Short answer. Yes. Article 1076 of the Civil Code denies reimbursement for works made purely for the donee's pleasure, but it expressly lets you remove them, as long as removal will not injure the estate. You cannot demand payment for decorative improvements, but you are not required to leave them behind for free either.

What the law says

As to works made on the estate for the mere pleasure of the donee, no reimbursement is due him for them; he has, however, the right to remove them, if he can do so without injuring the estate.

Civil Code, Article 1076 — Reimbursing the Donee's Expenses. Read the full provision →

Why collation matters here

Collation is the process of bringing a donation you received back into account when the donor's estate is settled, so that co-heirs' shares are figured fairly. Article 1076 deals with the practical question that follows once collation happens: since the property itself, and whatever is on it, effectively passes back into the estate reckoning, what happens to money and effort the donee already put into it? The article answers that by sorting what was spent into three separate categories, each with its own outcome.

Three categories of expenses, three different rules

Article 1076 treats what a donee spent on donated property differently depending on why the money was spent. Necessary expenses for preserving the property are reimbursed though they may not have augmented its value. Improvements that genuinely increased the property's value, and still exist at partition, are reimbursed too. But as to works made on the estate for the mere pleasure of the donee, no reimbursement is due him for them — purely decorative work sits in its own, less favored category.

No reimbursement, but a right to remove

The article does not simply leave the donee with nothing for pleasure improvements. The same sentence continues: he has, however, the right to remove them, if he can do so without injuring the estate. Since you will not be paid for purely decorative work, the law gives you the option of taking it back with you instead, rather than forcing you to donate the improvement's value to the estate along with the land itself.

The limit: removal cannot injure the estate

Your right to remove pleasure improvements is not unconditional. It applies only if he can do so without injuring the estate — meaning the removal itself must not damage the property being collated. A decoration that can be taken out cleanly is yours to take; one that cannot be removed without harming the land or structure is not, and in that situation the improvement effectively stays with the property, uncompensated.

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.