Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PROPERTY
All things which are, or may be the object of appropriation
Requisites: (USA)
1. utility
2. substantivity or individuality
3. appropriability
I.
A. IMMOVABLE PROPERTIES
1. land, buildings, roads and constructions of all kinds adhered to the soil;
2. trees, plants and growing fruits, while they are attached to the land or form an integral part of
an immovable;
3. everything attached to an immovable in a fixed manner in such a way that it cannot be
separated therefrom without breaking the material or deterioration of the object;
4. statues, reliefs, paintings or other objects for use or ornamentation, placed in buildings or on
lands by the owner of the immovable in such a manner that it reveals the intention to attach them
permanently to the tenements;
5. machinery, receptacles, instruments or implements intended by the owner of the tenement for
an industry or works which may be carried on in a building or on a piece of land, and which tend
directly to meet the needs of the said industry or works;
Requisites:
1. made by owner
2. industry or works carried on building or on land
3. machines, etc must tend directly to meet needs of the industry or works
4. machines, etc. must be essential and principal elements of the industry.
Categories: (NIDA)
1. Real by nature it cannot be carried from place to place (pars. 1 & 8, Art. 415, Civil Code)
2. Real by incorporation attached to an immovable in a fixed manner to be an integral part
thereof (pars. 1-3 Art. 415, Civil Code)
3. Real by destination placed in a n immovable for the utility it gives to the activity carried
thereon (pars. 4-7 and 9 Art. 415, Civil Code)
4. By analogy it is so classified by express provision of law (par. 10, Art. 415, Civil Code)
B.MOVABLE PROPERTIES
1. those movables susceptible of appropriation which are not included in the preceding article;
2. real property which by any special provision of law is considered as personalty;
3. forces of nature which are brought under control of science;
4. in general, all things which can be transported from place to place without impairment of the
real property to which they are fixed;
5. obligations and actions which have for their object movables or demandable sums; and
6. shares of stock of agricultural, commercial and industrial entities, although they have real
estate.
TESTS:
a) By exclusion: movables are everything not included in Art. 415.
b) By description: an object is movable if it possesses:
1) Ability to change location
2) Without substantial injury to the immovable to which it is attached.
2) Fact of separation determines the condition of the objects thus recovering their
condition as movables.
* the latter view is supported by Paras and Tolentino who maintains that the failure of the codifiers
to reproduce the provision of the partidas on the matter is an indication that they did not intend
the rule to continue.
f) A building that is to be sold or mortgaged and which would be immediately demolished may be
considered personal property and the sale or mortgage thereof would be a sale of chattel, or a chattel
mortgage respectively, for the true object of the contract would be the materials.
II.
NOTE: They cannot be registered under the land registration law and be the subject of a Torrens title.
The character of public property is not affected by possession or even a Torrens Title in favor of private
persons. (Palanca vs. Commonwealth, 69 Phil. 449).
NOTE: In the case of Province of Zamboanga Del Norte vs. City of Zamboanga, the Supreme Court
categorically stated that this court is not inclined to hold that municipal property held and devoted to
public service is in the same category as ordinary private property. The classification of municipal
property devoted for distinctly governmental purposes as public should prevail over the Civil Code in
this particular case. Here, the Law of Municipal Corporations was considered as a special law in the
context of Article 424 of the NCC.
OWNERSHIP
The right to enjoy, dispose, and recover a thing without further limitations than those
established by law or the will of the owner.
Rights included:
1. Right to enjoy: (PUFA)
a) to possess (jus possidendi)
b) to use (jus utendi)
c) to the fruits (jus fruendi) and accessions
d) to abuse (jus abutendi)
2. Right to dispose: (DATE)
a) to destroy
b) to alienate
c) to transform
d) to encumber
3. Right to vindicate: (RP)
a) pursuit
b) recovery
4. Right to exclude: (ER)
a) to enclose, fence and delimit
b) to repel intrusions even with force
Characteristics: (EGEIP)
1. Ownership is Elastic power/s may be reduced and thereafter automatically recovered upon
the cessation of the limiting rights.
2. General the right to make use of all the possibilities or utility of the thing owned, except
those attached to other real rights existing thereon.
3. Exclusive there can only be one ownership over a thing at a time. There may be two or more
owners but ONLY ONE ownership.
4. Independence It exists without necessity of any other right
5. Perpetuity ownership lasts as long as the thing exists. It cannot be extinguished by non user
but only by adverse possession.
Limitations:
1. General limitations imposed by the State for its benefit
2. Specific limitations imposed by law
3. Limitations imposed by the party transmitting the property either by contract or by will
4. Limitations imposed by the owner himself
5. Inherent limitations arising from conflict with other rights
Principle of Self-Help
right of the owner or lawful possessor to exclude any person from the enjoyment and disposal of
the property by the use of such force as may be necessary to repel or prevent actual or threatened
unlawful physical invasion or usurpation of his property.
Requisites: (RONA)
1. reasonable force
2. owner or lawful possessor is the person who will exercise
3. no delay in ones exercise
4. actual or threatened physical invasion or usurpation
RGENERAL RULE: A person cannot interfere with the right of ownership of another.
REXCEPTION: Doctrine of Incomplete Privilege or State of Necessity (Article 432)
Requisites: (ID)
1. Interference necessary
2. Damage to another much greater than damage to property
2. Real Property:
a. ACCION INTERDICTAL
Nature: summary action to recover physical or material possession only. It consists of the
summary actions of:
1. Forcible entry
Action for recovery of material possession of real property when a person originally in
possession was deprived thereof by force, intimidation, strategy, threat or stealth
2. Unlawful Detainer
Action for recovery of possession of any land or building by landlord, vendor, vendee, or
other person against whom the possession of the same was unlawfully withheld after the
expiration or termination of the right to hold possession, by virtue of any contract.
Forcible Entry
Unlawful
Detainer
Possession of the
defendant
is
unlawful from the
beginning as he
acquires
possession
by
Force,
intimidation,
strategy, threat or
stealth
Possession
is
inceptively lawful
but becomes illegal
from
the
time
defendant
unlawfully
withholds
possession
after
the expiration or
termination of his
right thereto.
No
previous
demand for the
defendant
to
vacate
is
necessary
Demand
is
jurisdictional if the
ground
is
nonpayment of rentals
or
failure
to
comply with the
lease contract
Plaintiff
must
prove that he was
in prior physical
possession of the
premises until he
was
deprived
thereof by the
defendant
1 year period is
generally counted
from the date of
actual entry on
the land
1 year
counted
date
demand
letter of
period is
from the
of
last
or last
demand
b. ACCION PUBLICIANA
Nature: Ordinary civil proceeding to recover the better right of possession, except in cases
of forcible entry and unlawful detainer. The involved is not possession de facto but possession
de jure.
c. ACCION REIVINDICATORIA
Nature: action to recover real property based on ownership. Here, the object is the
recovery of the dominion over the property as owner.
Requisites:
1. Identity of the Property
2. Plaintiffs title to the property
Surface Rights
The owner of parcel of land is the owner of its surface and everything under it.
The economic utility which such space or subsoil offers to the owner of the surface sets the
limit of the owners right to the same.
HIDDEN TREASURE
Definition: any hidden or unknown deposit of money, jewelry or other precious objects, the
lawful ownership of which does not appear.
RGENERAL RULE: It belongs to the owner of the land, building or other property on which it is found.
REXCEPTIONS: The finder is entitled to provided:
1. Discovery was made on the property of another, or of the state or any of its political
subdivisions;
2. The finding was made by chance;
3. The finder is not a co-owner of the property where it is found;
4. The finder is not a trespasser;
5. The finder is not an agent of the landowner;
6. The finder is not married under the absolute community or the conjugal partnership system
(otherwise his share belongs to the community).
ACCESSION
The right by virtue of which the owner of a thing becomes the owner of everything that it may
produce or which may be inseparably united or incorporated thereto, either naturally or artificially.
Classifications:
1. Accession Discreta the right pertaining to the owner of a thing over everything produced thereby
Kinds of Fruits
1. natural fruits spontaneous products of the soil and the young and other products of animals
2. industrial fruits those produced by lands of any kind through cultivation or labor
3. civil fruits rents of buildings, price of leases or lands and the amount of perpetual or life
annuities or other similar income
GENERAL RULE: To the owner belongs the natural, industrial, and civil fruits.
EXCEPTIONS: If the thing is: (PULA)
a) in possession of a possessor in good faith;
b) subject to a usufruct;
c) leased or pledged; or
d) in possession of an antichretic creditor
2. Accession Continua the right pertaining to the owner of a thing over everything that is incorporated
or attached thereto either naturally or artificially; by external forces.
a.
i.
accession industrial
building, planting or sowing
1. He who is in good faith may be held responsible but will not be penalized.
2. To the owner of a thing belongs the extension or increase of such thing.
3. Bad faith of one party neutralizes the bad faith of the other.
Important Doctrines/Principles:
a) Under Art 448, the landowner may not refuse both to pay for the building and to sell the land
and instead seek to compel the owner of the building to remove the building from the land. He is
entitled to such removal ONLY when, after having chosen to sell the land, the other party fails to
pay for said land. (Ignacio vs. Hilario, 76 Phil. 605)
b) Should no other arrangement be agreed upon, the owner of the land does not automatically
become the owner of the improvement. (Filipinas Colleges, Inc. vs. Timbang, 106 Phil. 247)
c) Article 448 is not applicable where a person constructs a house on his own land and then sells
the land, not the building. (Coleongco vs. Regalado, 27 Phil 387)
d) Article 448 does not apply to cases which are governed by other provisions of law such as coownership, usufruct, agency, lease.
e) The provision on indemnity in Art. 448 may be applied by analogy considering that the primary
intent of the law is to avoid a state of forced co-ownership especially where the parties in the main
agree that Articles 448 and 546 are applicable and indemnity for the improvements may be paid
although they differ as to the basis of the indemnity. (Pecson vs. CA 244 SCRA 407).
ACCESSION NATURAL
1. Alluvion or alluvium increment which lands abutting rivers gradually receive as a result of
the current of the waters.
Concept: it is the gradual deposit of sediment by the natural action of a current of fresh
water (not sea water, the original identity of the deposit being lost.
Requisites:
Doctrines:
a) Where the deposit is by sea water, it belongs to the state
b) A gradual change of bed is also governed by the rules of alluvium (Canas vs. Tuason 5 Phil.
689)
2. Avulsion the transfer of a known portion of land from one tenement to another by the force
of the current. The portion of land must be such that it can be identified as coming from a
definite tenement.
Requisites:
a) The segregation and transfer must be caused by the current of a river, creek or torrent.
b) The segregation and transfer must be sudden or abrupt
c) The portion of land transported must be known or identified
NOTES:
The owner must remove the transported portion within two years to retain ownership
In case of uprooted trees, the owner retains ownership if he makes a claim within 6 months.
This refers only to uprooted trees and does not include trees which remain planted on a known
portion of land carried by the force of the waters. In this latter case, the trees are regarded as
accessions of the land through gradual changes in the course of adjoining stream. (Payatas vs.
Tuazon)
Registration under the Torrens system does not protect the riparian owner against diminution of
the area of his land through gradual changes in the course of adjoining stream ( Payatas vs.
Tuazon).
Alluvium
Avulsion
1. gradual and
imperceptible
1.
sudden
or
abrupt process
2. soil cannot be
identified
2. identifiable and
verifiable
3. belongs to the
owner
of
the
property to which
it is attached
3. belongs to the
owner from whose
property it was
detached
4.
merely
attach-ment
4. detachment followed
by
attachment
an
4. Formation of Islands
RULES ON OWNERSHIP
a. If formed by the sea:
1) within territorial waters - State
2) outside territorial waters to the first occupant
b. If formed in lakes, or navigable or floatable rivers - State
c. If formed on non-navigable or non-floatable rivers:
1) if nearer to one margin or bank to the nearer reparian owner
2) if equidistant from both banks- to the reparian owners, by halves.
NOTE: There is no accession when islands are formed by the branching of a river; the owner retains
ownership of the isolated piece of land.
e. tejido or weaving
Tests to determine principal:
a. the rule of importance and purpose
b. that of greater value
c. that of greater volume
d. that of greater merits
Rules:
a) Adjunction in good faith by either owner:
Kinds:
a. Commixtion mixture of solids
b. Confusion mixture of liquids
Rules:
a. By the will of both owners or by accident: each owner acquires an interest in proportion to
the value of his material
b. By one owner in good faith: apply rule(a)
c. By one owner in bad faith:
i)
3. Specification
It is the transformation of anothers material by the application of labor. The material becomes
a thing of different kind.
Labor is the principal
Rules:
a) Owner of the principal (worker) in good faith:
i)
EXCEPTION: if the material is more valuable than the resulting thing, the owner of the
material has the option:
1) to acquire the work, indemnifying for the labor, or
2) to demand indemnity for the material
b) owner of the principal (worker) in bad faith: the owner of the material has the option:
i) to acquire the result without indemnity
Specification
Adjunction
Mixture
1. Involves
at least 2
things
Involves at
least
2
things
May
involve
one thing (or
more)
but
form
is
changed
2. Accessory
follows the
principal
Coownership
results
Accessory
follows
the
principal
3.
Things
joined retain
their nature
Things
mixed
or
confused
may either
retain
or
lose their
respective
natures
The
new
object retains
or preserves
the nature of
the
original
object.
QUIETING OF TITLE
It is an equitable action in rem to determine the condition of the ownership or the rights to
immovable property, and remove doubts thereon.
Requisites:
1. plaintiff must have a legal or equitable title to, or interest in the real property which is the
subject matter of the action;
2. there must be a cloud in such title;
3. such cloud must be due to some instrument, record, claim, encumbrance or proceeding which
is apparently valid but is in truth invalid, ineffective, voidable or unenforceable, and is prejudicial
to the plaintiffs title; and
4. plaintiff must return to the defendant all benefits he may have received from the latter, or
reimburse him for expenses that may have redounded to his benefit.
Prescriptive Period:
1. plaintiff in possession imprescriptible
2. plaintiff not in possession 10 (ordinary) or 30 years (extraordinary)
Action to quiet
title
Action to
remove a cloud
on title
PURPOSE
to put an end to
troublesome
litigation
in
respect
to
the
property involved
to
remove
a
possible foundation
for a future hostile
claim
remedial
action
involving a present
adverse claim
Preventive action
to prevent a future
cloud on the title
i)
ii) if it is being asserted that the instrument or entry in plaintiffs favor is not what it
purports to be
c) to boundary disputes
d) to deeds by strangers to the title UNLESS purporting to convey the property of the plaintiff
e) to instruments invalid on their face
f) where the validity of the instrument involves pure questions of law
CO-OWNERSHIP
Definition: the right of common dominion which two or more persons have in a spiritual part of
a thing which is not physically divided.
Concept: co-ownership exists where the ownership of a thing physically undivided pertains to
more than one person.
Characteristics:
a) plurality of subjects (the co-owners)
b) there is a single object which is not materially divided
Sources:
1. Law
2. Contract
3. Chance
4. Occupation
5. Succession
6. Testamentary disposition or donation inter vivos
Co-ownership
Partnership
1. Can be created
without
the
formalities
of
a
contract
1. Can be created
only by contract,
express or implied
2. Has no juridical or
legal personality
2.
Has
juridical
personality distinct
from the partners
3.
Purpose
is
collective enjoyment
of the thing
3. Purpose is
obtain profits
4.
Co-owner
can
dispose of his shares
without the consent
of the others with
the
4. A partner, unless
authorized
cannot
dispose of his share
and
substitute
another as a partner
to
transferee
automatically
becoming a co-owner
in his place
5. There is no mutual
representation
5. A partner
generally bind
partnership
6. Distribution of
profits
must
be
proportional to the
respective interests
of the co-owners
6. Distribution of
profits is subject to
the stipulation of the
parties
7. A co-ownership is
not dissolved by the
death or incapacity
of a co-owner
7.
Death
or
incapacity dissolves
the partnership
8.
no
public
instrument
needed
even if real property
is the object of the
co-ownership
8. May be made in
any
form
except
when real property is
contributed
9. An agreement to
keep
the
thing
undivided
for
a
period of more than
10 years is void
9. There may be
agreement as to a
definite term without
limit set by law
can
the
Rules:
1. Rights of each co-owner as to the thing owned in common: USBRAP-LDP
a) To use the thing owned in common
Limitations:
i)
iii) other co-owners must not be prevented from using it according to their own rights
b) To share in the benefits and charges in proportion to the interest of each.
NOTE: Any stipulation to the contrary is void.
c) To the benefits of prescription: prescription by one co-owner benefits all.
d) Repairs and taxes: to compel the others to share in the expenses of preservation even if
incurred without prior notice.
NOTE: The co-owner being compelled may exempt himself from the payment of taxes and expenses
by renouncing his share equivalent to such taxes and expenses. The value of the property at the
time of the renunciation will be the basis of the portion to be renounced.
e) Alterations: to oppose alterations made without the consent of all, even if beneficial.
NOTES:
Alteration is an act by virtue of which a co-owner changes the thing from the state in which
the others believe it should remain, or withdraws it from the use to which they desire it to be
intended.
Expenses to improve or embellish are decided by the majority
f) To protest against seriously prejudicial decisions of the majority
g) Legal redemption: to be exercised within 30 days from written notice of sale of an
undivided share of another co-owner to a stranger
h) To defend the co-ownerships interest in court
i)
Partition is the division between 2 or more persons of real or personal property which they
own in common so that each may enjoy and possess his sole estate to the exclusion of and
without interference from others
GENERAL RULE: Partition is demandable by any of the co-owners as a matter of right at any
time.
EXCEPTIONS:
1) When there is a stipulation against it; but not to exceed 10 years.
2) When the condition of indivision is imposed by the donor or testator; but not to exceed
20 years.
3) When the legal nature of the community prevents partition.
4) When partition would render the thing unserviceable.
GENERAL RULE: Common areas shall remain undivided, and there shall be no judicial partition
thereof:
EXCEPTIONS:
1. When the project has not been rebuilt or repaired substantially to its state prior to its damage
or destruction 3 years after damage or destruction which rendered a material part thereof unfit for
use;
2. When damage or destruction has rendered or more of the units untenantable and that the
condominium owners holding more than 30% interest in the common areas are opposed to
restoration of the projects;
3. When the project has been in existence for more than 50 years, that it is obsolete and
uneconomic, and the condominium owners holding in aggregate more than 50% interest in the
common areas are opposed to restoration, remodeling or modernizing;
4. When the project or a material part thereof has been condemned or expropriated and the
project is no longer viable, or that the condominium owners holding in aggregate more than 70%
interest in the common areas are opposed to the continuation of the condominium regime;
5. When conditions for partition by sale set forth in the declaration of restrictions duly registered
have been met.
WATERS
Classification
a) Waters public per se (water is the principal; the bed follows the character of the water (See
Arts. 502 [1] and 502 [2])
b) Waters public or private according to their bed (water is accessory to bed)
POSSESSION
Concept: the material holding or control of a thing or the enjoyment of a right.
Requisites:
1. occupancy, apprehension, or taking
2. deliberate intention to possess
3. by virtue of ones own right
Degrees:
1. possession without any title whatsoever
2. possession with juridical title
3. possession with just title sufficient to transfer ownership
4. possession with a title in fee simple
Classes:
a) In ones own name where possessor claims the thing for himself
b) In the name of another for whom the thing is held by the possessor
c) In the concept of owner possessor of the thing or right , by his actions, is considered or is
believed by other people as the owner, regardless of the good or bad faith of the possessor
d) In the concept of holder possessor holds it merely to keep or enjoy it, the ownership
pertaining to another person; possessor acknowledges in another a superior right which he believes
to be ownership.
NOTE: None of these holders assert a claim of ownership in himself over the thing but they may be
considered as possessors in the concept of owner, or under claim of ownership, with respect to the
right they respectively exercise over the thing.
e) In good faith possessor is not aware that there is in his title or mode of acquisition a defect
that invalidates it
Requisites:
1. Ostensible title or mode of acquisition
2. Vice or defect in the title
3. Possessor is ignorant of the vice or defect and must have an honest belief that the thing
belongs to him
NOTE: Gross and inexcusable ignorance of the law may not be the basis of good faith, but possible,
excusable ignorance may be such basis. (Kasilag vs Roque, 69 PHIL 217)
f)
In bad faith possessor is aware of the invalidating defect in his own title.
NOTES:
Only personal knowledge of the flaw in ones title or mode of acquisition can make him a
possessor in bad faith. It is not transmissible even to an heir.
Possession in good faith ceases from the moment defects in his title are made known to the
possessor. This interruption of good faith may take place at the date of summons or that of the
answer if the date of summons does not appear. However, there is a contrary view that the date of
summons may be insufficient to convince the possessor that his title is defective.
Object of possession:
Acquisition of possession:
Manner
1. Material occupancy of the thing
2. Subjection to the action of our will
3. Proper acts and legal formalities established for acquiring such right.
Conflicts between several claimants:
GENERAL RULE: Possession cannot be recognized in two different personalities except in case of copossession when there is no conflict
Criteria in case of dispute:
Subject
Possessor
in good
faith
Possessor
in bad faith
a.
Fruits
gathered
a.
to
possessor
a. to owner
b.
Cultivation
Expenses of
b.
not
reimbursed
to possessor
b.
reimbursed
to possessor
gathered
fruits
c.
Fruits
pending
and
charges
c. prorated
according to
time
c. to owner
d.
Production
expenses of
pending
fruits
d. indemnity
pro rata to
possessor
(owners
option)
d.
no
indemnity
i. in money,
or
ii.
by
allowing
full
cultivation
and
gathering
of all fruits
e.
Necessary
expenses
e.
reimbursed
to possessor;
retention
e.
reimbursed
to possessor;
no retention
f.. Useful
expenses
f.
reimbursed
to possessor
(owners
option)
f.
no
reimburseme
nt
i.
cost
ii.
value
initial
plus
may
remove if no
reimbursement, and no
damage
is
caused
to
the principal
by
the
removal
g.
Ornamental
expenses
g.
reimbursement
at
owners
option:
g.
owners
option:
i. removal
if no injury,
or
ii. value at
time
of
recovery
i. removal,
or
ii. cost
without
removal
h.
Taxes
and
charges
h. taxes and
charges
h. taxes and
charges
i. charged
to owner
i. charged
to owner
ii. charged
to possessor
ii. charged
to owner
iii. prorated
iii.
owner
i. Improvements no
longer
existing
i.
no
reimbursement
i.
no
reimbursement
j. Liability
for
accidental
loss
or
deteriorati
on
j. only if
acting with
fraudulent
intent
or
negligence,
after
summons
j. liable in
every case
k.
Improve-
k. to owner
or
lawful
k. to owner
or
lawful
i.
capital
ii.
fruits
on
on
to
iii.
charges
ments due
to time or
nature
possessor
possessor
Possession of movables
Possession of movables in good faith is equivalent to title.
Requisites:
a) possession is in good faith
b) the owner has voluntarily parted with the possession of the thing
c) possessor is in the concept of owner
One who has lost or has been unlawfully deprived of it , may recover it from whomsoever
possesses it, ordinarily, without reimbursement.
Doctrines:
a) owner of the thing must prove (1) ownership of the thing and (2) loss or unlawful deprivation;
or bad faith of the possessor
b) Where the owner acts negligently or voluntarily parts with the thing owned, he cannot recover
it from the possessor
c) The owner may recover the movable in case of loss or involuntary deprivation; but must
reimburse the price paid if possessor acquired the thing in good faith and at a public sale.
Loss of possession:
1. By the will of the possessor
a) Abandonment
b) Transfer or conveyance
2. Against the will of the possessor
a) Eminent domain
b) Acquisitive prescription
c) Judicial decree in favor of better right
d) Possession of another for more than one year
NOTE: this refers to possession de facto where the possessor loses the right to a summary action;
but he may still bring action publiciana or reivindicatoria
e) By reason of the object
i. destruction or total loss of the things
ii. withdrawal from commerce
USUFRUCT
gives a right to enjoy the property of another with the obligation of preserving its form and
substance, unless the title constituting it or the law otherwise provides.
Characteristics:
a. Real right
b. Of temporary duration
c. To derive all advantages from the thing due to normal exploitation
d. may be constituted on real or personal property, consumable or non-consumable, tangible
or intangible, the ownership of which is vested in another
e. transmissible
GENERAL RULE: Usufructuary is bound to preserve the form and substance of the thing in usufruct.
EXCEPTION: Abnormal usufruct whereby the law or the will of the parties may allow the modification
of the substance of the thing.
Usufruct
Lease
1. Always a real
right
1.Generally a
personal right
2. Person creating
the usufruct should
be the owner or his
duly authorized
agent
3. May be created
by law, by contract,
by will of the
testator, or by
prescription
3.Generally created
by contract
4. As a rule,
usufruct covers all
the fruits and all
the uses and
benefits of the
entire property
4.Lease generally
refers to uses only
5. Involves a more
or less passive
owner who allows
the usufructuary to
enjoy the object
given in usufruct
5. Lease involves a
more active owner
or lessor who makes
the lessee to enjoy
6.Lessee is not
generally under
obligation to
undertake repairs
or pay taxes
Special Usufructs
a) of pension or income (Art 570)
b) of property owned in common (Art. 582)
c) of cattle (livestock) (Art. 591)
d) on vineyards and woodlands (Art. 575-576)
i.
To secure the naked owners or courts approval to collect credits in certain cases
j.
EASEMENT OR SERVITUDE
Encumbrance imposed upon an immovable for the benefit of a community or one or more
persons or for the benefit of another immovable belonging to a different owner.
Characteristics:
a) It is a real right but will affect third persons only when duly registered
b) It is enjoyed over another immovable, never on ones own property
c) It involves two neighboring estates (in case of real easements)
d) It is inseparable from the estate to which it is attached, and, therefore, cannot be alienated
independently of the estate
e) It is indivisible for it is not affected by the division of the estate between two or more persons
f) It is a right limited by the needs of the dominant owner or estate, without possession
g) It cannot consist in the doing of an act unless the act is accessory in relation to a real easement
h) It is a limitation on the servient owners rights of ownership for the benefit of the dominant
owner; and, therefore, it is not presumed
Classification:
1. As to its exercise:
a)Continuous Easements those the use of which is, or may be, incessant without the
intervention of any act of man
b) Discontinuous Easements those which are used at intervals and depend upon the acts of
man
Easement
Lease
1.
Real
right,
whether registered
or not
2. Imposed only on
real property
3. There is a limited
right to the use of
real property of
another but without
the
right
of
possession
Limited right to
both the possession
and use of anothers
property
Easement
Usufruct
1. Imposed only on
real property
2.
Limited
to
particular
or
specific use of the
servient estate
3. A non-possessory
right
over
an
immovable
Involves a right of
possession in an
immovable
or
immovable
4. Not extinguished
by the death of the
dominant owner
Extinguished by the
death
of
the
usufructuary
Dominant Owner
Rights
1. To exercise all the rights necessary for the use of the easement
2. To make on the servient estate all the works necessary for the use and preservation of the
servitude
3. To renounce the easement if he desires to exempt himself from contribution to necessary
expenses
4. To ask for mandatory injunction to prevent impairment of his use of the easement
Obligations:
1. Cannot render the easement or render it more burdensome
2. Notify the servient owner of works necessary for the use and preservation of the servitude
3. Choose the most convenient time and manner in making the necessary works as to cause the
least inconvenience to the servient owner
4. Contribute to the necessary expenses if there are several dominant estates
Servient Owner
Rights:
1. To retain ownership and possession of the servient estate
Obligations:
1. Cannot impair the use of the easement
2. Contribute to the necessary expenses in case he uses the easement, unless there is an
agreement to the contrary
Extinguishment of Easements:
(REMAIN BREW)
1. Redemption agreed upon
2. Expiration of the term or fulfillment of the resolutory condition
3. Merger of ownership of the dominant and servient estate
4. Annulment of the title to the servitude
5. Permanent Impossibility to use the easement
6. Non-user for 10 years
a. discontinuous: counted from the day they ceased to be used
b. continuous: counted from the day an act adverse to the exercise takes place
7. Bad condition - when either or both estates fall into such a condition that the easement could
not be used
8. Resolution of the right to create the servitude, i.e. in case of pacto de retro, when the
property is redeemed
9. Expropriation of the servient estate
10. Waiver by the dominant owner
Requisites:
a) must be imposed for reasons of public use
b) must be in favor of a town or village
c) indemnity must be paid
EASEMENT OF AQUEDUCT
The right arising from a forced easement by virtue of which the owner of an estate who desires
to avail himself of water for the use of said estate may make such waters pass through the
intermediate estate with the obligation of indemnifying the owner of the same and also the owner
of the estate to which the water may filter or flow.
Character: apparent and continuous
Requisites:
a) dominant owner must prove that he has the capacity to dispose of the water
b) that the water is sufficient for the intended use
c) that the course is most convenient, and least onerous to the 3 rd person
d) payment of indemnity
RIGHT OF WAY
The right granted to the owner of an estate which is surrounded by other estates belonging to
other persons and without an adequate outlet to a public highway to demand that he be allowed a
passageway throughout such neighboring estates after payment of proper indemnity
Requisites:
1. Claimant must be an owner of enclosed immovable or one with real right
2. There must be no adequate outlet to a public highway
3. Right of way must be absolutely necessary
4. Isolation must not be due to the claimants own act
5. Easement must be established at the point least prejudicial to the servient estate
6. Payment of proper indemnity
it is the needs of the dominant property which ultimately determine the width of the passage,
and these needs may vary from time to time (Encarnacion vs. CA, 195 SCRA 72).
Special cause of extinction: the opening of a public road, or joining the dominant tenement to
another with exit on a public road.
NOTE: the extinction in NOT automatic. There must be a demand for extinction coupled with
tender of indemnity by the servient owner.
PARTY WALL
a common wall which separates 2 estates built by common agreement at the dividing line such
that it occupies a portion of both estates on equal parts.
Party Wall
Co-ownership
1. Shares of parties
cannot
be
physically
segregated but they
can be physically
identified
2. No limitation as
to use of the party
wall for exclusive
benefit of a party
Partial renunciation
is allowed
Rebuttal of presumption:
1. title
2. by contrary proof:
3. by signs contrary to the existence of the servitude (Arts. 660 & 661)
NOTE: if the signs are contradictory, they cancel each other
Restrictions on openings in ones own wall when contiguous (less than 2m) to anothers tenement:
1. it cannot exceed 1 foot sq. (30 cm each side)
2. openings must be at the height of the joists, near the ceiling (Choco vs. Santamaria, 21 Phil
132)
3. the abutting owner may:
a. close the openings if the wall becomes a party wall
b. block the light by building or erecting his own wall unless a servitude is acquired by
title or prescription
c. ask for the reduction of the opening to the proper size
Restrictions as to views
1. Direct views: the distance of 2 METERS between the wall and the boundary must be observed
2. Oblique views: (walls perpendicular or at an angle to the boundary line) must not be less than
60cm from the boundary line to the nearest edge of the window
NOTE: Any stipulation permitting lesser distances is void.
Modes of acquisition
1. by title
2. by prescription
1. positive counted from the time of the opening of the window, if it is through a party wall
2. negative counted from the formal prohibition on the servient owner.
NOTE: mere non-observance of distances prescribed by Art. 670 without formal prohibition, does not
give rise to prescription
VOLUNTARY EASEMENTS
Constituted by the will of the parties or of a testator.
The owner possessing capacity to encumber property may constitute voluntary servitude. If
there are various owners, ALL must consent; but consent once given is not revocable
Voluntary easements are established in favor of:
1. predial servitudes:
a. for the owner of the dominant estate
b. for any other person having any juridical
owner ratifies it.
NUISANCE
Any act, omission, establishment, business or condition of property or anything else
which: (ISAHO)
1. Injures/endangers the health or safety of others;
2. Shocks, defies or disregards decency or morality;
3. Annoys or offends the senses;
4. Hinders or impairs the use of property; or
5. Obstructs or interferes with the free passage to any public highway or street, or body of water.
Classes:
1. Per se nuisance at all times and under all circumstances regardless of location and
surrounding.
2. Per accidens nuisance by reason of circumstances, location, or surroundings.
3. Public affects the community or a considerable number of persons.
4. Private affects only a person or a small number of persons.
Extrajudicial Abatement
Requisites:
1. nuisance must be specially injurious to the person affected;
2. no breach of peace or unnecessary injury must be committed;
3. prior demand;
4. prior demand has been rejected;
5. approval by district health officer and assistance of local police; and
6. value of destruction does not exceed P3,000.
MODE is the specific cause which gives rise to them, as the result of the presence of a special
condition of things, of the aptitude and intent of persons, and of compliance with the conditions
established by law. This is the proximate cause of the acquisition.
TITLE is the juridical justification for the acquisition or a transfer of ownership or other real
right. This is the remote cause of the acquisition.
Modes of
acquiring
ownership
Titles of
acquiring
ownership
A. Original Modes
1. Occupation
2. Work which
includes
Intellectual
creation
1. Condition of
being
without
known owner
2.
Creation,
discovery
or
invention
B. Derivative modes
3. Law
3. Existence
required
conditions
of
4. Tradition
4. Contract of the
parties
5. Donation
5. Contract of the
parties
6. Prescription
6. Possession in
the concept of
owner
7. Succession
7. Death
OCCUPATION
a mode of acquiring ownership by the seizure of things corporeal which have no owner, with the
intention of acquiring them, and according the rules laid down by law.
Requisites:
1. there must be seizure of a thing
2. the thing seized must be corporeal personal property
Specific instances:
1. hunting and fishing
2. finding of movables which do not have an owner
3. finding of abandoned movables
4. finding of hidden treasure
5. catching of swarm of bees that has escaped from its owner, under certain conditions
6. catching of domesticated animals that have escaped from their owners, under certain
conditions
7. catching of pigeons without fraud or artifice
8. transfer of fish to another breeding place without fraud or artifice
TRADITION/DELIVERY
a mode of acquiring ownership as a consequence of certain contracts, by virtue of which, the
object is placed in the control and possession of the transferee, actually or constructively.
Kinds:
Requisites:
1. right transmitted should have previously existed in the patrimony of the grantor
DONATION
an act of liberality whereby a person disposes gratuitously of a thing or right in favor of another
who accepts it
Requisites: CIDA
1. donor must have capacity to make the donation
2. he must have donative intent (animus donandi)
Classification:
1. As to effectivity:
1. inter vivos
2. mortis causa
3. propter nuptias
2. As to perfection/extinguishment:
1. pure
2. with a condition
3. with a term
3. As to consideration:
1. simple - gratuitous
2. remuneratory or compensatory made on account of donees merits
3. modal imposes upon the donee a burden which is less than the value of the thing donated
Donation Inter
Vivos
Donation Mortis
Causa
1. Takes effect
independently
of
the donors death
2. Title conveyed
to
the
donee
before the donors
death
3. Valid if donor
survives donee
4. Generally irrevocable
during
donors lifetime
Always revocable
5. Must comply
with
the
formalities
required by Arts.
748 and 749 of the
Code
ii. in another public instrument, notified to the donor in authentic form, and noted
in both deeds
NOTE: Expression of gratitude to the donor without express acceptance was held a sufficient
acceptance (Cuevas vs Cuevas)
EFFECTS OF DONATION
1. donee may demand the delivery of the thing donated
2. donee is subrogated to the rights of the donor in the property
3. in donations propter nuptias, the donor must release the property from encumbrances, except
servitudes
4. donors warranty exists if
1. expressed
donation is propter nuptias
2. donation is onerous
3. donor is in bad faith
5. when the donation is made to several donees jointly, they are entitled to equal portions,
without accretion, unless the contrary is stipulated
1. If there is express stipulation: the donee is to pay only debts contracted before the donation, if
not otherwise specified; but the donee answers only up to the value of the property donated, if no
stipulation is made to the contrary
2. If there is no stipulation: the donee is answerable for the debts of the donor only in case of
fraud against creditors.
ACTS OF INGRATITUDE
1. If the donee should commit some offense against the person, honor or property of the donor, or
of his wife or children under his parental authority
2. If the donee imputes to the donor any criminal offense, or any act involving moral turpitude,
even though he should prove it, unless the crime or act has been committed against the donee
himself, his wife or children under his authority
3. Refusal to support the donor
PRESCRIPTION
Kinds:
1. Acquisitive prescription - one acquires ownership and other real rights through the lapse of time
in the manner and under the conditions laid down by law.
1. Ordinary acquisitive prescription: requires possession of things in good faith and with just title
for the time fixed by law
2. Extraordinary acquisitive prescription: acquisition of ownership and other real rights without
need of title or of good faith or any other condition
Requisites:
1) capacity to acquire by prescription
2) a thing capable of acquisition by prescription
3) possession of thing under certain conditions
4) lapse of time provided by law
2. Extinctive Prescription rights and actions are lost through the lapse of time in the manner
and under the conditions laid down by law.
Acquisitive
prescription
Extinctive
prescription
1.
relationship
between
the
occupant and the
land in terms of
possession is capable
of producing legal
consequences; it is
the possessor who is
the actor
2. requires possession
by a claimant who is
not the owner
2. requires inaction
of the owner or
neglect of one with
a right to bring his
action
3.
applicable
to
ownership and other
real rights
3. applies to all
kinds
of
rights,
whether real or
personal
4. vests ownership or
other real rights in
the occupant
4. produces the
extinction of rights
or bars a right of
action
5. results in the
acquisition
of
ownership or other
real rights in a person
as well as the loss of
said ownership or real
rights in another
6. can be proven
under the general
6.
should
affirmatively
be
issue
without
its
being
affirmatively
pleaded
Movables
Immovables
Period of Prescription
1. Good Faith
4 years
10 years
2. Bad Faith
8 years
30 years
2. It is presumed that the present possessor who was also the possessor at a previous time, has
continued to be in possession during the intervening time, unless there is proof to the contrary
3. The first day shall be excluded and the last day included
Prescriptive period
a) Imprescriptible
Actions
to declare an
inexistent or void
contract
to quiet title
Prescriptive period
g) 4 YEARS
Actions
action to revoke
donations due to noncompliance of
conditions
to demand a
right of way
action to rescind
partition of
deceaseds estate on
account of lesion
to bring an
action for
abatement of
public nuisance
action to claim
rescission of
contracts
to demand
partition in coownership
annulment of
contracts for vice of
consent
to enforce a
trust
actions upon a
quasi-delict
probate of a will
action to revoke or
reduce donations
based on birth,
appearance or
to recover
possession of a
registered land
under the Land
Registration Act by
the registered
owner
b) 30 YEARS
adoption of a child
actions upon an
injury to the rights of
the plaintiff (not
arising from contract)
h) 3 YEARS
c) 10 YEARS
actions upon a
written contract
i) 2 YEARS
action to impugn
legitimacy of a child
if the husband or his
heirs are not residing
in the city or
municipality of birth
j) 1 YEAR
action to impugn
legitimacy of a child
actions upon an
obligation created
by law
actions upon a
judgment from the
time judgment
becomes final
actions among
co-heirs to enforce
warranty against
eviction in partition
Mortgage action
d) 8 YEARS
action to recover
movables without
prejudice to
acquisition of title
for a shorter period
or to the possessors
title under Arts.
559, 1505 and 1133
action for
warranty of solvency
in assignment of
credits
actions for loss or
damage to goods
under the COGSA
e) 6 YEARS
actions upon an
oral (verbal)
contract
k) 6 MONTHS
actions for
warranty against
hidden defects or
encumbrances over
the thing sold
l) 40 DAYS
redhibitory action
based on faults or
defects of animals
actions upon a
quasi-contract
f) 5 YEARS
action for
annulment of
marriages (except
on the ground of
insanity) and for
legal separation
counted from the
occurrence of the
cause
actions against
the co-heirs for
warranty of solvency
the debtor in credits
assigned in partition
action for the
declaration of the
incapacity of an heir
(devisee or legatee)
to succeed)
all other actions
whose periods are
not fixed by law,
counted from the
time the right of
action accrues