Short answer. Yes. Article 592 of the Civil Code places ordinary repairs on the usufructuary, and if they fail to make those repairs after the owner has demanded it, the owner may step in and carry out the work at the usufructuary's expense. The demand is the trigger — the owner cannot act before making it.
What the law says
The usufructuary is obliged to make the ordinary repairs needed by the thing given in usufruct. By ordinary repairs are understood such as are required by the wear and tear due to the natural use of the thing and are indispensable for its preservation. Should the usufructuary fail to make them after demand by the owner, the latter may make them at the expense of the usufructuary.
Civil Code, Article 592 — Ordinary Repairs Are the Usufructuary's. Read the full provision →
What ordinary repairs are
Article 592 defines ordinary repairs clearly: those required by the wear and tear due to the natural use of the thing and are indispensable for its preservation. Think of repainting flaking walls, fixing a leaking pipe that comes from normal use, replacing worn door hardware, or patching a roof tile that slipped over time. These are maintenance items that any occupant should handle. They are distinguished from extraordinary repairs, which involve major structural works or damage caused by unusual events — those fall on the owner.
The owner's remedy after demand
The owner cannot simply take over repairs because the property looks neglected. The law requires a specific step first: demand by the owner. Only after that demand has been made and the usufructuary still fails to act does the owner acquire the right to make the repairs themselves at the usufructuary's expense. This procedural requirement protects the usufructuary's right to manage their own use of the property. An owner who skips the demand and acts unilaterally may have a harder time recovering the cost.
Why the duty falls on the usufructuary
The allocation of ordinary repairs to the usufructuary reflects the nature of usufruct: the usufructuary has the right to use and enjoy the property and to collect its fruits. That benefit comes with the corresponding duty to maintain it against normal wear. Allowing the property to deteriorate through neglect would impose the costs of the usufructuary's use on the owner — the person who has not had the benefit of enjoying the property. Article 592 prevents that outcome by tying the duty to maintain with the right to use.
Practical steps for each party
If you are the owner and notice that the usufructuary is not maintaining the property: put your demand in writing, describe what repairs are needed, and give a reasonable deadline. If the usufructuary still does not act, you can then arrange the repairs and recover the cost. Keep all invoices and records of your expenditure. If you are the usufructuary and the owner is demanding repairs, respond in writing, even if you dispute whether the repair is truly ordinary — that record matters if a dispute escalates. Where there is genuine disagreement about the nature or scope of the work, legal advice before acting is preferable to a dispute after.