Short answer. Yes. Article 1087 of the Civil Code requires co-heirs to settle accounts at partition, and that settlement expressly includes compensation for damage caused to estate property through malice or neglect. The responsible co-heir must answer to the others for whatever loss his conduct caused.
What the law says
for any damage thereto through malice or neglect
Civil Code, Article 1087 — Reimbursing Income and Fruits. Read the full provision →
The rule at partition time
Article 1087 describes a settlement that happens at partition. It requires co-heirs to reimburse one another for three things: income or fruits each received from estate property, useful and necessary expenses each made on that property, and — critically — any damage caused to estate property through malice or neglect. All three are resolved in a single accounting. This means a co-heir who collected rent, made repairs, or damaged the house must bring those figures to the table when the property is divided.
Both malice and neglect are covered
The article does not limit the obligation to deliberate wrongdoing. Neglect — failing to take reasonable care of property you are co-managing — is enough to trigger it. If a co-heir was living in the family home and allowed the roof to deteriorate through carelessness, or damaged the furniture, or let a tenant destroy the premises without acting, that neglect counts. You do not need to prove the co-heir wanted to cause harm. Proving that he failed to exercise reasonable care over shared property is sufficient.
How the accounting works in practice
The typical setting is an extrajudicial settlement or a court-supervised partition. During that process, each heir discloses what he received from the estate (rent, produce, harvests) and what he spent on it (repairs, taxes). The co-heir who caused damage owes the difference to the others. If the parties cannot agree on the amount of damage, a court can receive evidence — appraisals, repair estimates, photographs — and fix it. The settlement reduces the damaging co-heir's share or requires a cash payment before assets are distributed.
What this means for you
If you are a co-heir whose sibling has been living in the property and has damaged it, you are not helpless until partition is finally done. The law already recognises the claim. Document the damage now: photographs, contractor estimates, and written records of when you reported the problem. That documentation will support your claim in the accounting. Conversely, if you are the co-heir in possession and you made improvements, the same article entitles you to reimbursement for those — so keep receipts for necessary and useful expenses as well.