Civil Code, Article 2161 — Improvements and Expenses

What this article means

Reimbursement for improvements and expenses of one who unduly received the thing is governed by the possession rules (Title V, Book II).

Rather than crafting a separate reimbursement scheme for solutio indebiti, the Code borrows one that already exists: it treats the person who unduly received the thing the same way it treats a possessor of property in general, applying the rules on necessary and useful expenses and improvements found in the Title on possession. This means the same good-faith and bad-faith distinctions that determine a possessor's right to reimbursement — and to retain the thing until reimbursed — carry over here, so the recipient's entitlement depends on how that broader body of possession law classifies the expense in question.

Questions about this provision

• I made improvements on property I received through a mistaken payment, honestly believing it was mine — who pays for those improvements when I am made to return it?

Related provisions

• Article 2160 — Good-Faith Payee.
• Article 2162 — Payee Who Destroyed His Evidence.

Cases interpreting this article

• Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.