Cap. 16 Art. 495Each co-owner has full ownership of his share.

(1) Each co-owner has the full ownership of his share and of the profits or fruits thereof.

(2) He may freely alienate, assign, or hypothecate such share, and may also, subject to the provisions of article 912, substitute for himself another person in the enjoyment thereof, unless personal rights are concerned:

Provided that the effect of any alienation or hypothecation shall be restricted to that portion which may come to the co-owner on a partition.

(3) Where the heirs in an inheritance continue to hold in common, property deriving from the succession for more than three years and no action has been instituted before a court or other tribunal for the partition of the property within three years from the opening of the succession and the portions of the heirs in the said inheritance are the same in respect of all the assets of the inheritance, each co-owner shall be deemed to be co-owner of each and every item of property so held in common: Provided that this sub-article shall not apply:

(a) when property held in common is subject to any right of habitation, use or of usufruct, for such time during which such right is in force; or

(b) when the property held in common consists of property which of its very kind has of necessity to be kept indivisible; or

(c) when persons who are holding the property deriving from the succession in common agree otherwise: Provided further that the period of three years referred to in this sub-article shall commence to run together with, and shall be deemed as one with, the period of three years referred to in article 495A(1).