Nuda Propiedad (Bare/Naked Ownership)NOO-dah pro-pee-eh-DAHD
Nuda propiedad is ownership of real property stripped of the right to use or enjoy it because a usufruct has been granted to another person. The bare owner holds legal title but cannot occupy, rent or use the property until the usufruct ends, at which point full ownership consolidates automatically.
By Daniel Ortega · Last reviewed 14 November 2026
How it works
Mexican federal law does not explicitly define nuda propiedad, but the concept is derived from the usufruct provisions of the Federal Civil Code, particularly Article 980, which defines usufruct as the real and temporary right to enjoy the property of others. When a property owner grants a usufruct to someone else, the owner retains only the nuda propiedad—the right to dispose of the property. Under Articles 830 and 1004 of the Federal Civil Code, the bare owner may sell the property (subject to the usufruct continuing) and dispose of it, but cannot use, occupy or rent it. Article 2900 does not state that bare ownership may be mortgaged; it concerns the mortgage of a share in a common property. Both the usufruct and the nuda propiedad are recorded in the Public Property Registry in the notarized deed (escritura). The structure is most common in estate planning, where elderly owners sell the bare ownership while reserving lifetime usufruct, and in inheritance, where a will leaves usufruct to a surviving spouse and bare ownership to children. Foreign buyers may acquire nuda propiedad at a discount to full ownership; the property must be held in a fideicomiso if in the restricted zone, and all usual closing costs apply.