Definition: Accession is the right of
the owner
of a thing to become the owner of
everything that is produced
Thereby or Which may be
inseparably attached or
incorporated
merero, either naturally or
artificially. » (b) Kinds of accession:
(I) accession discreta
is the right of the owner of a
property
to whatever is produced thereby or
to the fruits of the same:i»
and
(2) accession continua
is the right to acquire whatever is
attached or incorporated naturally
or artificially to our things,
(c) Forms of accession continua:
Accession continua may refer
to immovable property or movable
property. Accession continua
with regard to immovable property
may either be accession
industrial or accession-natural.
Accession(industrial may take
the form of building, planting or
sowing, while accession natura,
may either be alluvion, avulsion,
change of course of river, or
/formation of islands.
Accession continua with respect to
movable
property may either be adjunction or
conjunction, commixtion
or confusion, and specification.
Adjunction or conjunction may
furthermore take place by inclusion
or engraftment, soldadura or
attachment, tejido or weaving,
pintura or painting, or escritura or
writing.
Accession Discreta: (a) Basic rule:
Accession is the right of
the owner of a thing to become the
owner of everything that
is produced thereby or which may
be inseparably attached or
incorporated thereto, either
naturally or artificially.' To the
owner belongs the natural fruits,
industrial fruits, and civil
fruits.
Exceptions:
(1) in usufruct, the usufructuary
shall
be entitled to all the natural,
industrial, and civil fruits of the
property in usufruct;
(2) in lease of rural land, the lessee
15
entitled to the natural and industrial
fruits of the thing leased
while the lessor is entitled to civil
fruits in the form of the rent
paid by the lessee;
3.in antichresis, the creditor
acquires the
right to receive the fruits of an
immovable of his debtor, with the
obligation to apply them to the
payment of the interest,
(4) a possessor
in good faith is entitled to the fruits
received by him before his
possession is legally interrupted;
and
(5) fruits naturally falling
upon adjacent land belong to the
owner of the said land and not
to the owner of the tree.'
c) Three kinds of fruits: (1) Natural
fruits: the spontaneous. products of
the soil, or those that appear
without the intervention of human
labor, such as the wild fruits
in the forest, herbs, and common
grass, and the young and other
products of animals, such as milk,
hair, wool, horn, hide, eggs, I- Na
and animals dung or manure.
If the young or offspring is a
product of animals belonging to
different owners,
"the young 2 , C
belongs to the owner of the female
parent,
" in the absence of,
agreement to the contrary, based
on the maxim partus sequitur
ventrem
Industrial fruits: Those produced by
lands of any kind through
cultivation or labor 750 (3) Civil
fruits: The rents of buildings, the
price of leases of lands and other
property and the amount of
perpetual or life annuity or other
similar income
Rent is a civil
fruit that belongs to the owner of the
property producing it by
right of accession,
Bank interests,
also partake of the nature of civil
fruits under Article 442 of the
Civil Code. Since these are
considered fruits, ownership thereof
should be due to the owner of the
principal.
(d) Expenses in
production, gathering, and
preservation: Where the recipient of
the fruits was not the same person
who incurred the expenses
in connestion with its production,
gathering, and preservation,
the former has the obligation to pay
the expenses made by the
Latter in the production, gathering
and preservation of the fruits.
whether the latter acted in good
faith or in bad faith.
But this rule applies only when the
fruits are already harvested and
gathered since Article 443 refers to
the person who receives fruits.
Industrial Accession: (A) Article
447: Applies when Landowner
(LO) builds, plants, or sows on his
land with materials belonging
to Owner of Materials (OM). Three
situations: (1) when both
acted in good faith or in bad faith
LO'must appropriate materials
but must pay fer its value;
2) when LO acted in good faith and
OM acted in bad faith, the latter, will
(lose his materials without
the right to be indemnified, and he
will be liable to pay damages;
(3) when LO acted in bad faith and
OMacted in good faith. the
latter has the option of demanding
the value of his materials plus
damages, or demanding the return
of his accessory thing in any
event,
Article 448: Applies when
Builder, Planter, or Sower (BPS)
builds, plants, or sows on the
land of another (LO) with his own
materials and both acted in
(good faith)
Concept of BPS in good faith: (I)
Limited
dehnition. The builder believes that
he is the owner of the land or
that by some title he has the right to
build thereon, or that, at
least, he has a claim of title thereto;
such as when the builders
constructed their house on the
adjacent lot because the geodetic
engineer erroneously pointed to
said lot as the one purchased by
the builders.
Expanded definition; Where the
builders knew
that they were not the owners of the
land but they constructed
improvements on the land of
another with the consent of the
owner,
Involving right of repurchase: Article
448 is inapplicable in cases
involving contracts of sale with right
of repurchase. When the vendee a
retro introduced improvements on
the subject property
prior to repurchase, Articles 1606
and 1616 require the vendor a
retro to also pay the necessary and
useful expenses made on the
thing sold,
When the Lessee
introduced an improvement on the
leased promises, the applicable
law is Article 1678 and not Article
448,
Involving usufruct: When a options of landowner: (1) to
usufructuary introduced useful
improvements or ornaments on the
property subject matter of the
usufruct, the applicable laws are
Articles 579 and 580, not Article
448.
When ownership of land is
lost: Article 448 is applicable
when the landowner loses
ownership of his land because of
non-
payment of real estate taxes to
settle the controversy with respect
to the improvement on the land.'*
When builder is co-owner;
Ordinarily, Article 448 does not
apply because he is a builder-
owner. By way of exception, the
provision applies to one whose
house, despite having been built at
the time he was still co-owner,
overlapped with the land of
another.'
Article 448 can be invoked by the
successor-in-interest of the
builder in good faith. 1 (b) Two
appropriate as his own the works,
sowing, or planting after
payment to the builder, planter, or
sower the necessary and useful
expenses, and in proper cases,
expenses for pure luxury or mere
pleasure, incurred by the latter; or
(2) to oblige the one who built
or planted to pay the price of the
land, if the value of the land is
not considerably more than that of
the building or trees, and the
one who sowed, the proper rent.
'7 (c) Option
of appropriation: Landowner must
pay the necessary and useful
expenses, and in the proper case,
expenses for pure luxury or
mere pleasure.'" The basis of
indemnity is the current market
value of the improvements at the
time of the election of the
option. '7 Pending payment of the
indemnity, the builder is
entitled to a right of retention of the
property.
Accordingly, the
builder cannot be compelled to pay
rentals during the period of
retention nor be disturbed in his
possession by ordering him to
vacate
Option of selling land: Can only be
exercised
against the builder or planter and
only when the value of the land
is not considerably more than that
the building or planting;
otherwise, the builder or planter can
only be compelled to pay
proper rent. In determining the price
of the land, the price must
be fixed at the "prevailing market
value" at the time of the
election of the option.
In the event the builder or the
planter
refuses to pay the price of the land,
the landowner does not
automatically become the owner of
the improvements without
paying any indemnity.
The options available to him are the
following: (i) to choose option of
appropriation; (ii) to enter into
a voluntary lease contract with
builder or planter; '" (iii) the
landowner may demand for the
demolition of what has been built
or planted;'or (iv) to apply for an
order from the court for the .
sale of the land and improvement in
a public auction applying the
proceeds thereof first to the
payment of the value of the land
and
the excess, if any, to be delivered to
the owner of the house in
payment thereof
Articles 449-452: Applies when the
Builder, Planter, or Sower (BPS)
builds, plants, or sows on the
land of another (LO) with his own
materials and he acted in bad
faith while the LO acted in good
faith. (a) Concept of builder in
bad faith: If BPS knew that he was
not the owner of the land at
the time of the building, planting,
and sowing and the landowner
had no knowledge of what he did at
that time, such as when the
buyers of a parcel of land
constructed a house thereon even if
they were not innocent purchasers
for value, or the builder's
occupation of the subject property
was by mere tolerance. sI (b)
Three options oflandowner: (1) The
right to appropriate whatever
has been built, planted, or sown in
bad faith without need of
paying indemnity, plus
damages,'and that the builder in
bad faith has no right to a refund of
any improvement built therein,
If there are pending fruits, the
landowner will likewise be entitled
to appropriate them without need of
paying any indemnity,
1. The right to demand the
demolition of whatever has
been built,
planted, or sown in bad faith in any
event even if damages
will be caused by the separation-
plus damages
3) The right
to compel the builder or planter in
bad faith to pay the price of the
land, '' even if the price of the land
is considerably more than the
building or trees, plus damages
Only right of BPS in bad
faith: Reimbursement of necessary
expenses of preservation of
the land.' However, being a builder
in bad faith, he does not
have the right of retention over the
premises.
Article 453:
Applies when Builder, Planter, or
Sower (BPS) builds, plants, or
sows on the land of another (LO)
with his own materials and both
acted in bad faith. The bad faith of
each other is cancelled out.
Hence, the rights of one and the
other shall be the same as though
both had acted in good faith.'2As a
consequence, the rules in
Article 448 will be applicable.
Article 454: Applies when
Builder, Planter, or Sower (BPS)
builds, plants, or sows on the
land of another (LO) with his own
materials and he acted in good
faith while the LO acted in bad faith.
The provisions of Article
447 of the NCC shall apply.'3 As a
consequence, BPS has two
options: (1) to demand the value of
his materials and reasonable
compensation for his labor, plus
damages; or (2) to demand the
return of his materials in any event,
plus damages. Bad faith may
only be attributed to a landowner
when the act of building,
planting, or sowing was done with
his knowledge and without
opposition on his part.
Article 455: Applies when Builder,
Planter, or Sower (BPS) builds,
plants, or sows on the land of
another (L) using materials
belonging to another person (OM).
There are two scenarios: (1) If OM
acted in bad faith, he loses his
materials in favor of LO without any
right whatsoever and he is
liable for damages. '» If BPS acted
in good faith, he may claim
from LO a reasonable
compensation for his labor;
otherwise, he
is not entitled to such
compensation.
2) If OM acted in good
faith, he must be paid the value of
his materials. ' BPS is
primarily liable to make such
payment, while LO is subsidiarily
liable. This subsidiary liability of LO
will attach only if the
following conditions are met:
(i) BPS is insolvent; and
(ii) LO chooses to appropriate the
building, planting, or sowing. If BPS
pays the materials, the rights and
obligations of BPS and LO to
each other shall be determined by
applying Articles 448-454.
Natural Accession:
Alluvium:
(a) Distinguished from
accretion: Alluvium is the soil
deposited on the estate fronting
the river bank; while accretion is the
process whereby the soil
is deposited along the banks of
rivers.
If the process is gradual
and imperceptible, it is alluvium;
when the process is sudden
and abrupt, it is a case of avulsion.
Rule on alluvium: The
additional soil deposit becomes
private property and shall belong
to the owner of the land contiguous
to the river, creek, stream,
or lake.
Requisites: For the foregoing rule to
apply, the
following requisites must be
present: (1) that the accumulation
of soil or sediment be gradual and
imperceptible;
(2) that it be the exclusive result of
the action of the waters; and
(3) that the land where the accretion
takes place is adjacent to the bank
of
the river, creek, stream, or lake
shore.
The drying up of the river is not
accretion, The process of drying up
of a river to form dry land involved
the recession of the water level
from
the river banks. Water level did not
recede and was more or less
maintained.
Alluvion must be the exclusive
Work of nature, Where there land
was formed with the help of
human. intervention, it becomes
part of the public domain,
Ownership is acquired ipso jure:
The right of the owners of the
land adjacent to rivers, creeks,
streams, or lakes to the accretion
which they receive by virtue of the
action of the waters of the
river is ipso jure.
However, the accretion to
registered land does not preclude
acquisition of the additional area by
another
person through prescription.
Avulsion: (a) Definition: It is
the accretion which takes place
when the current of a river, creek,
or torrent segregates a known
portion of land from an estate on
its banks and transfers it to another
estate,
Rule on avulsion:
The owner of the land from where
the portion is detached retains
the ownership thereof but he is
required to physically remove the
same within two years.
uprooted trees, a mere claim
by the owner within six months is
sufficient to retain ownership
of the tree.
Requisites: (i) it takes place only
along the banks of rivers, creeks,
streams, and lakes;
(ii) it is caused only by the force of
the current of the water
independently of the act of man;
(iii) the deposit of soil is sudden and
abrupt; and
(iv) the detached portion can be
identified.
C) Change of Course of Rivers:
(a) Rule: Rivers and their natural
beds are
property of public dominion of the
State. b) Exception; River
beds which are abandoned through
the natural change in the
course of the waters 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.
Requisites: The claimant must
prove three key
elements by clear and convincing
evidence:
(1) the old course of the river or
creek,
(2) the new course of the river or
creek, and
(3)the change of course of the river
or creek from the old location
to the new location by natural
occurrence,
Article 461, will still apply even if the
change in the course of the river
was the result of a deliberate act on
the part of the government
When river simply dries up: If
the river simply dries up and did not
change its course or without
opening a new bed, Article 461 will
not apply, Instead, the dried-up river
bed continues to belong to the
State,'whether the
drying up of a river is by reason of
nature or a result of the active
intervention of man.
Formation of Islands; (a) Article
463:
When the current of a river divides
itself into branches, leaving a piece
of land or part thereof isolated, thus
forming an island, the owner of the
land retains his ownership over the
island.
Article 464: Islands formed on the
seas within the jurisdiction
of the Philippines, on lakes and on
navigable or floatable rivers,
shall belong to the State, as
patrimonial property,
Article 465: An island formed
through in non-navigable or non-
floatable
rivers shall become private
property, as follows:
i) the island so formed belongs to
the owners of the margins or banks
nearest to the island;
ii) if the island is in the middle of the
river, it shall belong to the owners of
both margins, in which case it shall
be
divided longitudinally" in halves;
(iii) if, however, a single island thus
formed be more distant from one
margin than from the other,
the owner of the nearer margin shall
be the sole owner
Accession Continua with
Respect to Movables:
Adjunction:
a) Concept: It takes place when two
movables belonging to
different owners are so inseparable
that their separation would impair
their nature, making up thereafter a
single object,but each preserving its
own nature.
If effected in good faith
The owner of the principal thing
acquires the accessory , by
indemnifying the former of the value
of the accessory,
However, if the accessory is much
more precious than the principal, its
owner may demand its (separation»
even though the thing to which it
has been incorporated may suffer
some injury.
If efected in bad faith: (1) by the
owner of the accessory, he
shall lose his thing and he shall be
liable for damages;25 or (2)
by the owner of the principal, the
owner of the accessory has the
option of:
(i) demanding payment for the value
of the accessory,plus damages;
ii) demanding separation, even if
the same will result in injury to the
principal thing, plus damages,
The second
option, however, does not apply if
the same is not practicable
as in the case of paintings (which
cannot be separated from
the canvass) or writings (which
cannot be separated from the
paper). In such a situation, the
owner of the accessory is limited
only to the first option of demanding
payment for the value of
the accessory.
Commixtion or confusion: (a)
Concept:
Commixtion or confusion is the
mixture of things solid or liquid
pertaining to different owners. If the
things mixed are solid, it is
called commixtion; if the things are
liquid, it is called confusion.
b) When co-ownership arises: if the
mixture was caused by: (1)
chance or fortuitous event;28 (2) by
the will of both owners;29
and (3) by the will of only one owner
acting in good faith,30
In all these cases, each owner shall
acquire a right proportional
to the part belonging to him, bearing
in mind the value of the
things mixed or confused
11:55
April Aniel <anielapril@gmail.com>
AM (0
minute
s ago)
to me
Easement
Easement is a real right on
another's
property, corporeal and immovable,
whereby the owner of the
latter must refrain from doing or
allowing somebody else to do
or something to be done on his
property, for the benefit of another
person or tenement, in Servitude,
on the other hand, is defined as
an encumbrance imposed upon an
immovable for the benefit of
another immovable belonging to a
different owner's or for the
benefit of a community, or of one or
more persons to whom the
encumbered estate does not
belong.
Characteristics:
(1) It is a real right that falls upon
the property itself and inseparable
from
the estate to which it actively or
passively belongs;so therefore,
it cannot be alienated or mortgaged
separately from the estate
to which it forms part;
2) the right consists of a limited use
and enjoyment of the thing without
possession and gives rise to
an action in rem in favor of the
owner of the tenement of the
easement and against any
possessor of the servient estate;
(3) the
right is always enjoyed over an
immovable property- the term
"immovable
" in Article 613 of the NCC should
be understood in its ordinary or
vulgar connotation, i.e., referring to
those which are, by their nature,
cannot be moved from one place to
another
such as lands, buildings, and roads,
4) it is a right which is
enjoyed over another's property, or
jura in re aliena,504 hence: (i)
it is impossible to have an
easement over one's own property;
(ii)
if there is a merger in the same
person of the ownership of the
estate forbade, by an instrument
acknowledged before a notary
public, the owner of the servient
estate, from executing an act
which would be lawful without the
easement.
easement of light and view is made
upon one's own wall, the
casement, being a negative one, is
acquired by prescription
only after the lapse of 10 years
counted 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 lawful without the
easement.
If made on the wall of the neighbor,
being a positive
easement, the 10-year prescriptive
period commences from the
time of the opening of the window.
Easement by apparent
sign or legal presumption: (1)
Situation applicable: Article 624
applies in situations wherein two or
more estates were previously
owned by a singular owner, or even
a single estate but with two or
more portions being owned by a
singular owner,
At that time,
or prior to the division of ownership,
there exists between the
two estates an apparent sign of
easement. Originally, therefore,
there is no true easement that
exists as there is only one owner.
When easement exists; According
to Article 624, there arises a
title to an easement of light and
view, even in the absence of
any formal act undertaken by the
owner of the dominant estate,
if this apparent visible sign, such as
the existence of a door and
windows, continues to remain and
subsist, unless, at the time the
ownership of the two estates is
divided:
(i) the contrary should be provided
in the title of conveyance of either of
them, or
(ii)the sign aforesaid should be
removed before the execution of the
deed.
Requisites for application of Article
624: (i) there exists an apparent
sign of servitude between two
estates;
(ii) at the time of the establishment
of such sign, the ownership of the
two estates resides in one person;
(iii) the sign of the easement
established by the owner of both
estates, because the article will
not apply when the easement is
established by a person different
from the owner,
(iv) that the ownership over the two
estates is later on divided, either by
alienation or partition; and
(v) that at the time of division of
ownership, nothing is stated in the
document of alienation or partition
contrary to the easement nor is the
sign of the easement removed
before the execution of the
document.
the easement removed before the
execution of the
document. Under Article 624 the
existence of the apparent sign
has for all legal purposes the same
character and effect as a title of
acquisition of the easement.
Proof of easement: The absence
of a document or proof
showing the origin of an easement
which cannot be acquired by
prescription may be cured by a
deed of recognition by the owner
of the servient estate or by a final
judgment.
Rights and Obligations:  (a) Effect
on owner of servient estate: An
easement gives the holder of the
easement an incorporeal interest
on the property but grants no title
thereto. Hence, the owner of
the servient estate retains the
ownership of the portion on which
the easement is established, and
may use the same in such a
manner as not to affect the exercise
of the easement.
However, he may not exercise
some of his property rights for the
benefit
of the person who was granted the
easement of right of way; hence, he
may not enclose his property, nor
obstruct or hinder the free passage
over the servient estate.
Rights of owner
of dominant estate:  Upon the
establishment of an easement, all
the rights necessary for its use are
considered granted.
The owner of the dominant estate
shall have the right to make any
works on the servient estate if the
same be necessary for the
use and preservation of the
servitude,342 subject to the
following
limitations:
(1) the work must be necessary for
the use and
preservation of the servitude;
(2) the work is done at the expense
of the owner of the dominant estate;
(3) the work can be done
without altering the servitude or
rendering it more burdensome;
(4) the owner of the servient estate
is first notified of the intended
work; and
(5) the time and manner of making
the work should be the most
convenient to the owner of the
servient estate or it is
done in such a manner that it
causes the least inconvenience to
the owner of the servient estate.

c) Limitations upon rights of
owner of dominant estate:
(1) it can only exercise rights
necessary
for the use of the easement;
(2) it cannot use the easement
except for the benefit of the
immovable originally contemplated;
(3) it cannot exercise the easement
in any other manner than that
previously
established;
(4) it cannot construct anything on it
which is not
necessary for the use and
preservation of the easement;
(5) it cannot alter or make the
easement more burdensome;
(6) it must notify the servient estate
owner of its intention to make
necessary works on the servient
estate; and
(7) it should choose the most
convenient time and manner to
build said works so as to cause the
least
inconvenience to the owner of the
servient estate. Any violation of
the above constitutes impairment of
the easement.
Modes of Extinguishment of
Easement:
1) Merger - because
casement is a right enjoyed over
another's property; hence, if there
is a merger in the same person of
the ownership of the dominant
and servient estates, the easement
is extinguished;
(2) non-use - for easement to be
extinguished under this mode, it is
necessary that the non-use must
have lasted for a period of 10 years;
if the
casement is discontinuous, the 10-
year period is computed from
the day on which the easement was
not used, and if the easement
is continuous, in which case the use
of the easement does not
depend upon the acts of man, the
10-year period is counted from
the day on which an act contrary to
the easement took place;
3) impossibility of use;
(4) expiration of term;
5) fulfillment of condition;
(6) renunciation;
(7) redemption - it is the release
of the servient estate from the
servitude upon agreement of the
owners of both and upon payment
by the owner of the servient
estate of the corresponding
consideration to the owner of the
dominant estate;
(8) annulment or rescission of title
constituting
the easement
(9) termination of the right of the
grantor;
10)
abandonment of the servient estate;
and
11) eminent domain.
Legal or Compulsory Easement: (A)
Easement of drainage of
Waters:
(a) When easement exists: When,
based on the physical
condition of two estates, waters
descend naturally and without
the intervention of man from a
higher estate (the dominant estate)
to a lower estate (the servient
estate).
b) Obligation of lower
estate: To receive the waters which
naturally and without the
intervention of man flow from the
higher estates, as well as the
stones or earth which they carry
with them.
(c) Obligations of
higher estate: The owner of the
higher estate may not construct
works which will increase the
burden or increase the natural
flow.
Easement for public use: The
banks of rivers and
streams and the shores of the seas
and lakes throughout their
entire length and within a zone of
three meters in urban areas, 20
meters in agricultural areas and 40
meters in forest areas, along
their margins, are subject to the
easement of public use in the
interest of recreation, navigation,
floatage, fishing, and salvage.532
But no person shall be allowed to
stay in this zone longer than
what is necessary for recreation,
navigation, floatage, fishing, or
salvage or to build structures of any
kind.
(C) Easement of Aqueduct:
a) When easement exists: If a
person wishes to use upon his
estate any water of which he can
dispose, he shall have
the right to make it flow through
intervening estates.
Requisites:
(1) that he who wants to establish
the easement of
aqueduct must be able to prove that
he can dispose of the water;
(2) he must also prove that it is
sufficient for the use for which it
is intended;
(3) the proposed right of way is the
most convenient and the least
onerous to third persons affected;
and
4) he must
indemnify the owners of the servient
estates (intervening estates),
as well as the owners of the lower
estates upon which the waters
may filter or descend.
Nature of easement: The easement
of
aqueduct shall be considered as
continuous and apparent, even
though the flow of the water may
not be continuous, or its use
depends upon the needs of the
dominant estate, or upon a
schedule
of alternate days or hours
Hence, an easement of aqueduct
may be acquired either by title or by
prescription.357 (D)
Compulsory Easement of Right of
Way: (a) Requisites: (1) that
the dominant estate is surrounded
by other immovables and has
no adequate outlet to a public
highway (Art. 649, par. 1); (2)
there must be payment of proper
indemnity (Art. 649, par. 1); (3)
that the isolation was not due to
acts of the proprietor of the
dominant estate (Art. 649, par. 4);
and (4) that the right of way
claimed is at the point least
prejudicial to the servient estate;
and
insofar as consistent with this rule,
where the distance from the
dominant estate to a public highway
may be the shortest
Requirement of isolation: An
owner cannot, by his own act,
isolate his property from a public
highway and then claim an
easement of way through an
adjacent
estate.
(C) Requirement of inadequacy of
outlet to public highway: The
convenience of the dominant estate
has never been the gauge for the
grant of compulsory right of
way. The true standard for the grant
of the legal right is
adequacy.® Hence, when there is
already an existing adequate
outlet from the dominant estate to a
public highway, even if the
said outlet, for one reason or
another, be inconvenient, the need
to open up another servitude is
entirely unjustified
d) At point
least prejudicial: The least prejudice
criterion must prevail over
the shortest distance criterion.
Least prejudice is about the
suftering of the servient estate, not
of the dominant estate. * (e)
Who may claim right of way: It is the
owner, or any person who
by virtue of a real right may cultivate
or use any immovable
surrounded by other immovables
pertaining to other persons,
who is entitled to demand a right of
way through the neighboring
estates,
While a usufructuary is entitled to
demand a right of
way pursuant to Article 649, a mere
lessee does not enjoy the
same right. With respect to the
latter, his action is against the
lessor who is bound to maintain him
in the enjoyment of the
property.
f) Effect of opening adequate outlet:
The opening of
an adequate outlet to a highway
can extinguish only legal or
compulsory easements, not
voluntary easements.5 (E)
Easement
of Light and View: (a) Concept: It is
an easement whereby the
dominant estate enjoys the right to
have free access to light, a
little air, and a view overlooking the
adjoining estate, i.e., the
servient estate,
has two components. The
easement of light or
jus luminum has the purpose of
admitting light and a little air, as
in the case of small windows, not
more than 30 square centimeters,
at the height of the ceiling joists or
immediately under the ceiling. On
the other hand, the easement of
view or servid
umbre prospectus has the principal
purpose of affording view, as
in the case of full or regular
windows overlooking the adjoining
estate. As held by jurisprudence,
the easement of light and view
is intrinsically intertwined with the
easement of the servient
estate not to build higher or altius
non tollendi. These two
necessarily go together "because
an casement of light and view
requires that the owner of the
servient estate shall not build to a
height that will obstruct the window.
Two kinds of
windows: (1) regular or full or direct
view windows - those
openings which are made on a wall
parallel or almost parallel to
the line that divides the estates, in
such a way that the neighboring
tenement can be seen without
putting out or turning the head; or
(2) restricted, or oblique or side
view windows - those openings
in a wall which form an angle to the
boundary line, and therefore
of necessity requires in order to see
the neighboring tenement to
thrust the head out of the opening
and look to the right or left.
Observation of certain distances in
direct views: (1) General
rule - when a window or any similar
opening affords a direct
view of an adjoining land, the
distance between the wall in which
such opening is made and the
border of the adjoining land should
be at least two meters;
2) Exception - in a situation wherein
an
easement is established or
recognized by title or prescription,
affording the dominant estate the
right to have a direct view
overlooking the adjoining property,
i.e., the servient estate, as in
the case of Article 624, the owner of
the servient estate cannot
build thereon at less than a distance
of three meters, not two
meters, from the property line.
d) Distance requirement in
oblique views: with respect to the
side or oblique views upon or
towards such conterminous
property, the law requires that the
distance be 60 centimeters.
F) Easement of Drainage of
Buildings: (a) Concept: The
easement of drainage of buildings is
the right to divert or empty the
rainwaters from one's own roof or
shed to the neighbor's estate, either
drop by drop or through conduits.
b) Requisites: An easement of
drainage may be
demanded subject to compliance
with the following requisites;
(i) the yard or court of a house must
be surrounded by other
houses ("the dominant estate") and
it is not possible to give an
outlet through the house itself to the
rain collected therefrom; (ii)
the outlet to the water must be at
the point of the contiguous lands
or tenements ("the servient estate")
where its egress may be
easiest;
(iii) the conduit for the drainage
must be established in
such manner as to cause the least
damage to the servient estate;
iv) proper indemnity must be paid to
the owner of the
servient estate.
(G) Intermediate Distances for
Planting: (a)
Required distances: (1) that
required by local ordinances; (2) in
default thereof, two meters from the
dividing line of the estate in
case of tall trees and at least 50
centimeters in case of shrubs or
small trees.so (b) Right to cut
branches: If the branches of any
tree should extend over a
neighboring estate, the owner of the
latter does not have the right to cut
the branches extending on his
property.
c) Right to cut roots: with respect to
the roots of a
neighboring tree which penetrated
into the land of another, the
owner of the latter may himself cut impose any servitude on his
off the roots found within his property even without the consent
property. of
the usufructuary.c) If co-owned
H) Easement of Lateral Subjacent property: Unanimous consent
Support: (a) of all co-owners is required in order
Concept: The right of lateral and to constitute a voluntary
subjacent support is the right to easement upon the same.
have land supported by the
adjoining land or the soil
beneath,.ss
Support is lateral when the
supported and the supporting lands
are divided by a vertical plane.
Support is subjacent when the
supported land is above and the
supporting land is beneath it.

b) Obligation of servient estate: The

law prohibits any excavation
upon one's land if the same will
deprive any adjacent land or
building of sufficient lateral or
subjacent support.

Voluntary Easement: (a) Concept: A

voluntary easement may
only be constituted upon the will of
the owner of the servient
estate. (b) If property held in
usufruct: The naked owner may