Libro Quinto Título IX. Del comodato

By the contract of commodatum, one person delivers to another, gratuitously, any non-fungible movable property or live animal, for the latter to make use of it for a certain time and for a certain purpose and thereafter to return it.

Only the person who has free disposal of the thing and the lessee and usufructuary who have no prohibition may give in commodatum.

Increases in the thing belong to the lender. Impairments or losses are also borne by him, when they are not due to fault of the borrower or there has been no agreement to satisfy damage or losses.

If the thing was appraised upon delivery, the borrower shall be liable for its loss, even due to fortuitous event, unless otherwise agreed.

The commodatum is deemed granted in consideration of the person of the borrower, and the latter may not transfer it, except by express agreement.

The obligations of the lender are:

1°.To give notice if the loaned thing has any hidden defect, being liable, otherwise, for the damage or losses resulting from the hidden defects if, knowing them, he did not give notice to the borrower;

2°.Not to request what was lent before the expiry of the stipulated time limit; and, in the absence of an agreement, before it has served in the use for which it was lent; and

3°.To pay the extraordinary and indispensable expenses incurred by the borrower for the preservation of the loaned thing.

If the lender needs the loaned thing due to unforeseen urgency, or if it is at risk of perishing if it remains in the borrower's possession, the lender may demand that it be returned before the time limit has expired or before it has been used, and the judge, according to the circumstances, shall decide what is appropriate.

The obligations of the borrower are:

1°.To take care of the thing lent;

2°.To employ it in the use indicated by its nature or by the agreement; being liable for its loss or deterioration arising from misuse, even by fortuitous event;

3°.To pay the ordinary expenses required by the thing while the comodato lasts; and

4°.To return the thing within the stipulated term or after the use determined in the contract, with no further deterioration than that resulting from its ordinary use.

If, the commodatum having ended and the lender having been requested, the lender delays receiving the thing, all risk shall be at his charge and he shall reimburse the expenses incurred by the borrower to preserve it.

The borrower who delays the return of the thing is liable for the loss of the thing and for damage and losses, even if they arise from a fortuitous event.

The borrower is liable for the loss of the thing and for the damage and losses resulting from his intent or fault.

When it is impossible to return the thing lent, the borrower shall deliver another of the same kind and quality, or the value corresponding to it, at the election of the lender, determined according to the circumstances of time and place in which it was to be returned. If the thing was valued at the time of the conclusion of the contract, the price that the borrower shall return shall be the value given to it.

Once the borrowed thing has been paid for in case of its loss, if the borrower should find it afterwards, the lender cannot be compelled to receive it.

If the thing should be found by the lender, he may retain it, returning the price that was given to him, or keep the latter, returning the former to the borrower.

If a third party finds it, the borrower has the right to recover it as his own.

The borrower may not retain the thing as security or in set-off for what the lender owes him, but if the debt derives from extraordinary and indispensable expenses for the benefit of the same thing, he may retain it as a deposit until payment is made to him.

When there are several borrowers under the commodatum contract, they shall all be liable jointly and severally.

The lender who pays the civil liabilities arising from damage and losses caused by the use of the thing lent has the right to seek recovery from the borrower for what he was obliged to pay.