and it is not available to someone who simply let the period lapse. It rewards a genuine dispute about the nature of the contract, not delay.

What to do while the period is still running

Pin down two dates before anything else: the date on the face of the contract, and the last day of the period as the document defines it. Then work out what has to be returned, and get the money ready rather than negotiating toward it. If you intend to repurchase, tender in a form that leaves a record, and if the buyer refuses to accept, preserve the proof of the refusal. If you believe the arrangement was really a loan, raise that squarely and early, because the argument is far harder to make once title has been consolidated in the registry.

Cases citing this provision

These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.

Related provisions

Note. Statute text quoted on this page is reproduced from the official enactment and is linked to the full provision. The explanation around it is general legal information from Vivas & Nobles Law Office, not legal advice. Whether it applies to your situation depends on facts only a lawyer reviewing them can assess.