Short answer. Yes. The Civil Code lets the usufructuary set off improvements he made on the property against damage to that same property. It is a form of compensation at the end of the usufruct, not a right to be paid for the improvements themselves.

What the law says

The usufructuary may set off the improvements he may have made on the property against any damage to the same.

Civil Code, Article 580 — Set-Off of Improvements Against Damage. Read the full provision →

What the rule actually gives you

Article 580 is short: the usufructuary may set off the improvements he may have made on the property against any damage to the same. A usufructuary is the person entitled to use and enjoy property that somebody else owns — a widow given the use of a house for life, a relative allowed to farm land until a certain date. When the usufruct ends, the owner takes the property back and can claim for deterioration the usufructuary is answerable for. This article lets the usufructuary answer that claim by pointing to what he added, and to have the two set against each other rather than paying in full while giving his improvements away.

It is a shield, not a bill

This is the distinction most people get wrong. Article 579 allows the usufructuary to make useful or ornamental improvements as long as he does not alter the form or substance of the property, but it gives him no right to be indemnified for them; he may only remove them if that can be done without damage. Article 580 does not reverse that. It does not turn improvements into a debt the owner owes. It only says that where the owner is claiming for damage, the value of the improvements may be used to extinguish or reduce that claim. If there is no damage, there is nothing to set off, and no money follows.

Which damage counts against you

Not every change in the property is chargeable. The usufructuary must care for the thing as a good father of a family, and he answers for deterioration caused by his fault or negligence or by persons he allowed in. He does not answer for ordinary wear and tear from normal use, nor for loss from a fortuitous event, unless he assumed that risk. So the practical dispute at the end of a usufruct is usually about characterisation: is the cracked flooring the result of years of proper use, or of neglect? Is the removed partition an alteration of the substance of the property, or a permitted improvement? Photographs and receipts decide these questions far better than recollection.

How to be in a position to use this

The set-off is only as good as your proof of two figures — what the improvements are worth, and what the damage is worth. Take that seriously from the beginning. The Code already contemplates an inventory of the property before the usufruct starts, and that inventory is your baseline; without it you are arguing about the condition of a house from memory years later. Keep contractor quotations, official receipts, before-and-after photographs, and any written consent from the owner to the work. If the usufruct is ending and the owner has raised a claim, bring the inventory, the receipts and the title documents to counsel before you sign any quitclaim or accept a deduction.

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.