In the article "Bare ownership: what it is"We discovered what is the bare ownership, how it differs from full control and the usufruct and how it can be obtained. In this article we will delve into the rights and duties of the proprietary node, how you can acquire the use and enjoyment of the property and how you are taxed. 

Rights and Duties of the bare owner

Rights 

The proprietary knot has the right to: 

  • Home ownership. 
  • Sell ​​the bare property as long as the rights of the usufructuary are respected. The owner knot can alienate his property, but he cannot alter its form or substance, nor do anything that could harm the usufructuary. 
  • Mortgage the bare ownership of the property. 
  • Carry out works and improvements, as long as it does not harm the usufructuary or the value of the usufruct is diminished. 
  • Recover the house in good condition. 
  • Obtain the usufruct and, therefore, consolidate full ownership, before the end of the usufruct. 

Obligations

The proprietary knot has the duties of: 

  • Respect the right of the usufructuary, in the sense that he may not alter the characteristics of the thing in usufruct, nor perform acts that harm the right of the usufructuary. 
  • Take care of the extraordinary repairs of the property, of which the usufructuary will be obliged to notify you when the need to do them is urgent. 
  • Pay those taxes corresponding to the usufruct, with the exception of the Real Estate Tax (IBI), which the usufructuary will have to take charge of. You will also have to pay the community fees. 
  • Respond to the usufructuary, in the event that the property is seized or sold to settle the payment of a debt. 

When the proprietary knot acquires the use and enjoyment

For the proprietary node can acquire the use and enjoyment of the property, as already established in the article "Nuda propiedad: What it is"*, you must also acquire the usufruct. Full ownership of the property will be held from the consolidation of the bare ownership and usufruct. This situation can occur for two reasons. 

In the first place, for the purchase of the usufruct. The usufructuary can sell his right over the property to the bare owner, an action that will mean the consolidation of the bare ownership and the usufruct, and that will allow the current owner of the property in full control of its use and enjoyment. 

On the other hand, due to the extinction of the usufruct. Among other causes typified by article 561-16 of the Civil Code of Catalonia, the usufruct can be extinguished for the following reasons: 

  • Death of the usufructuary: The death of the usufructuary automatically implies the consolidation by the bare owner of full ownership of the property. If the usufruct corresponds to more than one person jointly, it will not be until the death of all the usufructuaries that the bare owner will have full control. 
  • Compliance with the term for which it was established: In the event that the usufruct is established for a specific period, compliance with it before the death of the usufructuary implies consolidation by the bare owner of the freehold, unless otherwise agreed. 
  • Compliance with the resolutive condition established in the usufruct agreement: In the event that the usufruct is established with a resolutive condition, compliance with this condition would mean the consolidation of the bare owner of freehold. For example, before a resolutive condition of marriage, at the moment in which the usufructuary gets married, the bare owner would obtain full ownership. 

The taxation of bare property 

  • In the income statement: Having the bare ownership of a property does not generate any type of taxation in the income statement. Although the real estate must be included in the income statement, it must be specified that it has bare ownership, and this fact does not generate taxation or as a real estate imputation. It will be the usufructuary who must declare it in his personal income tax, stating whether the property is leased or at his disposal. 
  • In inheritance tax: In the liquidation of the Inheritance Tax, only the value of the bare ownership of the property is taxed, that is, subtracting the value of the usufruct thereof. 
  • In the sale of the bare property: In the case of the sale of the bare ownership, the IRPF will also record the sale of the bare ownership of the property, not the price of the entire property.