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Civil Law

Explanation of Article 677

Explanation of Article 677

The article refers to the rights of the possessor towards the owner concerning the expenses incurred by the possessor on the possessed item, whether these expenses are necessary, beneficial, or luxurious. The first paragraph clarifies the possessor's right towards the owner regarding the necessary expenses incurred by the possessor on the same possessed item, and it states that upon the owner's recovery of the property from the possessor, whether the possessor is in good faith or bad faith, the owner must reimburse the possessor for the necessary expenses incurred on the item; an example of necessary expenses is the essential repairs carried out by the possessor on the property to prevent its collapse.

The second paragraph clarifies the ruling regarding the beneficial expenses incurred by the possessor during his possession, such as if the possessed house consisted of one floor and the possessor added another floor. The article differentiates in the ruling between the possessor in good faith and the possessor in bad faith; for the possessor in good faith, the ruling of Article (652) applies, whereas for the possessor in bad faith, the ruling of Article (651) applies.

The third paragraph clarifies the ruling regarding the luxurious expenses incurred by the possessor, such as if the possessor spent on decorative improvements for the house. There is no difference in the ruling between the possessor in good faith or bad faith, as the article states that the owner is not obliged to reimburse the possessor for luxurious expenses. However, the possessor may remove what he has established with these expenses, provided he restores the item to its original state, and the owner may retain them in exchange for their removal value. If the possessor wishes to remove them and the owner requests to retain them, general rules apply; the default is to proceed with the possessor's request, as it is his property and he has the right to dispose of it, unless he is being unreasonable in his removal request, such as if the removal would destroy them, showing that he has no interest in the removal as long as the owner compensates him for their removal value and he did not intend anything but to harm the owner; his removal request is not accepted because that would be an abuse of the right.

Related To

Article 677

  1. An owner to whom a thing is returned shall pay to the possessor all the necessary expenses incurred thereby.

  2. Useful expenses shall be subject to the provisions of Articles 651 and 652 of this Law.

  3. The owner may not be compelled to repay luxurious expenses. The possessor may remove the additions for which he incurred such expenses, provided that he restores the thing to its original condition. The owner may decide to retain said additions against payment of their value as removed.