Short answer. Yes, but only after delivery. Article 612 provides that after the thing has been delivered to the owner upon termination of the usufruct, the security or mortgage shall be cancelled. Cancellation follows delivery — it does not happen automatically the moment the usufruct itself simply ends.
What the law says
After the delivery has been made, the security or mortgage shall be cancelled.
Civil Code, Article 612 — Return of the Thing and Cancellation of Security When Usufruct Ends. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Upon the termination of the usufruct, the thing in usufruct shall be delivered to the owner, without prejudice to the right of retention pertaining to the usufructuary or his heirs for taxes and extraordinary expenses which should be reimbursed.
Civil Code, Article 612 — Return of the Thing and Cancellation of Security When Usufruct Ends. Read the full provision →
Cancellation is tied to delivery, not to termination alone
Article 612 sequences these two events deliberately. After the delivery has been made, the security or mortgage shall be cancelled. The cancellation is triggered specifically by delivery of the property back to the owner — not by the usufruct simply expiring on paper. Until actual delivery happens, the security or mortgage the usufructuary posted remains in force, continuing to secure whatever it was meant to protect.
The usufructuary can hold on to the property first
Delivery is not always immediate upon termination, and the article accounts for that. Upon the termination of the usufruct, the thing in usufruct shall be delivered to the owner, without prejudice to the right of retention pertaining to the usufructuary or his heirs for taxes and extraordinary expenses which should be reimbursed. If the usufructuary paid taxes or extraordinary expenses that should be reimbursed, they, or their heirs, can retain the property until reimbursed — and while that retention right is being exercised, delivery has not yet occurred, so the security remains uncancelled.
Why the security stays active during retention
The security or mortgage exists to protect the owner's interest while the usufructuary controls the property. Retaining the property to secure reimbursement of taxes or extraordinary expenses means the usufructuary is still the one in possession, so it follows that the security tied to that possession has not yet served its purpose and should not be released. Cancelling it before actual delivery would leave the owner without the protection the security was meant to provide during this transitional period.
What this means practically
If the usufruct has ended but the property has not actually been handed back — whether because the usufructuary is exercising the right of retention or for any other reason delivery has been delayed — the security or mortgage remains in effect. Only once delivery genuinely takes place does Article 612 require the security to be cancelled, so confirming whether delivery has actually happened is the key fact in determining whether the security should still be considered active.