LAW

ON
PROPERTY
ATTY. TERESITA L. CRUZ
 USUFRUCT
Art. 562 NCC. 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.

FORMULA:

Naked ownership right to dispose

+
Usufruct right to use and right to the
fruits

Full ownership

REASONS FOR CONSERVING FORM AND SUBSTANCE:

1. Prevent extraordinary exploitation;

2. Prevent abuse which is frequent;

3. Prevent impairment.
 USUFRUCT
OBLIGATIONS OF THE USUFRUCTUARY:
1. Make an inventory;
BEFORE
2. Give security or bond.
1. Take care of the property w/ the
DOAGFOAF;
2. Make ordinary repairs;
DURING 3. Notify owner of urgent extra-ordinary
repairs;
4. Notify owner of any prejudicial act
committed by 3rd persons.
1. Return the object unless there is
AFTER right of retention;
2. Indemnify owner for any loss due to
his fault or negligence.
CAUCION JURATORIA – is a sworn duty to take good
care of the property and return the same at the end of
the usufruct; takes the place of the bond or security
(usufructuary is required but cannot afford to give
security) and is based on necessity and humanity.

REQUISITES:
1. Proper court petition;
2. Necessity for delivery of:
a). furniture or house for use by usufructuary
and his family OR;
b). implements, tools or other movables for a
vocation or industry in which he is engaged.
3. Approval of the court;
4. Sworn promise;
5. BUT usufructuary cannot alienate or lease the
property for this means he does not need them.
EXTINGUISHMENT OF THE USUFRUCT:
(Art. 603 NCC)

1. Death of the usufructuary;

2. Expiration of the period for which it was
constituted;
3. Fulfillment of any resolutory condition
provided in the title creating the usufruct;
4. Merger of usufruct and ownership in the
same person;
5. Renunciation of the usufructuary;
6. Total loss of the thing in usufruct;
7. Termination of the right of the person
constituting the usufruct;
8. Prescription.
 EFFECTS OF “BAD USE”
(Article 610 NCC)
CAUSES CONSIDERABLE DOES NOT CAUSE
INJURY TO OWNER CONSIDERABLE
INJURY TO OWNER
1. Usufruct continues; 1. Usufruct continues;
2. Owner can demand 2. Owner cannot
delivery to and demand
administration by him; administration of
3. Owner gets property held in
administration fees usufruct.
and expenses;
4. “U” is paid net
proceeds.
 EASEMENT OR SERVITUDE
- is an encumbrance imposed upon an
immovable for the benefit of another
immovable belonging to a different owner
or for the benefit of a community or one or
more persons to whom the encumbered
estate does not belong by virtue of which
the owner is obliged to abstain from doing
or to permit a certain thing to be done on
his estate. (Arts. 613/614 NCC).
CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EASEMENT:
1. a real right;
2. imposed on a real property only;
3. Imposable only on another’s property;
4. involves two neighboring estates, the dominant and
the servient estates;
5. a limitation or encumbrance on the servient estate
for another’s benefit;
6. a right limited by the needs of the dominant estate;
7. inherent from the servient estate as such;
8. inseparable from the servient estate;
9. non-possessory;
10. indivisible;
11. intransmissible;
12. perpetual.
MODES OF ACQUIRING EASEMENTS (Arts. 620 – 623)
A. CONTINUOUS AND 1. By TITLE
APPARENT a) does not necessarily mean
document
b) it means a juridical act or law
sufficient to create the
encumbrance. Ex: Law,
EXAMPLES: donation, will, contract
1. Easement of aquaduct
2. Easement of light and view 2. By PRESCRIPTION - TEN YEARS
a) positive, when made: a) positive – computed from the day
(1) on one’s own wall the dominant owner commenced
extending over to exercise the easement upon
another’s property OR servient estate.
(2) on a party wall
b) negative, when made: b) negative – computed from the day
(1) on one’s own wall notarial prohibition was made on
w/c does not extend the servient estate.
over another’s
property.
MODES OF ACQUIRING EASEMENTS (Arts. 620 – 623)
B. DISCONTINUOUS AND
APPARENT

C. CONTINUOUS AND
By TITLE ONLY
NON-APPARENT

D. DISCONTINUOUS AND
NON-APPARENT
EASEMENT OF RIGHT OF WAY (Arts. 649 -657
NCC): by which one person or a particular
class of persons is allowed to pass over
another’s land, usually through one particular
path or line.
REQUISITES of LEOROW (Art. 649/650 NCC):
1. Immovable (dominant estate) is surrounded by
other immovables pertaining to other persons;
2. No adequate outlet to a public highway;
3. Absolutely necessary for use or cultivation of
the enclosed estate of the claimant;
4. Isolation is not due to claimant’s own act;
5. Established at the point least prejudicial to the
servient estate;
6. Claimant must be the owner or one with a real
right thereto;
7. Payment of the proper indemnity.
B. AMOUNT OF INDEMNITY (Art. 649 NCC)
1. If passage is permanent – value of
the land + amount of damage
caused to servient estate
2. If passage is temporary – amount of
damage caused to servient estate
C. EXTINGUISHMENT OF THE LEGAL
EASEMENT OF RIGHT OF WAY
(Art. 655 NCC)
1. opening of a new road;
2. joining the dominant estate to another
which abuts, and therefore, has
access to the public highway;
3. such new access is adequate and
convenient to the dominant estate.
EASEMENT OF LATERAL
AND SUBJACENT
SUPPORT

No excavation upon
one’s own land may
be made to deprive
adjacent land or
building of sufficient
lateral and subjacent
support (Art.684 NCC).
 EASEMENT OF LIGHT AND
VIEW (Art. 667 – 673 NCC)
GEN. RULE: no part owner may, WITHOUT
THE CONSENT OF THE
OTHERS, open through the
party wall any window or
aperture of any kind (Art. 667)

PERIOD OF PRESCRIPTION FOR

ACQUISITION THEREOF (Art. 668 NCC)
1. If thru a party wall – 10 yrs. from
the time of opening of the window.
2. If thru a wall on the dominant
estate – 10 yrs. from the time of
notarial prohibition.
 NUISANCE
NUISANCE (Art. 694 NCC )
– 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;

5. hinders or impairs the use of property.

 CLASSIFICATION OF
NUISANCE: (Art. 695 NCC)
I. ACCORDING TO SCOPE/EXTENT
OF ITS INJURIOUS EFFECTS

A. PUBLIC – one which affects a

community or neighborhood or
any considerable number of
persons although the extent of
annoyance, danger or damage
upon individuals may be
unequal.
1. REMEDIES
1). Prosecution under the Revised Penal Code or any local
ordinance;
2). Civil action;
a). Gen. Rule: must be commenced by the city or municipal
mayor.
b). EXCEPTION: private person may file the action if the nuisance
is specially injurious to himself.
3). extrajudicial abatement.
a). district health officer determines whether or not it is the best
remedy.
b). by private person himself, provided: (Art. 703/705 NCC)
(1). nuisance specially injurious to himself;
(2). demand is first made upon the owner or possessor of the
property to abate the nuisance;
(3). such demand has been rejected;
(4). abatement be approved by the district health officer and
executed with the assistance of the local police;
(5). removing or if necessary, by destroying the thing which
constitutes the nuisance, without committing a breach of
the peace or doing unnecessary injury;
(6). Value of the destruction does not exceed P3000.00.
2. Remedies are cumulative NOT exclusive.
3. All remedies may be availed of by public officers but a
private person may avail of the last two (2) remedies only.
B. PRIVATE – one which affects
only private rights or produces
damage to one or a few
persons.
1. Remedies:
1). Civil action;
2). extrajudicial abatement.
II. ACCORDING TO ITS NATURE
A. Nuisance per se
B. Nuisance per accidens
PER SE PER ACCIDENS
1. nuisance at all times and 1. becomes a nuisance by
under any circumstances, reason of circumstances,
regardless of location or location or surroundings;
surroundings; 2. proof of the manner of
2. proof of its existence is its conduct, or the act,
sufficient; its consequences and
3. may be summarily abated other like circumstances,
under the undefined law is necessary;
of necessity. 3. reasonable notice and
hearing on whether or
not, in law, it constitutes
a nuisance.
DOCTRINE OF ATTRACTIVE
NUISANCE

One who maintains in his premises dangerous

instrumentalities or appliances of a character
likely to attract children in play and who fails to
exercise ordinary care to prevent children from
playing therewith or resorting thereto is liable
to a child of tender years who is injured thereby,
even If the child is technically a trespasser in the
premises.

This doctrine does not apply to bodies of water,

artificial or natural, in the absence of some
unusual condition or artificial feature other than
the mere water and its location.
 DONATION
DONATION includes:
1. an act of liberality whereby a person
disposes gratuitously of a thing or
right in favor of another, who accepts
it. (Art. 725 NCC).
2. giving to another a thing or right on
account of the latter’s merits or of the
services rendered by him to the donor,
provided they do not constitute a
demandable debt (Art. 726 NCC).
3. giving to another a thing or right and
imposes upon the donee a burden
which is less than the value of the
thing given (Art. 726 NCC).
 REQUISITES OF A VALID
DONATION

1. donor’s capacity to make the

donation of a thing or right;
2. donative intent;
3. delivery, actual or constructive;
4. acceptance/consent of the donee
to the donation;
5. compliance with formalities
prescribed by law.
DISTINCTIONS:
INTER VIVOS MORTIS CAUSA
1. takes effect during the lifetime 1. takes effect upon
of the donor; the death of donor;
2. made out of donor’s pure 2. made in contemplation of death
generosity; without intention to dispose in
case of survival;
3. valid, even if donor survives the
donee; 3. void, should donor survive the
donee;
4. must follow formalities of
donation; 4. must follow formalities of a will;

5. must be accepted by donee 5. can only be accepted after

during the lifetime of donor; donor’s death;
6. cannot be revoked except for 6. always revocable before donor’s
grounds provided by law; death;
7. generally, right to dispose of the 7. right to dispose is retained by
property is conveyed to the the donor while still alive;
donee;
8. preferred in case of impairment 8. not so preferred, hence reduced
of legitime. first if legitime is impaired.
VOID DONATIONS (Art. 739 NCC):

1. between persons who are guilty of

adultery or concubinage at the time of
the donation;
2. between persons found guilty of the same
criminal offense, in consideration thereof;
3. made to a public officer or his wife,
descendants and ascendants, by reason
of his office;
4. between spouses, during their marriage,
except moderate gifts during times of
family rejoicing. (Art. 87 FC).
FORMALITIES OF A DONATION:
I. DONATION INTER VIVOS
A. For movable property (Art. 748 NCC)

1. may be made orally or in writing;

2. oral donation requires

simultaneous delivery of the
thing or of the document
representing the right donated;

3. donation AND acceptance must

be in writing if the value of the
property exceeds P 5,000.00.
B. For immovable property (Art. 749 NCC)
1. donation must be in a public
instrument, specifying therein
the property donated and the
value of the charges which the
donee must satisfy;

2. acceptance may be in same

deed or in a separate public
document;

3. if in a separate document,
donor shall be notified thereof
in an authentic form and this
step shall be noted in both
instruments.
II. MORTIS CAUSA –
formalities of a will
 GROUNDS FOR REVOCATION OF
DONATION (Art. 760 NCC)
1. birth, adoption, re-appearance of 1st
child of donor(within 4 years from BAR);

2. noncompliance with any of the

conditions imposed by the donor
(within 4 years from noncompliance);
3. ingratitude of the donee (within 1
year from knowledge of ingratitude).
 GROUNDS FOR REDUCTION OF
DONATION
1. failure of the donor to reserve sufficient means to
support himself or dependent relatives (anytime
during lifetime of donor).

2. failure of the donor

to reserve sufficient
property to pay-off
his existing debts
(within 4 years from
perfection of
donation).
debtor creditor
3. Inofficiousness (within 5 years after death of
donor).

4. birth, adoption, re-appearance of 1st child of

donor (within 4 years from BAR).
 ACTS OF INGRATITUDE AS GROUND
FOR REVOCATION: (Art. 765 NCC)
1. if the donee should commit some
offense against the person, the
honor or the property of the
donor or of his wife or children
under his parental care.
2. if donee imputes to the donor any
criminal offense or any act
involving moral turpitude, even
though he should prove it, unless
the crime or the act has been
committed against the donee
himself, his wife or children under
his authority.
3. if he unduly refuses him support
when the donee is legally or morally
bound to give support to the donor.
 That’s all
Folks!!!

Thank you for listening…