PROPERTY
Article 427. Definition of Ownership
 The independent and general power of a person over a
thing for purposes recognized by law and within the limits
established thereby. – Filomusi
 A relation in private law by virtue of which a thing
pertaining to one person is completely subjected to his
will in everything not prohibited by public law or the
concurrence with the rights of another. – Scialoja
 Beneficial ownership – ownership recognized by law and
capable of being enforced in court, as distinct from legal
ownership and control.
1. Equitable ownership – to indicate the interest of a
beneficiary in trust property
2. To refer to power of a shareholder of a corporation to
buy or sell, the shares through the shareholder is not
registered in the corporation’s books as the owner
 Naked ownership – the enjoyment of all the benefits and
privileges of ownership, as against the bare title to
property.
 Ownership may be exercised over things or rights
1. Things usually refer to corporeal property
2. Rights, whether real or personal, are classified as
incorporeal property. The res of rights may be corporeal
or incorporeal
Article 429. Extent of Right of Ownership.
 Owner has the right to enjoy, which includes:
1. Jus utendi – right to receive from the thing what it
produces
2. Jus abutendi – right to consume the thing by its use
 Owner also has the right to dispose or the jus disponendi,
which is the power of the owner to alienate, encumber,
transform and even destroy the thing owned.
 Ownership also includes the jus vindicandi or the right to
exclude from the possession of the thing owned by any
other person to whom the owner has not transmitted such
thing, by the proper action for restitution, with the fruits,
accessions and indemnification of damages.
 Jus possidendi – right to possess. The right to possess does
not always include the right to use. [Art. 523]
 Jus fruendi – right to the fruits
 Jus accessionis – right to accessories
 Actions of possession:
Immovable property –
1. Forcible entry and unlawful detainer (accion
interdictal)
 Rule 70, Section 1, Rules of Court
Pineda Notes
 Must be brought within one year from the unlawful
deprivation or withholding of possession
 Forcible entry – one is deprived of physical
possession
 Unlawful detainer – one illegally withholds
possession after the expiration or termination of his
right to hold possession
 The only issue involved in an action for forcible entry
and unlawful detainer is that of physical possession
2. Plenary action to recover possession (accion
publiciana)
 Refers to restitution of the possession only
 Ordinary civil proceeding to recover the better right
of possession of realty independent of title, except in
cases of forcible entry or unlawful detainer
 When the complaint fails to aver facts constitutive of
forcible entry or unlawful detainer as when it does
not state how entry was effected and when the
dispossession started, the remedy should either be
accion publiciana or accion reivindicatoria
 Must be brought in the proper RTC within a period of
ten (10) years, otherwise, the real right of possession
is lost [Art. 555]
 The issue involved is possession de jure of realty
independent of the title.
 The action is also used to refer t an ejectment suit
filed after the expiration of one year from the
occurrence of the cause of action or year from the
unlawful withholding of possession of the realty
3. Action to recover possession (accion reinvindicatoria)
 Recovery of the dominion over the property as owner
 The issue involved is ownership which ordinarily
includes possession although a person may be
declared owner but he may not be entitled to
possession because the possessor has some rights
which must be respected.
 In case of refusal of a party to deliver possession of
property due to an adverse claim of ownership, the
action is clearly an accion reinvindicatoria.
Movable property –
1. Replevin or manual delivery of such property under Rule
60 of the Rules of Court
 Section 2 thereof requires the plaintiff to state in an
affidavit that he is the owner of the property claimed,
particularly describing it, or that he is entitled to the
possession thereof and that it is “wrongfully detained
by the adverse party”
 Both a form of principal remedy and of a provisional
remedy that would allow plaintiff to retain the things
wrongfully detained by another pendente lite
 Shall prescribe four or eight years from the time the
possession thereof is lost [Article 1132]
 A property that is validly in custodial egis cannot be
the subject of a replevin suit
 Writ of possession
 Order whereby a sheriff is commanded to place a
person in possession of a real or personal property, such
as when a property is extra-judicially foreclosed
1
PROPERTY
 Improper to eject another from possession, except in:
1. Land registration proceedings
2. Extrajudicial foreclosure of mortgage or real
property
3. Judicial foreclosure of property provided that the
mortgagor has possession and no third party has
intervened
4. Execution sales
5. Eminent domain proceedings
Requisites before writ of possession be issued:
1. There must be a complaint for expropriation
sufficient in form and in substance
2. A provisional determination of just
compensation for the properties sought to be
expropriated must be made by the trial court
on the basis of judicial discretion
3. Deposit requirement under Section 2, Rule 67
of the Rules of Court must be complied with
**the proper remedy is specific performance
 If the writ of possession issued in land registration
proceedings implies the delivery of possession of the
land to the successful litigant therein, a writ of
demolition must likewise be issued
 Writ of injunction
 Writ framed according to the circumstance of the case
commanding an act which the court regards as essential
to justice, or restraining an act it deems contrary to
equity and good conscience
 Judicial process whereby one person is required to do
or refrain from doing a particular thing
 Requisites:
1. There must exist a clear and positive right over the
property in question which should be judicially
protected through the writ
2. The acts against which the injunction is to be
directed are violative of said right
 Not a proper remedy for the recovery of possession,
except when:
1. The plaintiff is admittedly the owner of the
property and is in possession thereof
2. In the event that the plaintiff is not the owner, as
long as he is actually in possession in concept of
owner for more than one year, he may protect his
possession by injunction
 Within 10 days from the filing of the complaint for
forcible entry, dispossessed plaintiff may file a motion
for a writ of preliminary mandatory injunction which
should be decided within thirty (30) days from the filing
thereof. [Art. 539]
 In cases of executing the decision in ejectment cases, the
plaintiff must petition for the removal of the
Pineda Notes
improvements which shall be ordered by the court only
after due hearing
 Limitations of ownership
 Classifications:
a. Those imposed in general by the State in the
exercise of the power of taxation, police power and
power of eminent domain [Art. 435]
b. Those imposed by law such as legal easement and
the requirement of legitime in succession
c. Those imposed by the grantor of the property on
the grantee, either by contract or by last will
d. Those imposed by the owner himself, such as
voluntary easement, mortgage, pledge and lease
 Stipulation on alienability – Perpetual prohibition
is void. Temporary prohibition on alienation is
valid.
 The absolute prohibition is void, because it is
against public policy, which favors the free
circulation of wealth; but the particular or relative
prohibition is valid because it is not conducive to
stagnation of property, and it may serve some
legitimate private interest of the parties
 The maximum period of inalienability, when
imposed by will, is twenty (20) years [article 870]
unless a fideicommissary substitution has been
established, in which case the inalienability may
last during the lifetime of the first heir [article 863]
 The same maximum period shall apply to
inalienability imposed by the donor to the done,
but the period may be longer when the donor
provides for reversion under article 757.
 In mortgage contracts, a stipulation forbidding the
owner from alienating the immovable mortgaged is
void [article 2130]
Forms of the sanction for a valid stipulation on
inalienability:
i.) The alienation may resolve the grant, such as
in revocation of a donation for breach of
condition, if the original grant is conditioned
on the prohibition
ii.) The alienation may be invalidated, but the
original contract preserved.
 Where the stipulation on inalienability is valid, the
property is not subject to attachment; otherwise,
the prohibition to alienate would be illusory
e. Those arising from conflicts of private rights such
as those which take place in accession continua
Article 429. Principle of Self-help
 Requisites for this article to apply:
1. Owner or lawful possessor
2. Reasonable force
3. No delay
4. Actual or threatened physical invasion or usurpation
 Article 432 is an exception to this article
 Actual invasion of property may consist of:
2
PROPERTY Pineda Notes

6. Occupation of a building for a long time by a party

1. Disturbance of possession without paying rent
7. A letter in which defendant recognized the ownership of
Force may be used against it at any time as long as it the property by the plaintiff
continues, even beyond the prescriptive period for an 8. Adverse and exclusive possession and ownership of
action of forcible entry parcels of land for a long time attested not only by
witnesses but also by declaration of properties,
2. Real dispossession payment of taxes and a deed of mortgage executed by
the possessor’s predecessors-in-interest as owners of
Force to regain possession can be used only the property.
immediately after the dispossession
Article 435. Power of Eminent Domain
 The right to use force to defend property is given only to
the immediate possessor  Requisites
 The aggression must be illicit or unlawful
1. Taking must be done by competent authority
Article 430. Right to enclose or fence 2. Must be for public use
3. Owner must be paid just compensation
 The limitation to this right is the right of others to existing 4. The requirement of due process of law must be
servitudes imposed on the land or tenement observed

Article 431. Scope of limitation Article 436.

Article 432. Acts in state of necessity Article 437.

 Requisites for the application of this article:

Additional provisions
1. Interference necessary
Article 2191.
Includes all acts to another’s property including its
destruction if necessary to avoid the danger or damage Proprietors shall also be responsible for damages caused:

2. Damage to another much greater than damage to 1. By the explosion of machinery which has not been taken
property care of with due diligence, and the inflammation of
explosive substances which have not been kept in a safe
and adequate place;
Article 433. Resort to judicial process
2. By excessive smoke, which may be harmful to persons
 Requisites to raise the disputable presumption of or property
ownership
3. By the falling of trees situated at or near highways or
1. There must be actual possession of the property lanes, if not caused by force majeure
2. Possession must be under claim of ownership
4. By emanations from tubes, canals, sewers or deposits of
Article 434. Requisites of recovery infectious matter, constructed without precautions
suitable to the place
 Requisites in action to recover
Article 637. Legal easement relating to natural drainage
1. Identity of the property
2. Strength of plaintiff’s title Lower estates are obliged to receive the waters which
naturally and without the intervention of man descend from
 Evidence to prove ownership the higher estates, as well as the stones or earth which they
carry with them
1. Torrens title
2. Title from the Spanish government The owner of the lower estate cannot construct works which
will impede this easement; neither can the owner of the
Spanish titles can no longer be used as evidence of land higher estate make works which will increase the burden
ownership in any registration proceedings under the
Torrens system [PD 1529, Section 3] Duty of the servient owner – not to construct works,
which will impede the easement, such as walls, ditches or
3. Patent duly registered in the Registry of Property by fences, or a dam which will block the natural flow of the
the grantee waters.
4. Deed of sale
5. Operating a business for nine years in defendant’s own Duty of the dominant owner – not to make works which
name representing himself to the public to be the owner will increase the burden. However, he is not prohibited
and the plaintiff never made any protest or objection from cultivating his land or constructing works to regulate
the descent of the waters to prevent erosion to his land
3
PROPERTY
and as long as he does impede the natural flow of the
waters and increase the burden of the lower estate, he is
not liable for damages.
Article 644. Properties where easement cannot be imposed
The easement if aqueduct for private interest cannot be
imposed on buildings, courtyards, annexes or outhouses or
on orchards or gardens already existing
Article 649. Easement of right of way
The owner, or any person who by virtue of a real right may
cultivate or use any immovable, which is surrounded by
other immovables pertaining to other persons and without
adequate outlet to a public highway, is entitled to demand a
right of way through the neighboring estates, after payment
of the proper indemnity.
Should this easement be established in such a manner that
its use may be continuous for all the needs of the dominant
estate, establishing a permanent passage, the indemnity
shall consist of the value of the land occupied and the
amount of the damage caused to the servient estate.
In case the right of way is limited to the necessary passage
for the cultivation of the estate surrounded by others and
for the gathering of its crops through the servient estate
without a permanent way, the indemnity shall consist in the
payment of the damage caused by such encumberance
This easement is not compulsory if the isolation of the
immovable is due to the proprietor’s own acts.
Easement of right of way – right granted by law 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 the proper indemnity.
Requisites of an easement:
1. Claimant must be an owner of enclosed immovable or
one with real right
Xpn: mortagagee – though with a real right, is not
entitled to demand because it is necessary that the land
be cultivated or used by virtue of a right like that of a
usufruct
Xpn: mere lessee – cannot demand legal servitude of way
because his action is against the lessor who is bound to
maintain him in the enjoyment of the lease
2. There must be no adequate outlet to a public highway
3. The right of way must be absolutely necessary
4. The isolation must not be due to the claimant’s own
act
5. The easement must be established at the point least
prejudicial to the servient estate
6. There must be payment of proper indemnity
Pineda Notes
Kinds of easement of right of way:
1. Private – when it is established in favor of a private
person, such as the right granted in Art. 649
2. Public – when it is available in favor of the community
or public at large
Acquisition and extinguishment by prescription:
Only easement which are continuous and at the same time
apparent may be acquired by prescription. (10 years, Art.
620)
Article 652. Where land of transferor or transferee enclosed
Whenever a piece of land acquired by sale, exchange or
partition, is surrounded by other estates of the vendor,
exchanger, or co-owner, he shall be obliged to grant a right
of way without indemnity
In case of a simple donation, the donor shall be indemnified
by the done for the establishment of the right of way.
Exception to the requirement in Art. 649
1. Buyer’s land enclosed
2. Donee’s land enclosed
3. Seller’s or donor’s land enclosed
Article 670. Direct and oblique views
No windows, apertures, balconies or other similar
projections which afford a direct view upon or towards an
adjoining land or tenement can be made, without leaving a
distance of two meters between the wall in which they are
made and such contiguous property
Distance requirement – two meters for direct view and
sixty centimeters for oblique view
Article 676. Easement giving outlet to rainwater where house
surrounded by other houses.
Whenever the yard or court of a house is surrounded by
other houses, and it is not possible to give an outlet through
the house itself to the rain water 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
easiest, and establishing a conduit for the drainage in such
manner as to cause the least damage to the servient estate,
after payment of proper indemnity.
The legal easement of drainage may be demanded
subject to the following conditions:
1. There must be no adequate outlet to the rain water
because the yard or court of house is surrounded by
other houses
2. The outlet to the water must be at the point where
egress is easiest, and establishing a conduit for drainage
3. There must be payment of proper indemnity
Article 677. Constructions and planting near fortified places
4
PROPERTY Pineda Notes

No constructions can be built or plantings made near Article 686

fortified places or fortresses without compliance with the
conditions required in special laws, ordinances, and
regulations relating thereto.
This article establishes an easement in favor of the State.
The general prohibition is dictated by the demands of
national security. The constructions and plantings may be
made after complying with the special laws, ordinances
and regulations relating thereto.
Article 678. Construction of aqueduct, well, sewer, etc.
The legal easement of lateral and subjacent support is not
only for buildings standing at the time the excavations are
made but also for constructions that may be erected.
Article 687
Any proprietor intending to make any excavation
contemplated in the three preceding article shall notify all
owners of adjacent lands

No person shall build any aqueduct, well, sewer, furnace,

forge, chimney, stable, depository of corrosive substances,
machinery, or factory which by reason of its nature or
products is dangerous or noxious, without observing the
distances prescribed by the regulations and customs of the
place, and without making the necessary protective works,
subject, in regard to the manner thereof, to the conditions
prescribed by such regulations. These prohibitions cannot
be altered or renounced by stipulation on the part of the
adjoining proprietors.

In absence of regulations, such precautions shall be taken as

may be considered necessary, in order to avoid any damage
to the neighboring lands or tenements.

The prohibitions in this article cannot be altered or

renounced by stipulations because they involve
considerations of public policy and general welfare; hence,
they may not be rendered nugatory or ineffective by
stipulation of the adjoining owners

Article 679. Planting of trees

No trees shall be planted near a tenement or piece of land

belonging to another except at the distance authorized by
the ordinances or customs of the place, and in the absence
thereof, at a distance of at least two meters from the
dividing line of the estates if tall trees are planted and at a
distance of at least fifty centimeters if shrubs or small trees
are planted.

This provision establishes a negative easement. It provides

the minimum distances of trees and shrubs from the
boundary line.

Should be regulated:

1. By local ordinances
2. Customs of the place
3. Article 679

Article 684. Proprietor prohibited from making dangerous

excavations

No proprietor shall make such excavations upon his land as

to deprive any adjacent land or building of sufficient lateral
or subjacent support.

Article 685

Any stipulation or testamentary provision allowing

excavations that cause danger to an adjacent land or
building shall be void.
5