Short answer. Yes. Article 604 provides that if the thing given in usufruct is lost only in part, the right continues on whatever remains. The usufructuary keeps his right over the surviving portion; only the destroyed part drops out of the usufruct, not the whole arrangement.

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 →

The rule: loss of part does not end the whole

Article 604 states the rule plainly: if the thing given in usufruct should be lost only in part, the right shall continue on the remaining part. A usufruct is not treated as an all-or-nothing arrangement tied to the survival of every last piece of what was given — losing some of it does not, by itself, wipe out the usufructuary's right over what is left.

What 'lost only in part' actually covers

This applies where the loss affects less than the entire thing given in usufruct — a portion of land destroyed by a natural event, part of a herd that dies, or a section of a larger property damaged beyond use, while the rest remains intact. The article distinguishes this from a total loss, which would raise a different question about whether the usufruct is extinguished altogether rather than merely reduced.

The usufructuary's right shrinks with the property, not below it

Because the right continues specifically on the remaining part, the usufructuary's entitlement after a partial loss is measured against what is actually left, not against the original scope of the thing before the loss occurred. He does not get compensation folded into an expanded right over the remainder to make up for what was lost — the usufruct simply persists over whatever portion survived.

Why this rule matters practically

This provision protects the usufructuary from losing the entire benefit of the usufruct because of damage to only part of the property. Without it, an owner or a usufructuary disputing the effect of a partial loss might argue that any loss at all extinguishes the whole arrangement; Article 604 forecloses that argument by making clear the usufruct survives, scaled down to the surviving portion, whenever the loss was only partial rather than total, however significant that partial loss actually turns out to be.

What Article 604 does not decide for you

The article does not say who bears the cost of the loss itself, or whether the owner or the usufructuary must rebuild or repair the destroyed portion — it only settles that the usufruct as a legal right keeps running over what survives. It also does not distinguish, in its own text, between a loss caused by accident, by a third party, or by the usufructuary's own fault; those questions are governed by the usufruct's other rules on responsibility and indemnity, not by this article, which speaks only to the continuation of the right itself.

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.