F.

Rights and Obligations of Owners of Dominant and Servient Estates

1. Rights of Owner of Dominant Estate

a. To use the easement (Art. 626) and exercise all rights necessary for its use (Art. 625)-
if it is a right of way, then I can use it anytime, any day & I can exercise necessary for
its use.

*If I am the owner of the servient estate, can I put a gate? & control the use of the
easement? YES. Provided there is no burden to the servient estate. But the moment I
put a lock, and I only have 1 key to it or the moment I put the Doberman near the
gate, then I am actually preventing the servient estate from enjoying the easement.
b. To do at his expense, all necessary works for the use and preservation of the easement
(Art. 627)- If I needed to put a riftraft (?) in order to prevent erosion, then I will have
to do it at my expense. If I have to put lights bec there are several holdapers along the
way, then it will be at my own expense.
c. In a right of way, to ask for change in width of easement sufficient for needs of
dominant estate (Art. 651)- if the easement is only 2 meters wide and cannot
accommodate a Montero, then I can demand for a an increase in width, in order to
accommodate the width of the car

2. Obligations of the Owner of Dominant Estate

a. To the use the easement for benefit of immovable and in the manner originally
established (Art. 626)
b. To notify owner of servient estate before making repairs and to make repairs in a
manner least inconvenient to servient estate
c. To contribute to expenses of works necessary for the use and preservation of servient,
if there are several dominant estates, unless be renounces his interest (Art. 628)

3. Rights of the Owner of Servient Estate

a. To retain ownership and use of his property (Art. 630)- I am still the owner of the
prop which someone is using as a right of way. I am still the owner. Can I sell it? I
can sell my prop but I can’t sell the right of way separately.
b. To change the place and manner of use of the easement (Art. 629, par.2)- I can tell the
dominant estate to change the right of way from middle to side bec it must be least
burdensome to the servient estate

4. Obligations of the Servient Estate

a. Not to impair the use of the easement (Art. 628, par.1)- if the easement is intended as
a right of way, then I cannot use it for free for any illegal means (it can be a ground
for termination of easement)
b. To change the place and manner of the use of the easement (Art. 628, par.2)

G. Modes of Extinguishment of Easement

1. Merger- must be absolute, perfect and definite, not merely temporary- merger bet the
owner of the dominant & servient estate. Like in marriage or co-ownership or enter
into a joint venture.
 2. 2. By non-user for 10 years- automatically cease to exist
a. Computation of the period
(1) Discontinuous easements; counted from the day they ceased to be used
(2) Continuous easements; counted from the day an act adverse to the
exercise took place
b. The use by a co-owner of the dominant estate bars prescription with respect to the
others (Art. 633)- if we are co-owners, we are dominant estate and we start to use
it, it will bar a prescription. Since it is being enjoyed, the one claiming that I am
barred by a prescription cannot invoked it. Bec the act of the co-owners benefits
all the co-owners.
c. Servitudes not yet exercised cannot be extinguished by non-user- if it has not yet
started to be use then it can’t be extinguish by non-use
3. Extinguishment by impossibility of use
4. Expiration of the term or fulfillment of resolutory condition
5. Renunciation of the owner of dominant estate- must be clear, express (distinguished
from non-user)- the owner who is the one benefitting the dominant estate renounces it
bec he no longer needs it or he simply does not want to be beholded to the servient
estate, but since this is a renunciation, it must be clear & express
6. Redemption agreed upon between the owners
7. Other causes not mentioned in Art. 631
a. Annulment or rescission of the Title constituting the easement- meaning there
is a contract
b. Termination of the right of grantor- if I am a usufructuary and I want to grant
a right of way to someone else, the moment that contract of usufruct is
terminated then the easement is also terminated
c. Abandonment of the servient estate
d. Eminent Domain
e. Special cause for extinction of legal right e.g. right of way no longer
necessary Art. 655

H. Legal Easements
1. Law Governing Legal Easement
a. For public easements
 Special laws and regulations relating thereto, e.g. PD 1067, PD 705
 By the provisions of Chap 2, Title VII, book II NCC

b. For private legal easements

 By agreement of the interest parties whenever the law does not prohibit it and
no injury is suffered by a third person- chapter on easements under NCC
 By the provisions of Chap 2, Title VII book II

2. Private Legal Easements provided for by the NCC

a. Those established for the use of water or easements relating to waters (Art.637-648)
 Natural drainage of waters (Art. 637)
 Easements on lands along riverbanks (Art. 638) See water code
 Abutment of a dam (Art. 639)
  Aqueduct (Art. 645-646)
 Drawing waters and watering animals (Art. 640)
 Stop lock or sluice gate

b. The easement of party wall (Art. 658-666)- meaning the parties enjoy the use of prop.
The one that is facing the prop
c. The easement of light and view (Art. 649-657)- meaning u allow light to enter in your
room or house. If I build an easement of light below my ceiling in order to admit
light, I mean if I build a hole in my house in order to admit light, then I am actually
allowing light to enter but that is not yet an easement. Since it is constructed on my
prop, in order to acquire the easement, I have to enter into a contract with you not to
block my light. But if you don’t want to enter into a contract, then the only way I can
acquire it is by prescription.

Since the easement of light is apparent and it is continuous bec whether u like it or
not, light will enter. As long as there is an opening which would allow light to enter,
that is already equivalent to an opening. But u have to wait for 10 yrs in order to
acquire the easement. Now, since it is in your prop, u have to give a notarial
prohibition. The lapse of 10 yrs will give rise to an easement of light.
d. The easement of drainage of buildings (Art. 674-676)- lower estate has to receive
water from the higher estate but this has to flow to a common sewerage
e. The easement of distance for certain constructions and plantings (Art. 677-681)-
prohibition on bldgs w/n a certain distance. What is the distance required? The
distance is 2 meters from the prop line if u have a direct view (Art.6677). When you
have an oblique view, then you are allowed to construct 60 cm. If u do not follow the
2-meter rule, then acquisitive prescription will not set in.
f. The easement against nuisances (Art. 682-683)- simply prohibits neighbors from
making any loud noise, emitting order or something which offends morals
g. The easement of lateral and subjacent supports (Arts. 684-687)

Questions:
1. Yung sa prescription ba magstart siya from time na ginawa yung immovable or from the
time nagkaroon ng knowledge- positive easement- means from the time the act is
performed. If it is an opening, which has been made from the time of opening
2. What if po yung owner nasa abroad tas wala po siyang idea- the prescriptive period, the
moment it is made it will not bound the knowledge on the part of the dominant estate
3. Ano pong classification pag gov’t expropriation? – easement is extinguished
4. Is there a need for payment in the easement of right of way? – Sa civil code, sa legal
easements, compulsory yan. Indemnity is a requirement. Now pag voluntary pwedeng
wala bec the parties allow it.
5. Ang pag-iihaw ba nuisance kung mausok? -depende sa iniihaw. It only applies to
continuous.
6. Sa easement of light po even if stipulated pano siya maeenforce? – depende. Where was
the opening made? Kung sa prop ko, gumawa ako ng window or balcony, I have to right
a letter to the adjoining owner & I will have it notarized. The content of the letter would
 be to prohibit him from blocking your view. Notarial Prohibition. 10 year period will start
from the time the owner receives it. Pano pag yung owner nasa sa abroad and di niya
alam na may notarial probihition? This now becomes a question of fact, if I am claiming
that I registered mail it to the owner, then by virtue of the laws in registered mail, there is
a presumption of delivery 7 days from the time it is posted.

*Read Art. 649- Indemnity; if the right of way is a compulsory, there must be indemnification.
How much? Under art. 649, the indemnity is computed by the value of land which u are going to
use and the damage you are going to cause to the owner. If the right of way is no longer
necessary bec it’s no longer isolated, then the value received by the servient estate must be
returned to the dominant estate.

Exceptions- if I am the seller and ako yung cause ng isolation mo

*I am the owner of 1-hectare prop and I sold the lands and divide it into 40, yung nasa gitna
walang right of way and he demands for a right of way, then he can be granted right of way but
he will not be indemnified bec the seller was the cause of isolation.

7. With regards to annotation and titles containing restrictions abt easements, are they made
by law as apparent easements if it is externally manifested as an annotation in the title or
it is considered as non-apparent- the apparent & non-apparent of an easement is not on
where it is written but on where it is imposed. Dapat yung property mismo. Physically
seen. Height restrictions cannot be seen. It will have to be based on how the gov’t
agencies implement. Annotated man or hindi.
8. Pano if the easement is verbal is it binding? – for as long as there is an agreement bet the
parties then it is binding. If napagusapan lang, then we are allowed to use the right of
way. After the parties passed away, the heirs are no longer seeing eye to eye pati yung
neighbor. Can it be stopped? It depends. If it is a legal easement or there is no other way
to the public highway, then legal easement will enter into the picture. It will be
compulsory.
9. Pano pa hindi pa expired yung usufruct tas yung owner gusto na igrant sa iba yung
easement ano po remedy ng usufructuary? – the usufructuary must enforce the right
through court proceedings