Short answer. The usufruct survives. Article 604 of the Civil Code provides that if the thing given in usufruct is lost only in part, the right continues on the remaining part. The usufructuary keeps the use and the fruits of whatever is left, and neither side can treat the arrangement as having ended.
What the law says
If the thing given in usufruct should be lost only in part, the right shall continue on the remaining part.
Civil Code, Article 604 — Partial Loss. Read the full provision →
Partial loss does not extinguish the right
A usufruct is extinguished by the total loss of the thing, and Article 604 makes clear that anything short of total loss is not enough. If a typhoon destroys one of three buildings, or fire takes half a plantation, the usufructuary continues to enjoy the rest exactly as before. The right simply narrows to match what is left. Neither the owner nor the usufructuary may unilaterally declare the usufruct over, and an owner who retakes possession of the surviving portion on the strength of the damage is acting without a legal basis.
When is loss total rather than partial?
The line is not always obvious. Where a building is destroyed but the land remains, the Code deals with that situation separately, and the usufructuary’s continuing rights over the land and the materials depend on how the usufruct was created and whether both land and building were covered.
Loss can also be legal rather than physical. If the property is expropriated, or becomes permanently impossible to use for its purpose, the analysis changes. The safe starting point is that as long as a usable part of the same thing exists, Article 604 keeps the usufruct alive over it.
Repairs, insurance and who pays for what
Partial destruction usually raises a second question immediately: who rebuilds? As a general rule the usufructuary bears ordinary maintenance made necessary by normal use, while extraordinary repairs fall on the owner — though the owner is not compelled to make them, and the Code gives the usufructuary options if the owner refuses.
Insurance proceeds follow the same logic and depend on who insured what. Practical advice: photograph and document the damage immediately, notify the other party in writing, and settle in writing who will repair, who will pay and how the cost will be recovered at the end of the usufruct. Most disputes here are about money, not about whether the right survived.
What the article does not decide
Article 604 answers one question and only one: does the right continue? It says nothing about who caused the damage, who must restore the property, or whether anyone owes compensation. Those are separate questions answered by the rules on the usufructuary’s duty of care, by the terms of the deed or will creating the usufruct, and by ordinary liability for negligence if a third party or one of the parties caused the loss.
It also does not shorten the usufruct. If the right was granted for life or for a fixed term, that term is unaffected by the destruction of part of the property, and the usufructuary’s obligation to return whatever survives at the end remains.