In short
The Civil Code governs two rights that are similar and distinct. Use is the faculty to use another’s thing to obtain directly from it whatever services it can render and, if it is fruitful, to receive the natural or industrial fruits according to what the title says or, failing that, according to the needs of its holder and of those living with them. Habitation is the right to occupy the part of the immovable the title indicates or, if it does not, the part necessary to meet the housing needs of the holder and of the persons living with them, even if the number of those increases afterwards. Both are personalísimos: they may not be transferred or leased under any kind of title, and if constituted in favour of a natural person without saying how long they last, they are presumed to be for life. They may be constituted in favour of several persons, at once or successively, and are not extinguished until the death of the last holder. The biggest practical difference is in expenses: if the usuario receives all the fruits they are bound to the ordinary repairs and maintenance expenses and to the payment of contributions just like a usufructuary; the habitacionista, by contrast, is relieved of the expenses derived from the dwelling provided they make normal use of it, and pays only those that can be individualized and those of the services they themselves installed.
What is it?
It is Chapter II of Title VI of Book Three of the Civil Code of 2020, Articles 920 to 934. They are the classic tool for a very common situation: letting someone — a mother, a sister, someone who cared for another — live in a property for life without the ownership changing hands.
Who can do it?
The right of use may be constituted in favour of natural or juridical persons; for juridical persons its duration may not exceed thirty years. The right of habitation may only be constituted in favour of natural persons.
Requirements
- Constituting it by facts or circumstances provided by law, by a unilateral or bilateral juridical act between the living gratuitously or on account of death, or by usucapión.Verified against the official source
- That the right of habitation be constituted only in favour of natural persons.Verified against the official source
- That a right of use in favour of a juridical person not exceed thirty years.Verified against the official source
- That if constituted successively in favour of several persons, all be alive at the moment of constitution.Verified against the official source
- Not transferring or leasing the right under any kind of title: it is personalísimo.Verified against the official source
- That the constituting title modify the legal regulation only up to the limit where it does not affect the right’s essential purposes.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: Use and habitation are not the same
The right of use is the faculty to use another’s thing to obtain directly from it whatever services it can render and, if it is fruitful, to receive the natural or industrial fruits to the extent the constituting title establishes or, failing that, according to the needs of its holder and of the persons living with them. The right of habitation is narrower and more domestic: it is the right to occupy the part of the immovable indicated in the title or, absent that indication, the part necessary to meet the housing needs of the holder and of the persons living with them.
Step 2: The household may grow afterwards
A detail of Article 932 worth reading slowly: the necessary part is measured by the housing needs of the holder and of the persons living with them, even if the number of those increases after the constitution. That is, if grandchildren are born or a relative moves in, the right of habitation adjusts. And it includes the right to occupy the dependencies and to exercise the dwelling’s annexed rights, according to those needs.
Step 3: For life unless it says otherwise
A right of use or habitation constituted in favour of a natural person without specifying its duration is presumed to be for life. They may be constituted in favour of several persons, simultaneously or successively, but in the second case only if they are persons alive at the moment of constitution; and in both cases the right is not extinguished until the death of the last holder. A right of use in favour of a juridical person is the exception: it may not exceed thirty years.
Step 4: It is not sold, not rented
The rights of use and habitation are personalísimos, and the usuario and the habitacionista may not transfer or lease their right under any kind of title. It is the sharpest difference from usufruct, and also the reason they are used to protect a specific person rather than as an investment.
Step 5: Who pays what
Here the two rights part company entirely. If the usuario receives all the fruits of another’s thing, they are bound to the ordinary repairs and maintenance expenses and to the payment of contributions, in the same way as the usufructuary; if they do not receive them all, they contribute in proportion to the fruits they receive. The habitacionista, by contrast, is relieved of paying the expenses derived from the dwelling provided they make normal use of it; chargeable to them are the expenses that can be individualized and those derived from the services and utilities they themselves installed.
Step 6: Working in the house you use
Unless the constituting title determines otherwise, the use of a dwelling extends to its entirety and includes the dependencies and annexed rights; and the holder of the right may use it to establish their profession, industry or commerce, if compatible with the use the thing is destined to. This belongs to the right of use, not to habitation.
Step 7: What the holder answers for
The usuario and the habitacionista answer for the damages caused by the negligent exercise of their right, by defects in the ordinary repairs owed and by omission of the duty of custody. But they do not answer for the loss of economic value due to the deterioration proper to simple and ordinary use: living in a house wears it, and that is not charged to whoever lives in it.
Step 8: The twelve causes for which it ends
The rights of use and habitation are extinguished: by the death of the usuario or habitacionista; by the fulfilment of the term or resolutory condition in the title; by the consolidation of the right and the ownership in one person; by the holder’s renunciation; by the total loss of the thing; by the resolution of the constituent’s right; by failure to comply with conditions imposed or freely agreed; by expropriation of the thing; by usucapión; by judicial resolution in case of exercise gravely contrary to the nature of the property; by misuse under another article of the Code; and by supervening uninhabitability. A note on the source: that penultimate cause is printed as "por el mal uso según lo dispuesto en el 917 de este Código", without the word Artículo before the number.
Step 9: Which rules fill the gaps
The rights and obligations of the usuario and the habitacionista are governed by their respective constituting titles, which may only modify the legal regulation up to the limit where it does not affect their essential purposes, and failing that by this chapter. And the provisions on usufruct apply in so far as they do not conflict with this chapter and are consistent with the nature of these rights. We did not read the usufruct chapter for this guide and so we do not reproduce its rules here.
Where to do it
They are constituted before a notary, by act between the living or by will, or they arise from the law or from usucapión. Disputes about their exercise or extinction go to the Court of First Instance.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
If the title does not say how long it lasts and the holder is a natural person, it is presumed for life. If you are offered a chance to rent out the house where you hold a right of habitation, you cannot: the right is not leased under any kind of title. And if you are billed for the dwelling’s expenses as a habitacionista, the Code relieves you of them while you make normal use, except those that can be individualized and those of the services you installed yourself.
Common mistakes
- Renting out or selling the right of use or habitation: it is personalísimo and admits no transfer or lease.
- Constituting a right of habitation in favour of a corporation: it may only be in favour of natural persons.
- Giving a right of use to a juridical person for more than thirty years.
- Constituting it successively in favour of someone not yet born: all persons must be alive at the moment of constitution.
- Billing the habitacionista for the dwelling’s general expenses when they make normal use of it.
- Charging the holder for the wear proper to simple and ordinary use of the immovable.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the right of habitation last?
If constituted in favour of a natural person without specifying a duration, it is presumed for life. If there are several holders, simultaneous or successive, it is not extinguished until the death of the last one.
May I rent out the house where I hold the right?
No. The usuario and the habitacionista may not transfer or lease their right under any kind of title.
Who pays the taxes and the repairs?
If the usuario receives all the fruits, they do, just like a usufructuary; if not, in proportion to the fruits they receive. The habitacionista is relieved of the expenses derived from the dwelling while making normal use, and pays only the individualizable ones and those of the services they installed.
And if the holder’s household grows?
The right of habitation covers the part necessary to meet the housing needs of the holder and of the persons living with them, even if the number of those increases after the constitution.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico
Poder Judicial
bvirtualogp.pr.gov
Last verified
September 7, 2026
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