中国《民法典》居住权制度的检讨与完善

The right of habitation can be traced back to the Roman law period. It was originally established to guarantee the living and housing of specific family members and slaves. With the development of society, this system was successively inherited by European countries and other countries and targeted the traditional culture and social differences of various countries have undergone localization adjustments. In the 2002 “Property Law Draft for Solicitation of Comments”, China once proposed to establish the right of habitation as a real right system, but later it was not stipulated in the “Property Law” due to the narrow scope of application and other reasons. Until 2018, in order to implement the requirements of the party’s 19th National Congress report to build a multi-subject supply and multi-channel guarantee housing system, the right of habitation was re-introduced into the scope of discussion, As a new usufructuary right, it was established in a special chapter in the Civil Code issued in 2021, and explains the change of the right of habitation and the general clauses that should be included in the contract. The establishment of the right of habitation has epoch-making significance, but at the same time, as a new system, its various aspects are still imperfect, and need to be further reviewed and improved.For example, in the existing norms, the scope of the subject is not clear, the reasons for the elimination of the right of habitation are too single, and the establishment of the right of habitation in a will is not suitable for the establishment of the residence in accordance with the contract. At the same time, the legal right of habitation and the right of investment habitation are also omitted, As well as the norms of the rights and obligations between the holder of the right of habitation and the owner. In view of this, this paper start from practical problems and based on historical research methods, traces the origin of the evolution and development of the right of habitation in China from a historical perspective, and explores the reasons for the change of the right of residence in different periods. At the same time, the utility analysis of the institutional value of residence is carried out, and the unique value of the right of residence in improving the housing security system and“house-for-pension” in China is discussed. Finally, through comparative study, the provisions of the right of residence system of foreign countries are collected, the similarities and differences of the right of residence system of different countries are analyzed and compared, in order to find the better application path of the system in China. Finally, it concludes that it is necessary to understand the development process and clear the function to be played of China's habitation right system, Review and explain the existing norms and make up for omissions. Expand the scope of the subject of the right of habitation to all civil subjects including legal persons and unincorporated organizations, allow the establishment of the right of habitation on a part of house and affiliated facilities, clarify the effective application of the establishment of the will, and enrich the causes of the elimination of the right of habitation. At the same time, in the future legislation or judicial interpretation, we should break the restrictions of non-transferability and inheritance of the traditional right of habitation, add the investment residence right and strengthen its property right attribute. In addition, under the condition of fully respecting the free will of the obliged, the specific rights and obligations of each party should be clarified, so as to better apply the right of habitation, protect the legitimate rights, and give full play to the effectiveness of the right of habitation.