Property

f. Animal houses, pigeon houses, beehives, fish ponds or breeding places of

similar nature, in case their owner has placed them or preserves them with
the intention to have them permanently attached to the land and forming a
permanent part of it; the animals in these places are included.
g. Fertilizer actually used in a piece of land.
h. Mines, quarries, and slag dumps, while the matter thereof forms part of
the bed, and waters either running or stagnant.
i. Docks and structures which, though floating, are intended by their nature
and object to remain at a fixed place on the river, lake or coast.
j. Contracts for public works, and servitudes and other real rights over
immovable property. (Art. 415)

attyrcd / April 1, 2014

OWNERSHIP
(Arts. 427-483)
Ownership is a relation by virtue of which a thing is completely subjected to
ones will in everything not prohibited by law and the concurrent rights of
another. (2 Tolentino, 43)
The traditional attributes/elements of ownership:
1. Right to enjoy

2. Movable or personal property are as follows:

CLASSIFICATION OF PROPERTY
(Arts. 414-426)
Property is anything which is or may be the object of appropriation.
Classification:
ACCORDING TO NATURE

a. Movables susceptible of appropriation which are not included in Article

415.
b. Real property which by any special provision of law is considered as
personalty.
c. Forces of nature which are brought under control by science.
d. In general, all things which can be transferred from place to place without
impairment of the real property to which they are fixed. (Art. 416)
e. Obligations and actions which have for their object movables or
demandable sums.
f. Shares of stock of agricultural, commercial, and industrial entities,
although they may have real estate.

a. Right to use (jus utendi)

b. Right to enjoy the fruits (jus fruendi)
c. Right to consume the thing by its use (jus abutendi)
2. Right to dispose or the right to alienate, encumber, transform, or even to
destroy. (jus disponendi)
3. Right to vindicate or the right of action available to the owner to recover
the property. (jus vindicandi)
The limitations upon the right of ownership, among others, are:

1. Immovable or real are those which cannot be moved from place to place
(by nature); those which are attached to an immovable in such a manner as
to form an integral part thereof (by incorporation); those which are placed
in an immovable for the use, exploitation or perfection of such immovable
(by destination); and those which are considered immovable by operation of
law (by analogy). They are as follows:
a. Lands, buildings, roads and construction of all kinds adhered to the soil.
b. Trees, plants and growing fruits, while they are attached to the land or
form part an integral part of an immovable.
c. 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.
d. Statues, reliefs, paintings or other objects for use or ornamentation,
placed in buildings or on land by the owner in such a manner that it reveals
the intention to attach them permanently.
e. 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.
In order that machineries can be classified as immovables within the
meaning above, it is essential that the following requisites must concur:

The tests are:

a. Whether the object can be transported from place to place.
b. Whether the change of location can take place without injury to the
immovable to which it may be attached.
c. Not included in the enumeration found in Article 415.

1. General limitations imposed by the State for its benefits such as the
power of eminent domain.
2. Specific limitations imposed by law, such as legal servitudes.
3. Limitations imposed by the party transmitting the property either by
contract or will.
4. Limitations imposed by the owner himself, such as voluntary servitudes,
mortgages.

ACCORDING TO OWNERSHIP
1. Public dominion are as follows:
a. Those intended for public use (national or local), i.e., roads, rivers, ports,
etc.
b. Those which belong to the State, without being for public use, and are
intended for some public service or for the development of the national
wealth, i.e., natural resources.
c. Those that are outside the commerce of man, thus, cannot be
appropriated, nor encumbered or acquired by prescription, cannot be
subject to attachment or execution and cannot be burdened by any
voluntary easement. (Tan Toco v. Mun. of Iloilo, 49 Phil. 52)

Doctrine of self-help is where force in defense of property is justified if the

following requisites will concur:
1. Force must be employed by the owner or lawful possessor.
2. There must be an actual or threatened physical invasion or usurpation of
the property which is unlawful.
3. Force employed must be reasonably necessary to repel the invasion or
usurpation. (See Art. 429)
The owner of a parcel of land is the owner of its surface and of everything
under it, and he can construct thereon any works or make any plantations
and excavations which he may deem proper, without detriment to
servitudes and subject to special laws and ordinances. (Art. 437)

2. Private ownership are as follows:

1) The machinery must
2) An industry or works
3) The machinery must
4) The machinery must
works.

be placed by the owner of the tenement.

must be carried on in the tenement.
be intended for such industry or works.
tend directly to meet the needs of such industry or

a. Patrimonial property of the State which are not intended for public use, or
for public service, or for the development of the national wealth, i.e., lands
escheated to the State.
b. Private properties belonging to private persons, either individually or
collectively.

Hidden treasure is any hidden and unknown deposit of money, jewelry, or

other precious objects, the lawful ownership of which does not appear. (Art.
439) Hidden treasure belongs to the owner of the land, building, or other
property on which it is found. Nevertheless, when the discovery is made on
the property of another, and by chance, 1/2 thereof shall be allowed to the
finder. If the finder is a trespasser, he shall not be entitled to any share of
the treasure.

Accession is a right pertaining to the owner of a thing over everything which

is produced thereby, or which is incorporated or attached thereto, either
naturally or artificially. (Art. 440) This is not a mode of acquiring ownership;
it is merely a consequence of the right of ownership.

right of retention of the property until he is indemnified by the owner of the

land.
In a case where the builder or planter is obliged to buy the land but he fails
to pay, the owner of the land has the remedy to:

Kinds:
1. Accession discreta is a right over everything which is produced thereby.
a. Natural fruits are spontaneous products of the soil and the young and
other products of animals.
b. Industrial fruits are those produced by lands of any kind through
cultivation or labor.
c. Civil fruits such as rents of buildings, price of leases of lands and other
property or other similar income. (Art. 442)
2. Accession continua is a right over everything which is incorporated or
attached thereto, either naturally or articially.
IMMOVABLE PROPERTY
a. Accession industrial takes place in case of building, planting, or sowing.
(Arts. 445-455)
Outline of rules of accession industrial: A (owner of land); B (builder, planter
or sower); and C (owner of materials)
1) A in good faith; C in good faith
A has a right of appropriation who shall pay the value of the materials. C
has the right of reimbursement of the materials or a limited right of removal
in case he can do so without the planting, construction or works being
destroyed. (Art. 447)

a) Assume the relation of lessor and lessee. (Miranda v. Fadullan, 97 Phil.

801)
b) Remove the improvement. (Ignacio v. Hilario, 76 Phil. 605)
c) Sale of the land and improvement in a public auction. (Bernardo v.
Bataclan, 66 Phil. 590) (Q7, 1996 Bar)
4) A in good faith; B in bad faith
A may appropriate whatever has been built, planted or sown without
indemnifying the builder, planter or sower for the value of the materials; or
demand the demolition of the works/removal of the building, planting or
sowing at the expense of the builder, planter or sower; or compel the
builder or planter to pay the price of the land, and the sower the proper
rent. Whichever option he may choose, he can also recover damages. B has
no right whatsoever except the right to be reimbursed for necessary
expenses for the preservation of the land, and the fruit thereof. (Arts. 449452) (Q7, 1996 Bar)
If the materials, plants or seeds belong to a third person who has not acted
in bad faith, the owner of the land shall answer subsidiarily for their value
and only in the event that the one who made use of them has no property
with which to pay. However, this provision shall not apply if the owner
makes use of his right to demand demolition/removal or compel to pay the
price of the land/rent. (Art. 455)
5) A in bad faith; B in good faith
When the landowner acted in bad faith and the builder, planter or sower
proceeded in good faith, the provisions of Article 447 shall apply. (Art. 454)

2) A in bad faith; C in good faith

6) A in bad faith; B in bad faith

A shall pay the value of the materials plus damages. C may choose between
right of reimbursement plus damages, or the absolute right of removal, with
or without injury, plus damages. (Art. 447)

The rights of one and the other shall be the same as though both had acted
in good faith. (Art. 453) Same as in Article 448.

3) A in good faith; B in good faith

A shall have the right to appropriate as his own the works, sowing or
planting, after payment of the indemnity (necessary and useful expenses),
or oblige the one who build or planted to pay the price of the land, and the
one who sowed the proper rent. However, the builder or planter cannot be
obliged to buy the land if its value is considerably more than that of the
building or trees. In such a case, he shall pay reasonable rent, if the owner
of the land does not choose to appropriate the building or trees after proper
indemnity. (Art. 448) In addition, the builder or planter has the corrollary

As applied to the builder, planter or sower, good faith consists in ignorance

of the ownership of another, while bad faith consists in the knowledge of
such ownership. As applied either to the owner of the land or materials,
good faith consists in the ignorance of the acts of the builder, planter or
sower, or if he aware of such acts, there was opposition on his part, while
bad faith consists in the knowledge of such acts and without opposition on
his part. (Art. 453)
b. Accession natural are:

1) Alluvion is an accretion which lands adjoining the banks of rivers, lakes,

creeks or torrents gradually receive from the effects of the current of the
waters. To the owners of lands adjoining the banks of rivers belongs the
accretion. (Art. 457) Accretion does not automatically become registered
land just because the land which receives it is covered by a Torrens title.
(Grande v. CA, 115 Phil 521)
Distinction:
Alluvion
Avulsion
1. Accretion is gradual.
1. It is sudden and abrupt.
2. Accretion cannot be identified.
2. It can be identified.
3. There is merely an attachment.
3. There is first a detachment followed
by attachment.
4. Accretion belongs to the owner
4. Ownership is retained by the owner
of the land from which
of the land to which the
period.

it is detached, at least, for a certain

of the land to which the attachment

is made ipso jure.
2) Avulsion is an accretion which takes whenever the current of a river, lake,
creek or torrent segregates from an estate on its banks a known portion of
land and transfers it to another estate. The owner of the land to which the
segregated portion belonged retains the ownership of it, provided that he
removes the same within 2 years. (Art. 459)
Trees uprooted and carried away by the current of the water belong to the
owner of the land upon which they may be cast, if the owners do not claim
them within 6 months. (Art. 460)
3) Change of river beds is when a river bed is abandoned through the
natural change in the course of the waters. River beds which are abandoned
ipso facto belong to the owners whose lands are occupied by the new
course in proportion to the area lost. However, the owners of the lands
adjoining the old bed shall have the right to acquire the same by paying the
value thereof, which value shall not exceed the value of the area occupied
by the new bed. (Art. 461) When a river or stream suddenly changes its
course to traverse private lands, xxx the former owners of the new bed
shall be the owners of the abandoned bed in proportion to the area lost by
each. (PD 1067 which superseded Article 461)
4) Formation of islands on the seas, lakes or on rivers. If formed on the sea,
on lakes, and on navigable or floatable rivers belong to the State. (Art. 464)
Islands which are formed in non-navigable and non-floatable rivers, belong
to the owners of the margins or banks nearest to each of them, or to the
owners of both margins if the island is in the middle of the river, in which
case it shall be divided longitudinally in halves. (Art. 465)
MOVABLE PROPERTY

a. Adjunction/conjunction takes place whenever a movable things belonging

to different owners are united in such a way that they cannot be separated
without injury, thereby forming a single object. (Art. 466) Adjunction may
take place in the following ways:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Engraftment
Attachment
Weaving
Painting
Writing

An example: A varnishes his chair with the varnish of B. In this case, A will
become the owner of the varnish (in fact of the whole varnished table) but
he must indemnify B for the value of the varnish.
There are 4 tests which may be applied in order to determine the principal,
in their order of preference, as follows:
1) That to which the other has been united as an ornament, or for its use or
perfection.
2) That thing of greater value.
3) If they are of equal value, that of the greater volume.
4) The question will be resolved by taking into consideration all pertinent
provisions applicable as well as their respective merits, utility and volume.
(Arts. 467-468)
b. Commixtion or confusion takes place whenever there is a mixture of
things solid (commixtion) or liquid (confusion) belonging to different
owners. (Art. 472) If the mixture is caused by one owner in good faith, or by
the will of both owners, or by chance (accident), the co-ownership results,
each owner acquiring an interest or right proportional to the value of his
material. Also, if the mixture is made by one owner in bad faith then he
losses his material in favor of the other, and is liable for damages. Thus, if a
thief steals some cattle belonging to another, mixes them with his own, but
can no longer identify which is his or the others, the thief should lose all
the cattle he originally had, because this is a commixtion in bad faith.
c. Specification takes place whenever a person imparts a new form to
materials belonging to another person. One who in good faith employs the
material of another in order to make a thing of a different kind, shall
appropriate the thing thus transformed as his own, indemnifying the owner
of the material for its value. If the material (accessory) is more precious
than the new thing or is more valuable, the owner of the material has an
option (1) to get the new thing but he pays for the work, or (2) to demand
indemnity for the material. If the worker is in bad faith, the owner of the
material has an option; thus he (1) can appropriate the work without
paying for the labor, or (2) can demand indemnity for the material plus
damages. (See Art. 474)
Basic principles governing accession continua are:
1. To the owner of a thing belongs the extension or increase of such thing.
2. The accessory follows the principal.

Quieting of title is an action which may be brought to remove the cloud or

to quiet the title to real property or any interest therein if the following
requisites are present:
1. The plaintiff must have a legal legal title or equitable title to, or interest
in the real property.
2. There must be a cloud on such title.
3. Such cloud must be due to some instrument, record, claim, encumbrance
or proceeding which is apparently valid or effective but is in truth and in
fact invalid, ineffective, voidable or unenforceable, and is prejudicial to the
plaintiffs title.
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. (Arts. 476-479)
CO-OWNERSHIP
(Arts. 484-501)
Co-ownership arises whenever the ownership of an undivided thing or right
belongs to different persons.

1. In accordance with the purpose for which it is intended.

2. In such a way as not to injure the interest of the co-ownership.
3. In such a way as not to prevent the other co-owners from using it
according to their rights. (Art. 486)
Repairs for preservation may be made at the will of one of the co-owners,
but he must, if practicable, first notify the other co-owners of the necessity
for such repairs. (See Art. 489)
For the administration and better enjoyment of the thing owned in common,
the resolutions of the majority of the co-owners shall be binding. There shall
be no majority unless the resolution is approved by the co-owners who
represent the controlling interest in the object of the co-ownership. (See Art.
492)
Acts of administration are those which refer to the enjoyment, exploitation,
and alteration of the thing which do not affect its substance or form. Lease
of personal property is a mere act of administration. However, lease of real
property may either be an act of administration or an act of alteration.
None of the co-owners shall, without the consent of the others, make
alterations in the thing owned in common, even though benefits for all
would result therefrom. (See Art. 491)

Requisites:
1. Plurality of subjects.
2. Unity of object.
3. Recognition of the ideal shares of the co-owners.

Act of alteration are those which changes the thing from the state in which
others believe it should remain, or withdraws it from the use to which they
believe it is intended.

Distinction:
Co-ownership
Partnership
1. May be created by law, contract, succession, fortuitous event, or
occupancy.
1. Always created by contract.
2. Purpose is the common enjoyment of the thing or right owned in
common.
2. Purpose is to obtain profits.
3. No juridical
personality.
juridical personality
4. Co-owner has no power to represent the co-ownership, as a
rule.
4.Partner has the right to represent the

Each co-owner shall have the full ownership of his part and he may
therefore alienate, assign or mortgage it, subject to the limitation that it
shall be limited to the portion which may be alloted to him in the division
upon the termination of the co-ownership. (Art. 493)
Co-ownership may be terminated by:
3. Has

partnership, as a rule.
5. Death of a co-owner has no effect upon its
existence.
5. Death of a partner shall result in the
dissolution
of the partnership.
The share of the co-owners in the benefits and charges arising from the coownership shall be proportional to their respective interests and any
stipulation in a contract to the contrary shall be void. (Art. 485) Under the
law, such interests are presumed equal, unless the contrary is proved.
The thing should be used only:

1.
2.
3.
4.

Merger or consolidation in one of the co-owners.

Destruction or loss of the thing or right owned in common.
Prescription in favor of a third person or a co-owner.
Partition of the property owned in common.

The partition of the community property is not allowed in the following

cases:
1. When the co-owners have agreed to keep the thing undivided for a
certain period of time, not exceeding 10 years.
2. When it is prohibited by the donor or testator for a period which shall not
exceed 20 years.
3. When it is prohibited by law, such as in the case of party walls and the
family home.
4. When to do so would render the thing unserviceable for the use for which
it is intended, although the co-ownership may still be terminated in
accordance with Article 498 (thing shall be sold and its proceeds
distributed).

SOME SPECIAL PROPERTIES

(Arts. 502-522)

real right of possession is not lost till after the lapse of 10 years.
5. By the recovery of the thing by the legitimate owner.

Some special properties are:

Possession as a fact cannot be recognized at the same time in 2 different

personalities except in the case of co-possession. Should a question arise
regarding the fact of possession:

1. Waters (Arts. 502-518) Supplemented by Water Code (PD 1067, Dec. 31,
1976.
2. Minerals (Art. 519) Mining claims and rights and other matters
concerning minerals and mineral lands are governed by special laws.
3. Trade-marks and Trade-names (Arts. 520-522)
POSSESSION
(Arts. 523-561)

1. The present possessor shall be preferred.

2. If there are 2 possessors, the one longer in possession.
3. If the dates of the possession are the same, the one who presents a title.
4. If all these conditions are equal, the thing shall be placed in judicial
deposit pending determination of its possession or ownership through
proper proceedings. (Art. 538)

Possession is the holding of a thing or the enjoyment of right.

The remedies which are available to a possessor in order to protect his

possession:

The requisites are:

IMMOVABLE

1. Corpus or holding or material detention or enjoyment of a thing or right.

2. Animus possidendi or intent to possess the thing or right.

1. Action for forcible entry and unlawful detainer is an action to recover the
material possession of the property, and which must be instituted within
one year from the time the cause of action accrues in the proper municipal
court.
2. Accion publiciana is a plenary action to recover the possession of the
property, and which must be instituted in the proper RTC within 10 years
after the possession has been lost.
3. Accion reinvindicatoria is an action to recover the possession of the
property based on ownership, and which must be instituted in the proper
RTC within 10 or 30 years, as the case may be, after the owner has been
deprived of his property.

Possession is classified into:

1. Possession in ones own name or possession in the name of another. (Art.
524)
2. Possession in concept of an owner or possession in concept of holder.
(Art. 525)
3. Possession in good faith or possession in bad faith. (Art. 526)
A possessor in good faith is one who is not aware that there exists in his
title or mode of acquisition any flaw or defect which invalidates it, while a
possessor in bad faith is one who is aware that there exists in his title or
mode of acquisition some flaws or defect which invalidates it.
Possession is acquired:
1. By the material occupation of a thing or the exercise of a right.
2. By subjecting a thing or right to the action of our will.
3. By proper acts and legal formalities.
A possessor may lose his possession:
1. By abandonment of the thing.
2. By an assignment either by onerous or gratuitous title.
3. By the destruction or total loss of the thing, or because it goes out of
commerce.
4. By the possession of another subject to the provision of Article 537 (Acts
merely tolerated, and those executed clandestinely and without the
knowledge of the possessor of a thing, or by violence, do not affect
possession), if the new possession has lasted longer than one year. But the

Possession of movable property acquired in good faith is equivalent to a

title. (Art. 559) This rule is sometimes known as the doctrine of
irreinvindicability. The exceptions are:
1. If the true owner has lost the movable.
2. If such owner has been unlawfully deprived thereof.
If the possessor of a movable lost or which the owner has been unlawfully
deprived, has acquired it in good faith at a public sale, the owner cannot
obtain its return without reimbursing the price paid therefor.
Well-settled is the rule that the conflict between the right of the owner of
movable property who has lost or has been unduly deprived thereof and
that of the creditor who has loaned money thereon and holds it in pledge
cannot be decided against the owner, to whom the Civil Code grants a right
of action to recover the property from whoever may be in possession.
(Dizon v. Suntay, 47 SCRA 160) However, as between the purchaser at a
merchants store, or in fair, or market and the legitimate owner of the thing
who has lost it or who had been unduly deprived of it, the right of the
former is superior. (Art. 1505)
In the following cases the owner of a movable who has lost it or who has
been unduly deprived thereof can no longer recover it from the possessor:
1. If recovery is no longer possible because of prescription. (Art. 1132)
2. If the possessor had acquired the thing from a person whose authority to
sell, the owner is by his conduct precluded from denying. (Art. 1505)
3. If the possessor has acquired the thing from a merchants store, or in
fairs, or markets.
4. If the possessor is now the owner of the thing in accordance with the
principle of finders keepers. (Art. 719)

MOVABLE
4. Action for replevin is an action for the manual delivery of personal
property.
Only possession acquired and enjoyed in the concept of an owner can serve
as title for acquiring dominion. (Art. 540) Thus, if the possessor acquired
possession of the property by some mode recognized by law from someone
who could transfer the right of ownership thereof, the law states that such
possessor has in his favor the legal presumption that he possesses with a
just title and he cannot be obliged to show or prove it. However, if he
acquired possession by some mode recognized by law from someone who
could not transfer the right of ownership thereof, it is possible that,
eventually, he shall become the absolute owner of the property once all of
the requisites for acquisitive prescription, whether ordinary or
extraordinary, are present. In such a case, the law requires that his title
must be just, true, valid and that it must be proved.
Necessary expenses are those which are incurred for the preservation of the
thing. Useful expenses are those which are incurred for the greater
productivity or utility of the thing. Ornamental expenses or for pure luxury
are those which are incurred for the convenience and enjoyment of the
possessor but which do not affect the existence, productivity or utility of the
thing itself.

USUFRUCT
(Arts. 562-612)
Usufruct is a real right by virtue of which a person is given the right to enjoy
the property of another with the obligations of preserving its form and
substane unless the title constituting it or law provides otherwise. (Q1, 1995
Bar) Money may be the object of usufruct. Abnormal usufruct are those
where the usufructuary does not have the obligation of preserving the form
and substance of the property which is the object of the usufruct.
A usufruct may be constituted:
1.
2.
3.
4.

By
By
By
By

law.
the will of private persons expressed in acts inter vivos.
the will of private persons in a last will and testament.
prescription.

Distinction:
Usufruct
1. Always a real right.

Lease
1. Becomes a real right

only when registered.

2. Person constituting it is the owner.
2. Need not be the
owner.
3. Usufructuary is responsible for ordinary repairs. 3. Lessee is not.
4. Usufructuary is responsible for taxes on the fruits. 4. Lessee in not.
As a rule, the usufructuary shall be entitled to all the natural, industrial and
civil fruits of the party in usufruct. (Art. 566) With respect to hidden treasure
which may be found on the property, he shall be considered a stranger.
Caucion juratoria is a case whereby the usufructuary, being unable to file
the required bond or security, makes a promise under oath to take good
care of the property (i.e., house and furniture) necessary for himself and his
family and to return the same at the end of the usufruct. This can be
applied to the instruments or tools necessary for an industry or vocation.
Obligations of the usufructuary during the pendency of the usufruct, among
others:
1. To make ordinary repairs on the property.
2. To take care of the property as a good father of a family.
3. To pay the annual charges and taxes and those considered as a lien on
the fruits. However, the taxes which, during the usufruct, may be imposed
directly on the capital, shall be at the expense of the owner. (Art. 597)
4. To pay the expenses, costs and liabilities in suits with regard to the
usufruct.
The usufructuary shall have the right to demand reimbursement from the
owner of all necessary expenses which he might have incurred for the
preservation of the property. This right, however, is not available to him
with regard to useful and ornamental expenses, but he may remove the
improvement provided that it is possible to do so without damage to the
property. (See Art. 579) The usufructuary may set off the improvements he
may have on the property against any damage to the same. (Art. 580) (Q7,
1996 Bar)
EASEMENTS OR SERVITUDES
(Arts. 613-693)
Easement/Servitude is an encumbrance imposed upon an immovable for
the benefit of another immovable belonging to a different owner. (Q1, 1995
Bar) The immovable in favor of which the easement is established is called
the dominant estate; that which is subject thereto, the servient estate. (Art.
613) Servitudes may also be established for the benefit of a community or
of one or more persons to whom the encumbered estate does not belong.
(Art. 614)
There can be no easement over a usufruct since an easement may be
constituted only on a corporeal immovable property. A usufruct is not a
corporeal right. Likewise, there can be no usufruct over an easement
because the latter has no existence independent of the property to which it
attaches. Also, there can be no easement over another easement for the
same reason as in easement over usufruct. Easement is not a corporeal
right. There is a Roman maxim which says that: There can be no servitude
over another servitude. (Q1, 1995 Bar)

Classes of easements:
RECIPIENT
1. Real easement is in favor of another immovable.
2. Personal it is in favor of a community, or of one or more persons.
SOURCE
1. Legal established by law.
a. Water (Arts. 637-648)
b. Right of way (Arts. 649-657)

1) From the time of the opening of the window, if it is through a party wall.
2) From the time of the formal prohibition upon the proprietor of the
adjoining land or tenement, if the windows is through a wall on the
dominant estate. (Art. 668)
The distance requirement in this easement is 2 meters between the wall on
which the windows, balconies, or other similar projections which afford a
direct view are made and such contiguous property. The non-observance of
this distance does not give rise to prescription. (Art. 670)
If the easement of light and view has been acquired, the distance which
must be observed by the owner of the servient estate is at least 3 meters
from the boundary line between the two estates if the desires to construct a
house on his own property.
e. Drainage of buildings (Arts. 674-676)

A legal easement of right of way may be established if the owner of the

dominant estate has established the existence of the following requisites:
1) The estate is surrounded by other immovables and is without adequate
outlet to a public highway.
2) After payment of the proper indemnity.
3) The isolation was not due to the proprietors own acts.
4) The right of way claimed is at point least prejudicial to the servient
estate, and where the distance from the dominant estate to a public
highway may be the shortest. (Locsin v. Climaco, 26 SCRA 816) (Q8, 1996
Bar)
In an easement of a right of way, the mere convenience for the dominant
estate is not enough to serve as its basis. To justify the imposition of this
servitude, there must be a real, not a fictitious or artificial necessity for it.
(Tolentino, Civil Code II)

Whenever the yard of a house is surrounded by other house, and it is not

possible to give an outlet through the house itself to the rainwater collected
thereon, the establishment of an easement of drainage can be demanded,
giving an outlet to the water at the point of the contiguous lands or
tenements where its egress may be easiests, and establishing a conduit for
the drainage in such manner as to cause the least damage to the servient
estate, after payment of the proper indemnity. (Art. 676)
f. Intermediate distances (Arts. 677-681)
In the absence of ordinances or customs of the place, if tall trees are
planted, the distance to be observed is 2 meters from the boundary line of
the two properties, and if shrubs or small trees are planted, the distance is
50 centimeters.

c. Party Walls (Arts. 658-666)

If the branches of any tree should extend over a neighboring estate,

tenement, garden or yard, the owner of the latter shall have the right to
demand that they be cut off insofar as they may spread over his property,
and, if it be the roots of a neighboring tree which should penetrate into the
land of another, the latter may cut them off himself within his property. (Art.
680)

The existence of an easement of party wall is presumed unless there is a

title, or exterior sign, or proof to the contrary:

Fruits naturally falling upon adjacent land belong to the owner of said land.
(Art. 681)

1) In dividing walls of adjoining buildings up to the point of common

elevation.
2) In dividing walls of garden or yards.
3) In fences, walls and live hedges dividing rural lands.

g. Against nuisances (Arts. 682-683)

The distance requirement in this easement is that sufficient for the needs of
the dominant estate. (Art. 651)

d. Light and view (Arts. 667-673)

The period of prescription for the acquisition of an easement of light and
view shall be counted:

Every building or piece of land is subject to the easement which prohibits

the proprietor or possessor from committing nuisance through noise,
jarring, offensive odor, smoke, heat, dust, water, glare and other causes.
(Art. 682)
h. Lateral and subjacent support (Arts. 684-687)

No proprietor shall make such excavations upon his land as to deprive any
adjacent land or building of sufficient later or subjacent support. (Art. 684)
2. Voluntary by will of the owners.
In voluntary easements, every owner of a tenement or piece of land may
establish thereon the easements which he may deem suitable, and in the
manner and form which he may deem best, provided he does not
contravene the laws, public policy or public order. (Art. 688)
EXERCISE
1. Continuous are those the use of which is or may be incessant, without
the intervention of any act of man.
2. Discontinuous used at intervals and depend upon the acts of man.
3. Apparent made known and continually kept in view by the external
signs that reveal the use and enjoyment of the same.
4. Non-apparent no external indication of their existence.
5. Positive impose upon the owner of the servient estate the obligation of
allowing something to be done or of doing it himself.
6. Negative prohibit the owner of the servient estate from doing
something which he could lawfully do if the easement did not exist.
Continuous and apparent easements are acquired either by virtue of a title
or by prescription of 10 years. Continuous non-apparent easements and
discontinuous easements, whether apparent and non-apparent, can only be
acquired by virtue of a title. An easement for a right of way is an apparent
and discontinuous in character.
In order that an easement may be acquired by prescription, the time of
possession shall be computed from the day on which the owner of the
dominant estate commenced to exercise it upon the servient estate, i.e.,
positive easements, and from the day on which the owner of the dominant
estate forbade, by an instrument acknowledged before a notary public, the
owner of the servient estate, from executing an act which would be lawfull
without the easement. (Art. 621)
The existence of an apparent sign of easement between 2 estates,
established or maintained by the owner of both, shall be considered, should
either of them be alienated, as a title in order that the easement may
continue actively and passively, unless, at the time the ownership of the 2
estates is divided, the contrary should be provided in the title of
conveyance of either of them, or the sign aforesaid should be removed
before the execution of the deed. (Art. 624)

The owner of the dominant estate cannot use the easement except for the
benefit of the immovable originally contemplated. Neither can he exercise
the easement in any other manner than that previously established. (Art.
626)

1. Public which affects a community or neighborhood, although the extent

of the annoyance, danger, or damage upon individuals may be unequal.
2. Private affects only a person or small number of persons.
Remedies against a public nuisance are:

Easements are extinguished:

1. By merger in the same person of the ownership of the dominant and
servient estate.
2. By non-user for 10 years.
3. When either or both of the estates fall into such condition that the
easement cannot be used.
4. By expiration of the term or the fulfillment of the condition, if the
easement is temporary or conditional.
5. By the renunciation of the owner of the dominant estate.
6. By the redemption agreed upon between the owners of the dominant and
servient estates.
NUISANCE
(Arts. 694-707)
Nuisance is any act, omission, establishment, business, condition of
property, or anything else which:
1. Injures or endangers the health or safety of others.
2. Annoys or offends the senses.
3. Shocks, defies, or disregards decency or morality.
4. Obstructs or interferes with the free passage of any public highway or
street, or any body of water, or
5. Hinders or impairs the use of property.
Kinds of nuisances:
AS TO NATURE
1. Per se is a nuisance at all times and under any circumstances, regardless
of location and surroundings.
2. Per accidens is a nuisance by reason of circumstances, location or
surroundings.
AS TO EFFECT

1. Prosecution under the RPC or any local ordinance.

2. Civil action.
3. Abatement without judicial proceedings.
In private nuisance, only Nos. (2) and (3) above are the remedies.
Whether public or private, the following requisites must concur in order that
a private person may summarily abate a nuisance:
1. It must be specially injurious to him.
2. No breach of the peace or unnecessary injury must be committed.
3. Demand must first be made upon the owner or possessor to abate the
nuisance.
4. Demand has been rejected.
5. Abatement is approved by the health officer and executed with the
assistance of the local police.
6. The value of the destruction does not exceed P 3,000.
Doctrine of attractive nuisance is when a person who maintains in his
premises a dangerous instrumentality of a character which is attractive to
children of tender years at play and who fails to exercise due diligence to
prevent such children from playing therewith or resorting thereto, is liable
to a child who is injured thereby, even if the child is technically a trespasser.
Any body of water, artificial as well as natural, cannot, as a rule, be
considered an attractive nuisance, in the absence of any unusual condition
or artificial feature thereof other than the mere water. (Hidalgo Ent. v.
Balandan, 91 Phils. 488)
REGISTRY OF PROPERTY
(Arts. 708-711)
The Registry of Property has for its object the inscription or annotations of
acts and contract relating to the ownership and other real right over
immovable property. (Art. 708)