usufruct

Usufruct is a legal right that allows a person to use and enjoy the benefits of someone else’s property without owning it permanently. For example, if you have a usufruct on a house, you can live in it or rent it out and keep the income, but you cannot sell or heavily modify the property. The owner retains legal ownership, but the usufructuary has the right to use the property for a specified period or the lifetime of the usufructuary. It balances the owner’s ownership with the user's practical rights to use the property.