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LEGAL REDEMPTION

Article 1619. Legal redemption is the right to be subrogated, upon the same terms and conditions
stipulated in the contract, in the place of one who acquires a thing by purchase or dation in payment,
or by any other transaction whereby ownership is transmitted by onerous title.

Legal redemption defined

Article 1619 gives the definition of legal redemption. As the thing is employed without qualification,
the right applies to both movable and immovable property.

Basis and nature of right of legal redemption

Legal redemption is in the nature of a mere privilege created partly for reason of public policy and
partly for the benefit and convenience of the redemptioner to afford him a way out of what might be
a disagreeable and inconvenient association into which he has been thrust.


Article 1620. A co-owner of a thing may exercise the right of redemption in case the shares of all the
other co-owners or of any of them, are sold to a third person. If the price of the alienation is grossly
excessive, the redemptioner shall pay only a reasonable one.

Should two or more co-owners desire to exercise the right of redemption, they may only do so in
proportion to the share they may respectively have in the thing owned in common.

Right of legal redemption of co-owner

The right of legal redemption among co-owner presupposes of course the existence of a co-
ownership at the time the conveyance is made. The following are the requisites for the right to exist:

(1.) There must be co-ownership
(2.) There must be alienation of all or of any of the shares of the other co-owners.
(3.) The sale must be to a third person or stranger (non co-owner).
(4.) The sale must be before partition
(5.) The vendee must be reimbursed for the price of the sale.

Example: X, Y and Z are co-owners of an undivided property valued at P50,000. X sells his interest
to B for P20,000.

Y and Z may exercise the right of redemption by reimbursing B the price of the sale. If both Y and Z
redeem the interest sold by X, each of them shall pay P10,000 to B which is the proportion of their
respective share in the co-ownership. If the price of P20,000 is grossly excessive, the same may be
equitably reduced by the court.

Co-owners have no right of legal redemption against each other. The right of legal redemption is not
granted solely and exclusively to the original co-owner but applies to those who subsequently
acquire their respective shares while the co-ownership subsist.





By whom and against whom right may be exercised

(1.) A co-owner has the legal right to sell, assign, or mortgage his ideal share in the property
held in common. By the nature of the right of legal redemption, a co-owners right to redeem
is invoke only after the shares of the other co-owners are sold to a third party or stranger.

(2.) Co-owners have no right of legal redemption against each other to whom the law grants the
same privilege, but only against a third person. A third person, within the meaning of Article
1620 is anyone who is not a co-owner. Article 1620 in intended to minimize co-ownership.

(3.) Should any of the heirs sell his hereditary right to a stranger before partition, any or all of
the co-heirs may be subrogated to the rights of the purchaser by reimbursing him for the
purchase price, provided it be done, within the period of one month to be counted from the
time they were notified in writing of the sale by the vendor. Once the portion corresponding to
each heir is fixed, the co-heirs turn into co-owners and their right of legal redemption should
be governed by Article 1620 and 1623.

(4.) The right of legal redemption is not granted solely and exclusively to the original co-owners
but applies to those who subsequently acquires their respective shares while the community
subsists.

Purpose of the grant of right to co-owners

The purpose of the law in establishing the right of legal redemption between co-owners is to reduce
the number of participants until community is done away with, as being a hindrance to the
development and better administration of the property.


Article 1621. The owners of adjoining lands shall also have the right of redemption when a piece of
rural land, the area of which does not exceed one hectare, is alienated, unless the grantee does not
own any rural land.

This right is not applicable to adjacent lands which are separated by brooks, drains, ravines, roads
and other apparent servitudes for the benefit of other estates.

If two or more adjoining owners desire to exercise the right of redemption at the same time, the
owner of the adjoining land of smaller area shall be preferred; and should both lands have the same
area, the one who first requested the redemption.

Right of legal redemption of adjacent owners of rural lands

The following are the requisites for the exercise of the right under this article:

(1.) Both the land of the one exercising the right of redemption and the land sought to be
redeemed must be rural;
(2.) The lands must be adjacent;
(3.) There must be an alienation;
(4.) The piece of rural land alienated must not exceed one (1) heactare;
(5.) The vendee must already own some rural lands
(6.) The rural land sold must not be separated by books, drains, ravines, roads and other
apparent servitudes from adjoining lands.

In case two or more adjacent owners desire to exercise the right of redemption, the law gives
preference to the owner of the adjoining land of smaller area but if both lands have the same area, to
the one who first requested the redemption. Under Article 1620, the co-owners exercise their right of
redemption pro-rata.

Purpose of the grant of right to owners of adjoining rural lands.

The object of the lawmaker in allowing the redemption by adjacent owner is to prevent an
adjoining real estate belonging to another owner or owners, the area of which does not exceed one
(1) hectare, from passing into the hands of a person other than someone of the adjacent owners
who are interested in making use of the alienated property for the improvement and development of
their own land.

In short, the purpose is to encourage the maximum development and utilization of
agricultural lands.


ARTICLE 1622. Whenever a piece of urban land which is so small and so situated that a major
portion thereof cannot be used for any practical purpose within a reasonable time, having been
bought merely for speculation, is about to be re-sold, the owner of any adjoining land has a right of
pre-emption at a reasonable price.

If the re-sale has been perfected, the owner of the adjoining land shall have a right of redemption,
also at a reasonable price.

When two or more owners of adjoining lands wish to exercise the right of pre-emption or redemption,
the owner whose intended use of the land in question appears best justified shall be preferred.

Rights of pre-emption and legal redemption of adjacent owners of urban lands.

1. Meaning - Article 1622 recognizes two (2) rights namely:

(a) Pre-emption- which has been defined as the act or right of purchasing before others. It is
exercised before the sale or resale against the would-be vendor; and
(b) Redemption which is exercised after the sale against the vendee.

2. Requisites The conditions for the exercise of the right of pre-emption or redemption, as
the case may be, are the following:

(1.) The piece of land is an urban land;
(2.) The one exercising the right must be an adjacent owner;
(3.) The piece of land sold must be so small and so situated that a major portion thereof cannot
be used for any practical purpose within a reasonable time;
(4.) Such urban land was bought by its owner merely for speculation and;
(5.) It is about to be resold or that its resale has been perfected.

3. Price The price to be paid is a reasonable price

4. Preference in case two or more adjoining owners desire to exercise the right of legal
redemption, the law prefers him whose intended use of the land appears best justified.


ILLUSTRATIVE CASE:

FACTS: Having discovered that part of its ancestral house was erected on an adjoining lot of 59
square meters. X wanted to exercise her right of pre-emption but the lot owner asked for the
exorbitant sum of P9,000. Later, the 59 square meter lot was sold to another adjoining owner for
only P1,500.

ISSUE: Who was a better right to the lot. X or the other adjoining owner?

HELD: X, because her intended use of the land appears best justified. Her house was occupying the
lot through no fault on her part.

Purpose of the grant of right of owners of adjoining urban lands

The evident purpose is to discourage speculation in real estate and the consequent aggravation of
the housing problems in centers of population. In case of rural lands, the right of redemption is to
encourage the development and utilization of the agricultural lands.



Article 1623. The right of legal pre-emption or redemption shall not be exercised except within thirty
days from the notice in writing by the prospective vendor, or by the vendor, as the case may be. The
deed of sale shall not be recorded in the Registry of Property, unless accompanied by an affidavit of
the vendor that he has given written notice thereof to all possible redemptioners.

The right of redemption of co-owners excludes that of adjoining owners.
Period of the exercise of right of pre-emption or redemption
The period provided in the above article is absolute. The fundamental policy of the law is to
discourage the keeping for a long time of property in a state of uncertainty, a situation which obviously is
unjust to the purchaser and prejudicial to public interest.
The period of 30 days is counted from the notice in writing given by the vendor. The right of
redemption of co-owners is preferred over that of adjoining owners.

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