Some special properties, Possession, Usufruct, Easements and Servitude, Nuisance, Registry of Property

Different modes of acquiring ownership: Occupation, Intellectual Creation, Donation, Succession, Prescription

I. DEFINITIONS

Occupation – is an original mode of acquiring ownership upon seizure of a res nullius Negative Easements – are those which prohibit the owner of the servient estate from
by the occupant who has the intention to become the owner thereof. doing something which they could lawfully do if the easement did not exist.
Possession – is the holding of a thing or the enjoyment of a right. It may be the real Mortis Causa – an act to take effect upon donor’s death.
right of possession, or it can be merely the right to possess, which are among the basic Inter vivos – an act to take effect during donor’s lifetime.
rights of ownership. If the real right of possession is possession in the concept of Acquisitive Prescription – is either ordinary or extraordinary. Ordinary acquisitive
owner, but subject to certain limitations, it may ripen into full ownership of the thing prescription requires possession in good faith and with just title for 10 years. Without
or property right through acquisitive prescription depending on whether it is a case of good faith and just title, acquisitive prescription can only be extraordinary in character
ordinary or extraordinary prescription and whether the property is movable or which requires uninterrupted adverse possession for 30 years.
immovable. Extinctive Prescription – one acquires ownership and other real rights by the mere
Antichresis – is a real security transaction wherein the creditor acquires the right to lapse of time required by law.
receive the fruits of an immovable of his debtor, and the obligation to apply them to Laches – means failure or neglect, for an unreasonable and unexplained length of time,
the payment of the interest, if owing, and thereafter to the principal of his credit. to do what, by exercising due diligence, could or should have been done earlier. It is
Usufruct – is a real right which authorizes its holder to enjoy the property of another negligence or omission to assert a right within a reasonable time.
with the obligation of preserving its form and substance, unless otherwise provided.
Commodatum – is a contract by which one of the parties (bailor) delivers to another II. DISTINCTIONS
(bailee) something not consumable so that the latter may use it for a certain time and
return it. OCCUPATION POSSESSION
Easement – is an encumbrance imposed upon an immovable for the benefit of another an original mode of acquiring the holding of a thing or the
immovable belonging to a different owner. ownership upon seizure of a res nullius enjoyment of a right. It may be the real
Continuous Easements – are those the use of which is or may be incessant, without by the occupant who has the intention right of possession, or it can be merely
the intervention of any act of man. to become the owner thereof. the right to possess, which are among
Discontinuous Easements – are those which are used at intervals and depend upon the basic rights of ownership. If the
the acts of man. real right of possession is possession in
the concept of owner, but subject to
Apparent Easements – are those which are made known and are continually kept in
certain limitations, it may ripen into
view by external signs that reveal the use and enjoyment of the same.
full ownership of the thing or property
Non-apparent Easements – are those which show no external indication of their right through acquisitive prescription
existence. depending on whether it is a case of
Positive Easements – are those which impose upon the owner of the servient estate ordinary or extraordinary prescription
the obligation of allowing something to be done or of doing it themselves.

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 Some special properties, Possession, Usufruct, Easements and Servitude, Nuisance, Registry of Property
Different modes of acquiring ownership: Occupation, Intellectual Creation, Donation, Succession, Prescription
and whether the property is movable APPARENT EASEMENTS NON-APPARENT EASEMENTS
or immovable. those which are made known and are those which show no external
continually kept in view by external indication of their existence.
ANTICHRESIS USUFRUCT signs that reveal the use and enjoyment
a real security transaction wherein the a real right which authorizes its holder of the same.
creditor acquires the right to receive to enjoy the property of another with
the fruits of an immovable of his the obligation of preserving its form POSITIVE EASEMENTS NEGATIVE EASEMENTS
debtor, and the obligation to apply and substance, unless otherwise those which impose upon the owner of those which prohibit the owner of the
them to the payment of the interest, if provided. It is constituted by law, will, the servient estate the obligation of servient estate from doing something
owing, and thereafter to the principal or prescription. It may either be real allowing something to be done or of which they could lawfully do if the
of his credit. It is always created by property or personal property. When doing it themselves. easement did not exist.
contract. Its subject matter is always created by contract, it is a principal
real properties. It is an accessory contract.
INTER VIVOS MORTIS CAUSA
contract.
an act to take effect during donor’s an act to take effect upon donor’s
lifetime. death.
USUFRUCT COMMODATUM
a real right which authorizes its holder a contract by which one of the parties
to enjoy the property of another with (bailor) delivers to another (bailee) ACQUISITIVE PRESCRIPTION EXTINCTIVE PRESCRIPTION
the obligation of preserving its form something not consumable so that the either ordinary or extraordinary. one acquires ownership and other real
and substance, unless otherwise latter may use it for a certain time and Ordinary acquisitive prescription rights by the mere lapse of time
provided. return it. requires possession in good faith and required by law.
EASEMENT with just title for 10 years. Without
an encumbrance imposed upon an immovable for the benefit of another good faith and just title, acquisitive
immovable belonging to a different owner. prescription can only be extraordinary
in character which requires
uninterrupted adverse possession for
DISCONTINUOUS
CONTINUOUS EASEMENTS 30 years.
EASEMENTS
LACHES
those the use of which is or may be those which are used at intervals and
failure or neglect, for an unreasonable and unexplained length of time, to do
incessant, without the intervention of depend upon the acts of man.
what, by exercising due diligence, could or should have been done earlier. It is
any act of man.
negligence or omission to assert a right within a reasonable time.

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 Some special properties, Possession, Usufruct, Easements and Servitude, Nuisance, Registry of Property
Different modes of acquiring ownership: Occupation, Intellectual Creation, Donation, Succession, Prescription
III. ENUMERATIONS
Waters which are owned by public dominion: (Art. 502)
(1) Rivers and their natural beds;
(2) Continuous or intermittent waters of springs and brooks running in their natural
beds and the beds themselves;
(3) Waters rising continuously or intermittently on lands of public dominion;
(4) Lakes and lagoons formed by Nature on public lands, and their beds;
(5) Rain waters running through ravines or sand beds, which are also of public
dominion;
(6) Subterranean waters on public lands;
(7) Waters found within the zone of operation of public works, even if constructed
by a contractor;
(8) Waters rising continuously or intermittently on lands belonging to private
persons, to the State, to a province, or to a city or a municipality from the moment
they leave such lands;
(9) The waste waters of fountains, sewers and public establishments.
Waters which are owned by privately: (Art. 503)
(1) Continuous or intermittent waters rising on lands of private ownership, while
running through the same;
(2) Lakes and lagoons, and their beds, formed by Nature on such lands;
(3) Subterranean waters found on the same;
(4) Rain waters falling on said lands, as long as they remain within the boundaries;
(5) The beds of flowing waters, continuous or intermittent, formed by rainwater,
and those of brooks, crossing lands which are not of public dominion.
NOTE!
In every drain or aqueduct, the water, bed, banks and floodgates shall be considered as
an integral part of the land of building for which the waters are intended. The owners
of lands, through which or along the boundaries of which the aqueduct passes, cannot
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claim ownership over it, or any right to the use of its bed or banks, unless the claim is
based on titles of ownership specifying the right or ownership claimed.
Extinguishment of Usufruct: (Art. 603)
(1) By the death of the usufructuary, unless a contrary intention clearly appears;
(2) By the expiration of the period for which it was constituted, or by the fulfillment
of any resolutory condition provided in the title creating the usufruct;
(3) By merger of the usufruct and ownership in the same person;
(4) By renunciation of the usufructuary;
(5) By the total loss of the thing in usufruct;
(6) By the termination of the right of the person constituting the usufruct;
(7) By prescription.
Extinguishment of Easements: (Art. 631)
(1) By merger in the same person of the ownership of the dominant and servient
estates;
(2) By nonuser for ten years; with respect to discontinuous easements, this period
shall be computed from the day on which they ceased to be used; and, with respect
to continuous easements, from the day on which an act contrary to the same took
place;
(3) When either or both of the estates fall into such condition that the easement
cannot be used; but it shall revive if the subsequent condition of the estates or
either of them should again permit its use, unless when the use becomes possible,
sufficient time for prescription has elapsed, in accordance with the provisions of
the preceding number;
(4) By the 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.
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 Some special properties, Possession, Usufruct, Easements and Servitude, Nuisance, Registry of Property
Different modes of acquiring ownership: Occupation, Intellectual Creation, Donation, Succession, Prescription
Easements that can be acquired by prescription: [R-W-L-L]
a. Right of Way
b. Watering of an animal
c. Lateral and subjacent support
d. Light and view
Requisites of right of way: (Art. 650)
a. the dominant estate is surrounded by other immovables and is without an
adequate outlet to a public street or highway;
b. proper indemnity must be paid;
c. the isolation must not be due to the acts of the owner of the dominant estate;
and
d. the right of way claimed is at a point least prejudicial to the servient estate and,
insofar as is consistent with this rule, where the distance to the street or
highway is shortest.
IV. PROVISIONS
Possession
Article 541. A possessor in the concept of owner has in his favor the legal presumption
that he possesses with a just title and he cannot be obliged to show or prove it.
Article 559. The possession of movable property acquired in good faith is equivalent
to a title. Nevertheless, one who has lost any movable or has been unlawfully deprived
thereof, may recover it from the person in possession of the same.
Usufruct
Article 562. 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.
Article 564. Usufruct may be constituted on the whole or a part of the fruits of the
thing, in favor of one or more persons, simultaneously or successively, and in every
case from or to a certain day, purely or conditionally. It may also be constituted on a
right, provided it is not strictly personal or intransmissible.
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Article 579. The usufructuary may make on the property held in usufruct such useful
improvements or expenses for mere pleasure as he may deem proper, provided he does not
alter its form or substance; but he shall have no right to be indemnified therefor. He may,
however, remove such improvements, should it be possible to do so without damage
to the property.
Article 580. The usufructuary may set off the improvements he may have made on the
property against any damage to the same.
Article 604. If the thing given in usufruct should be lost only in part, the right shall
continue on the remaining part.
Article 606. A usufruct granted for the time that may elapse before a third person
attains a certain age, shall subsist for the number of years specified, even if the third
person should die before the period expires, unless such usufruct has been expressly granted
only in consideration of the existence of such person.
Article 607. If the usufruct is constituted on immovable property of which a building
forms part, and the latter should be destroyed in any manner whatsoever, the
usufructuary shall have a right to make use of the land and the materials.
The same rule shall be applied if the usufruct is constituted on a building only and the
same should be destroyed. But in such a case, if the owner should wish to construct
another building, he shall have a right to occupy the land and to make use of the
materials, being obliged to pay to the usufructuary, during the continuance of the
usufruct, the interest upon the sum equivalent to the value of the land and of the
materials.
Easements and Servitude
Article 613. An easement or servitude is an encumbrance imposed upon an immovable
for the benefit of another immovable belonging to a different owner.
The immovable in favor of which the easement is established is called the dominant
estate; that which is subject thereto, the servient estate.
Article 617. Easements are inseparable from the estate to which they actively or
passively belong.
Article 620. Continuous and apparent easements are acquired either by virtue of a title
or by prescription of ten years.
Article 622. Continuous nonapparent easements, and discontinuous ones, whether
apparent or not, may be acquired only by virtue of a title.
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 Some special properties, Possession, Usufruct, Easements and Servitude, Nuisance, Registry of Property
Different modes of acquiring ownership: Occupation, Intellectual Creation, Donation, Succession, Prescription
Article 650. The easement of right of way shall be established 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.
Article 684. No proprietor shall make such excavations upon his land as to deprive any
adjacent land or building of sufficient lateral or subjacent support.
Modes of Acquiring Ownership: Donation
Article 727. Illegal or impossible conditions in simple and remuneratory donations
shall be considered as not imposed.
Article 728. Donations which are to take effect upon the death of the donor partake
of the nature of testamentary provisions, and shall be governed by the rules established
in the Title on Succession.
Article 729. When the donor intends that the donation shall take effect during the
lifetime of the donor, though the property shall not be delivered till after the donor's
death, this shall be a donation inter vivos. The fruits of the property from the time of
the acceptance of the donation, shall pertain to the donee, unless the donor provides
otherwise.
Article 733. Donations with an onerous cause shall be governed by the rules on
contracts and remuneratory donations by the provisions of the present Title as regards
that portion which exceeds the value of the burden imposed.
Article 746. Acceptance must be made during the lifetime of the donor and of the
donee.
Article 748. The donation of a movable may be made orally or in writing.
An oral donation requires the simultaneous delivery of the thing or of the document
representing the right donated.
If the value of the personal property donated exceeds five thousand pesos, the donation
and the acceptance shall be made in writing. Otherwise, the donation shall be void.
Article 749. In order that the donation of an immovable may be valid, it must be made
in a public document, specifying therein the property donated and the value of the
charges which the donee must satisfy.
The acceptance may be made in the same deed of donation or in a separate public
document, but it shall not take effect unless it is done during the lifetime of the donor.
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If the acceptance is made in a separate instrument, the donor shall be notified thereof
in an authentic form, and this step shall be noted in both instruments.
Article 751. Donations cannot comprehend future property.
By future property is understood anything which the donor cannot dispose of at the
time of the donation.
Article 755. The right to dispose of some of the things donated, or of some amount
which shall be a charge thereon, may be reserved by the donor; but if he should die
without having made use of this right, the property or amount reserved shall belong to
the donee.
Article 1141. Real actions over immovables prescribe after thirty years.
This provision is without prejudice to what is established for the acquisition of
ownership and other real rights by prescription.
Article 1142. A mortgage action prescribes after ten years.
Article 1143. The following rights, among others specified elsewhere in this Code, are
not extinguished by prescription:
(1) To demand a right of way, regulated in article 649;
(2) To bring an action to abate a public or private nuisance.
Article 1144. The following actions must be brought within ten years from the time the
right of action accrues: [C-O-J]
(1) Upon a written contract;
(2) Upon an obligation created by law;
(3) Upon a judgment.
Article 1145. The following actions must be commenced within six years: [O-Q]
(1) Upon an oral contract;
(2) Upon a quasi-contract.
Article 1146. The following actions must be instituted within four years:
(1) Upon an injury to the rights of the plaintiff;
(2) Upon a quasi-delict;
However, when the action arises from or out of any act, activity, or conduct of any
public officer involving the exercise of powers or authority arising from Martial Law
including the arrest, detention and/or trial of the plaintiff, the same must be brought
within one (1) year. (As amended by PD No. 1755, Dec. 24, 1980.)
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 Some special properties, Possession, Usufruct, Easements and Servitude, Nuisance, Registry of Property
Different modes of acquiring ownership: Occupation, Intellectual Creation, Donation, Succession, Prescription

Article 1147. The following actions must be filed within one year: [FED-D]
(1) For forcible entry and detainer;
(2) For defamation.

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