Quick summary: The usufructuario (usufructuary, the holder of the usufruct right) receives the property’s frutos naturales y civiles (natural produce and civil income), subject to the limits in the instrument establishing the right (Código Civil, or Civil Code, Art. 703). They may use the property themselves or lease it (Art. 716), while ownership remains with someone else. A usufruct is established by contract or a last-will disposition (Art. 704), for a fixed term or a lifetime, never perpetually (Art. 705). Without a specified duration, it is for life; a non-lifetime usufruct is limited to 30 years, or up to 50 years for national property (Art. 706). For real estate, it requires an escritura pública (public deed) and registration in the Registro de la Propiedad (Property Registry) (Arts. 1125 and 1576). Before taking possession, the usufructuary prepares an inventory and description of the property’s condition, unless relieved of those obligations (Art. 720); security is required unless the usufructuary is a donor who reserved the usufruct or has been exempted by the grantor (Art. 721).
This is a draft, not the final contract: a usufruct over real estate is formalized by a notary in a public deed. The Word minuta (draft terms sheet) organizes the details and decisions for the notary.
Download the Usufruct Draft (Word)
The terms sheet covers the owner, or nudo propietario (bare owner), and usufructuary; the property and registration details; whether the usufruct is gratuito (gratuitous) or oneroso (granted for consideration); lifetime or fixed-term duration (subject to Art. 706); simultaneous or successive usufructuaries and derecho de acrecer (accrual of one holder’s share to the others) (Arts. 705 and 707); exemption from security (Art. 721); inventory and the property’s condition (Art. 720); a different agreed allocation of taxes (Art. 731); improvements (Art. 717); insurance (Art. 743); and grounds for termination (Art. 738).
Usufruct Contract Draft — Guatemala
Download the Word draft (.docx)Spanish-language terms sheet for your notary
For foreign grantors: for a public instrument, the Código de Notariado (Notarial Code) provides identification options when the notary does not know the grantors: cédula de vecindad, passport, two witnesses known to the notary, or both methods as the notary considers appropriate. A party who does not know Spanish appoints an interpreter, preferably a traductor jurado (sworn translator); if the interpreter cannot sign, a witness signs for them. These are rules for public instruments, not a passport requirement for every private contract. See the Código de Notariado.
Types of Usufruct
| Type | Rule | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Lifetime | Lasts for the usufructuary’s life; this is the default if no duration is specified | Arts. 705-706 |
| Fixed term | Maximum 30 years (50 for national property) | Art. 706 |
| Conditional | Ends when the terminating condition is fulfilled | Arts. 705 and 738 |
| Simultaneous (several usufructuaries) | No right of accrual unless the grantor establishes it clearly and expressly | Art. 707 |
| Successive | Benefits only those who exist when the previous usufructuary’s right ends | Art. 705 |
| For the time a third party takes to reach a specified age | Continues for the specified years even if that person dies earlier, unless expressly granted solely in consideration of that person’s existence | Art. 742 |
| Reserved by the donor | A donor who reserves a usufruct is exempt from providing security | Art. 721; see the donation deed |
The non-lifetime limit also applies to usufructs established for legal entities, with the same national-property exception (Art. 706).
Rights and Obligations
| Usufructuary | Owner |
|---|---|
| Receives natural produce and civil income, subject to the establishing instrument’s limits (Art. 703); civil income accrues day by day (Art. 710) | Retains ownership |
| May lease the property or transfer the usufruct right, subject to the creditor protections in Art. 708; those contracts end with the usufruct (Art. 716) | If the usufruct is assigned, the assignor and assignee are jointly and severally liable to the owner (Art. 718) |
| Inventories movable property and describes the condition of real estate, with notice to the owner, before taking possession; bears the associated costs unless relieved of the obligations (Art. 720) | If required security is not provided, may demand administration of real estate, sale of movable property, deposit of securities in a bank or other credit institution, and investment of cash and sale proceeds in safe securities; returns belong to the usufructuary (Art. 722) |
| Provides security for proper use, unless exempted by the grantor or acting as a donor who reserved the usufruct (Art. 721) | Pays extraordinary repairs (Art. 727) and may collect legal interest on the amount spent for the duration of the usufruct (Art. 729) |
| Pays indispensable ordinary repairs (Art. 726) and notifies the owner when extraordinary repairs are urgently needed (Art. 727) | Bears litigation expenses, costs and awards relating to the usufruct when it was granted for consideration; for a gratuitous usufruct, these fall to the usufructuary (Art. 735) |
| Has no default right to reimbursement for improvements, but may offset them against attributable deterioration and remove improvements that can be separated without damage if the owner does not pay their value; agreements or provisions in the establishing instrument remain applicable (Art. 717) | — |
| Notifies the owner if a third party interferes with the owner’s rights; otherwise, is liable for resulting damage (Art. 734) | — |
Taxes: for a gratuitous usufruct, the usufructuary bears all taxes and contributions on the property. For one granted for consideration, the usufructuary pays only taxes involving services for enjoyment of the property. The parties may agree otherwise (Art. 731). Ask the notary about the tax treatment of the deed establishing the usufruct.
How It Ends
Article 738 lists seven grounds:
- Death of the usufructuary.
- Expiry of the term or fulfillment of the terminating condition.
- Merger of usufruct and ownership in the same person; if the merger affects only part of the property, the usufruct continues over the rest.
- Prescripción (prescription).
- Renunciation by the usufructuary, subject to the rules protecting creditors against fraudulent renunciations.
- Loss of the property; if destruction is partial, the right continues over the remainder.
- Annulment or cessation of the right of the person who established the usufruct.
Abuse by the usufructuary—deteriorating the property or allowing it to perish through lack of ordinary repairs—can also bring the right to an end, but termination requires a judicial ruling rather than occurring automatically (Art. 739). Temporary impediments caused by a fortuitous event or force majeure do not extinguish the usufruct (Art. 741). See the related property certification procedure.
Uso and Habitación (More Limited Rights)
Uso (a right of use) allows someone to use another person’s property or benefit from its fruits to the extent needed by the user and their family (Art. 745). Habitación (a right of habitation) is limited to what the holder and their family need, even if they did not have that family when the right was established (Art. 746). Unlike usufruct, these rights cannot be transferred, encumbered or leased (Art. 748).
Related Procedures
- Donation deed — donating property while reserving a usufruct
- Property certification (RGP)
- Property registration
- IUSI calculator
- Comodato (loan-for-use) contract
- Lease agreement
- Notary fees
General information, not legal advice. Civil Code provisions are based on the Código Civil Comentado published by CENADOJ, Organismo Judicial.