Art. 440.

The ownership of property gives the right by

accession to everything which is produced thereby, or
which is incorporated or attached thereto, either
naturally or artificially.
What is the definition of accession?
It is the right of the owner of a thing, real or personal, to
become the owner of everything which is produced thereby,
or which is incorporated or attached thereto, either naturally
or artificially.
Distinguish accession (the thing over which the right is
exercised) from accessories.
Accession are the fruits of, or additions to, or improvements
upon, a thing (the principal). EX. Accession natural: alluvion,
avulsion, change of course of rivers, and formation of islands.
n the other hand, accessories are things !oined
to, or included with, the principal thing for the latter"s
embellishment, better use, or completion. EX. #ey of a
house$ frame of a picture machinery in a factory$ bracelet of a
watch$ bow of a violin.
Why is accession not a mode of acquiring ownership based
on our Civil Code?
%ecause it is merely a conse&uence or incidence of
ownership where there is a pre'e(isting right of ownership.
Accession is an e(ercise of the right of ownership, an
e(tension of dominion over a principal thing to an accessory.
What are the inds of accession?
()) Accession discreta' it is the e(tension of the right of
ownership of a person to the products of a thing which
belongs to such person. It is based on the principle of !ustice
for it is !ust that the owner of a thing should also own its
fruits (discreta).
*nder the +ivil +ode, it ta,es place with respect
to: (a) natural fruits$ (b) industrial fruits$ (c) civil fruits.
(-) Accession continua' it is the e(tension of the right of
ownership of a person to that which is incorporated or
attached to a thing which belongs to such person.
.hy is it based on convenience and necessity/
%ecause it is more practical that the owner of the
principal should also own the accessory
(continua) instead of establishing a co'ownership.
*nder the +ivil +ode, this ,ind of accession may
ta,e place:
(a) With respect to real property. It may be
either:
a. Accession industrial. EX.
%uilding, planting or sowing$
b. Accession natural. EX. alluvion,
avulsion, change of river course,
and formation of islands$ and
(b) With respect to personal property.It may
be:
a. +on!unction or ad!unction (which
may ta,e place by inclusion or
engraftment, soldadura or
attachment, tejido or weaving,
pintura or painting, and escritura
or writing)$
b. +ommi(tion or confusion$ or
c. 0pecification
Art. 441. To the owner belongs:
(1) The natural fruits
(!) The industrial fruits
(") The civil fruits.
.ho owns the fruits/
12: All fruits belong to the owner of a thing. (Art. 33))
X450:
). possession in good faith by another' the possessor in good
faith is entitled to the fruits received before the possession is
legally interrupted$
-. usufruct' the usufructuary is entitled to all the fruits of the
property on usufruct.
6. lease of rural lands' the lessee is li,ewise entitled to the
fruits of the land with the owner, of course, getting the civil
fruits in the form of rents paid by the lessee
3. pledge' the pledge is entitled to receive the fruits, income,
dividends, or interests which the pledge earns or produces but
with the obligation to compensate or set'off what he receives
with those which are owing him.
7. antichresis
)
' the creditor ac&uires the right to receive the
fruits of an immovable of his debtor, but with the obligation
to apply them, first, to the interest if owing, and then to the
principal amount of the credit.
Art. 44!. #atural fruits are the spontaneous products of
the soil, and the young and other products of ani$als.
%ndustrial fruits are those produced by lands of
any &ind through cultivation or labor.
'ivil fruits are the rents of buildings, the price
of leases of lands and other property and the a$ount of
perpetual life annuities or other si$ilar inco$e.
.hat are the definitions of natural, industrial, and civil
fruits/
0ee Art. 33-.
Natural fruits
.hat are the two ,inds of natural fruits/
). the spontaneous products of the soil (i.e., not through
human cultivation or labor)$ and
-. the young and other products of animals (EX. +hic,s,
eggs, wool, mil,, etc.)
Are standing trees which are integral part of the land fruits/
5o, they are immovables. (Art.3)78-9).
: ;he owner of female animals would also belong the young
of such animals although this right is lost when the owner
mi(es his cattle with those of another. ;his rule merely
continues the ownership which the owner of the female had
while the young was still in the womb of the mother.
Industrial fruits
.hen is grass considered an industrial fruit/
.hen it is cultivated as food for horses.
.hen are standing trees considered as industrial fruits/
.hen they are cultivated or e(ploited to carry on an industry.
Are mushrooms industrial fruits/
It depends. If they are wild mushrooms then they are natural
fruits$ but if they are cultivated mushrooms, then they are
industrial fruits.
Civil fruits
.hat are the 6 things that Article 33- consider as civil fruits/
). rents of buildings
-. prices of leases (rents) of lands and other property
(including movables)$
)
Antichresis' a contract by which a creditor ac&uires the
right of reaping the fruits or other revenues of the
immovables given to him in pledge, on condition of
deducting, annually, their proceeds from the interest, if any is
due to him, and afterwards from the principal of his debt.
6. and the amount of perpetual or life annuities or other
similar income.
A tenant continued to occupy a land after the e(piration of
the lease contract in spite of the demand made upon him to
vacate. <ay he be sued not only for the return of the land but
also of the civil fruits which consists of the rents for the
buildings and the price of the lease of the land/
=es, this liability arises, not by virtue of the contract of lease
but by virtue of the right of accession which accompanies the
right of recovery.
.hen a real estate is sold under e(ecution, is the !udgment
debtor in possession entitled to remain in possession and to
collect rents and profits of the same during the period fi(ed
by law for redemption/
=es, and he cannot be re&uired by the purchaser to pay rent
for the property during the said period. If the period of
redemption e(pires without the !udgment debtor having made
use of his right, the ownership of the land becomes
consolidated in the purchaser who thereupon becomes
entitled to collect its fruits and rents, paying the !udgment
debtor the e(penses of cultivation, harvesting and
preservation.
Art. 336. >e who receives the fruits has the obligation to pay
the e(penses made by a third person in their production,
gathering, and preservation.
?oes this article apply where the owner of property recovers
the same from a possessor and the possessor has not yet
received the fruits although they may have already been
gathered or harvested/
=es.
.hat about where the possessor has already received the
fruits but was ordered to return the same to the owner/
=es.
.hat is the obligation of the owner in the abovementioned
scenarios/
;o reimburse the previous possessor for the e(penses
incurred by the latter for their production, gathering and
preservation.
.hat is the reason behind this rule/
;he e(penses incurred by another have inured to the benefit
of the owner who receives the fruits for without such
e(penses there would have been no fruits.
<oreover, the rules is in ,eeping with the
principle that no one may un!ustly enrich himself at the
e(pense of another.
.ill bad faith on the part of the possessor free the owner of
the obligation to reimburse when the fruits or crops have
already been gathered or harvested at the time that the owner
recovers possession/
5o, because Article 336 ma,es no distinction and because the
e(penses were necessary without which the owner would not
have received the fruits. ;he principle of accession discreta
applies.
.hat if the fruits are still pending at the time the possessor
gave up his possession, will good faith or bad faith of the
possessor be material in determining the owner"s obligation
to reimburse/
=es, because such a case will fall under Article 33@, where a
builder, planter or sower, in bad faith has no right of
reimbursement for e(penses, nor to the fruits. In other words,
the owner gets the fruits without indemnity by the principle
of accession continua. %ut the possessor in bad faith is
entitled to reimbursement for the necessary e(penses of
preservation of the land.
?oes a possessor in good faith have a right to reimbursement
for his e(penses where the fruits are still pending
(ungathered) at the time he gave up his possession/
*nder Article 733, a possessor in good faith has no right to
reimbursement for his e(penses since he is entitled to fruits
already received.
Are e(penses incurred by the possessor for improvement of
the fruits reimbursable/
5o. nly e(penses incurred by the possessor for the
production, gathering, and preservation of the fruits are
reimbursable.
If the e(penses e(ceed the value of the fruit, which may well
happen if a calamity occurs which decreases the latter"s
value, is the owner still obliged to pay the same amount/
=es, the owner must pay the e(penses !ust the same because
the law ma,es no distinction.
>ow may the owner free himself from paying the e(penses/
%y permitting the possessor to complete the harvesting and
gathering of the fruits for himself.
Art. 333. nly such as are manifest or born are considered as
natural or industrial fruits.
.ith respect to animals, it is sufficient that they
are in the womb of the mother, although unborn.
.hen are natural fruits and industrial fruits deemed to e(ist/
12: 4roducts of the soil are considered natural or industrial
fruits only if manifest or visible.
X45: ;he young of animals are considered natural fruits only
if e(isting in the womb of the mother, though unborn.
.hen deemed manifest or
e(isting
). 4lants which produce only
one crop and then perish.
EX. 2ice, corn, sugar
Arom the time the seedlings
appear from the ground
-. 4lants and trees which
live for years and give
periodic fruits. EX.
<angoes, coconuts, oranges
*ntil they actually appear on
the plants or trees
6. Animals At the beginning of the
ma(imum period of
gestation (when there can be
no doubt that they are
already in the womb of the
mother). .>=/ ;his is the
surest criterion of their
e(istence in the mother"s
womb
3. Aowls %y analogy, the fact of
appearance of the chic,s
should retroact to the
beginning of incubation