Short answer. Yes. When co-owned property is essentially indivisible and the co-owners cannot agree to give it to one of them who would pay off the others, Article 498 says it shall be sold and the proceeds distributed among them. A physical partition is not the only exit — a sale and a money split is the fallback.
What the law says
Whenever the thing is essentially indivisible and the co-owners cannot agree that it be allotted to one of them who shall indemnify the others, it shall be sold and its proceeds distributed.
Civil Code, Article 498 — Selling a Thing That Cannot Be Divided. Read the full provision →
When a thing cannot be split in kind
Some things simply cannot be cut up without destroying their value or usefulness — a single house on a small lot, a car, a piece of jewelry. The law calls this being essentially indivisible. For such property, a literal partition that hands each co-owner a physical portion is impossible or would leave everyone worse off. Article 498 addresses exactly this problem so that no co-owner is trapped in a shared ownership he wants to leave. The rule recognizes that the value locked in an undivided thing can still be shared, even when the thing itself cannot be.
First try to keep the thing whole
Before a sale, the article points to a gentler solution: the thing may be allotted to one of them who shall indemnify the others. That is, one co-owner keeps the property and buys out the shares of the rest at their value. This preserves the asset and lets those who want cash receive it. A sale becomes necessary only when the co-owners cannot agree on that arrangement — for instance, when no one is willing or able to buy out the others, or when they cannot settle on a fair price. Agreement among the owners, at any point, can always avoid a forced sale.
The forced sale and dividing the proceeds
If neither partition in kind nor a buy-out works, Article 498 supplies the remedy: the thing shall be sold and its proceeds distributed. The property is sold and the money that comes in takes the place of the property. Each co-owner then receives a share of the proceeds corresponding to his interest in the co-ownership, so a person who owned a quarter of the property receives a quarter of the net proceeds. This converts an asset that could not be divided into money, which can be, allowing every co-owner to realize the value of his share and go his own way.
No one can be forced to stay a co-owner
The rule reflects a broader principle: the law does not compel anyone to remain in a co-ownership against his will. A co-owner who wants out is generally entitled to demand that the common property be divided, and Article 498 ensures that this right is not defeated merely because the thing happens to be indivisible. What it does not do is let one owner dictate terms — it does not force the others to sell to him at his price, nor does it let a single owner seize the property. When agreement fails, the neutral outcome is a sale, with the proceeds shared in proportion to each owner's interest.