As to recipient of the benefit

EASEMENTS
a. Real (or predial) – The easement is in favor of another immovable (Art. 613, NCC); and
It is an encumbrance imposed upon an immovable for the benefit of:
TN: It requires two distinct immovables belonging to different owners to which it
1. Another immovable belonging to a different owner; or relates. (Pineda, 2009)
2. For the benefit of a community or one (1) or more persons to whom the encumbered estate
does not belong by virtu b. Personal – The easement is in favor of a community, or of one or more persons to whom the
e of which the owner is obliged to abstain from doing or to permit a certain thing to be done encumbered estate does not
on his estate. (Arts. 613 & 614, NCC)
As to the manner of exercise

TN: There can be no easement over another easement for the reason that an easement may be a. Continuous – Their use may or may not be incessant, without the intervention of any act of
constituted only on a corporeal immovable property. An easement, man. (e.g., easement of drainage); (Art. 615, NCC) and
although it is real right over an immovable, is not a corporeal right. (1995 BAR)
TN: For acquisitive prescription, the easement of aqueduct and easement of light and
view are considered continuous.
Characteristics of Easement
b. Discontinuous – Used at intervals and depend upon the acts of man. (e.g., easement of right
1. A right limited by the Needs of the dominant owner or estate, without possession; of way). (Ibid.)
2. Inseparable from the estate to which it is attached – cannot be alienated independently of
the estate; (Art. 617, NCC) (2001, 2010 BAR) As to whether their existence is indicated
3. Cannot consist in the doing of an act unless the act is accessory in relation to a real
easement; a. Apparent – Made known and continually kept in view by external signs that reveal the use and
4. Involves two (2) neighboring Estates: the dominant estate to which the right belongs and the enjoyment of the same; (Art. 615, NCC) and
servient estate upon which an obligation rests;
5. A Limitation on the servient owner’s rights of ownership; b. Non-apparent – They show no external indication of their existence. (Art. 615, NCC)
6. Indivisible – not affected by the division of the estate between two or more persons; (Art.
618, NCC) As to source
7. It is enjoyed over Another immovable never on one’s own property; and
8. A Real right but will affect third persons only when registered (De Leon, 2006) a. Legal – Those created by law for public use or private interests; (Arts. 619, 637687, NCC)

b. Voluntary - constituted by will or agreement of the parties or by testator; (Art. 619, NCC)
Essential Qualities of Easements
TN: Like any other contract, a voluntary easement (of right of way) could be
1. Incorporeal; extinguished only by mutual agreement or by renunciation of the owner of the
2. Imposed upon corporeal property; dominant estate. (La Vista Association v. CA, G.R. No. 95252, 05 Sept. 1997)
3. Confers no right to a participation in the profits arising from it;
4. Imposed for the benefit of corporeal property; c. Mixed – Created partly by agreement and partly by law.
5. Has two distinct tenements: dominant and servient estate; and
6. Cause must be perpetual. As to the duty of the servient owner:

a. Positive – Imposes upon the owner of the servient estate the obligation of allowing something
Classifications of Easement to be done or doing it himself; (e.g., right of way – imposes the duty to allow the use of said
way); and

b. Negative – Prohibits the owner of the servient estate from doing something which he could
lawfully do if the easement did not exist. (e.g., easement of light and view – where the owner is
prohibited from obstructing the passage of light). (Art. 616, NCC)
Modes of Acquiring Easement
2. Negative easement – from the day a notarial prohibition is made on the servient estate. (Art.
621, NCC)
TN: Negative easement cannot be acquired by prescription since they are non-apparent.
However, for purposes of prescription, there are negative easement that can be considered
“apparent” not because there are visible signs or their existence but because of the making of the
notarial prohibition which makes it apparent. (De Leon, 2006)

By Title (Art. 620, NCC) – the following the following easements may be acquired by title:
Doctrine of Apparent Sign
a) Continuous and apparent easements (also by prescription)
b) Continuous non-apparent easements; Easements are inseparable from the estate to which they actively or passively pertain. The existence
c) Discontinuous apparent easements; and of apparent sign under Art. 624, NCC is equivalent to a title. It is as if there is an implied contract
d) Discontinuous non-apparent easements. (Art. 622, NCC) (2005 BAR) between the two new owners that the easement should be constituted, since no one objected to the
continued existence of the windows.

Compulsory Easement Takes Place:

There is an exterior sign contrary to the easement of party wall whenever:
1. By Prescription of ten (10) years; (2009 BAR)
1) There is a window or opening in the dividing wall of buildings;
TN: Prescription runs irrespective of good faith or bad faith of the possessor and 2) Whenever the dividing wall is, on one side, straight and plumb on all its facement, and on the
whether or not he has just title. The only requirement is adverse possession. Only continuous other, it has similar conditions on the upper part, but the lower part projects outward;
and apparent easements can be acquired by prescription; (Art. 620, NCC) 3) Entire wall is built within the boundaries of one of the estates;
4) The dividing wall bears the burden of the binding beams, floors and roof frame of one of the
2. By deed of Recognition, in the absence of proof of prescription; buildings, but not those of the others;
5) Whenever the dividing wall between courtyards, gardens, and tenements is constructed in such
3. By Title (Civil Code, Art. 620) a way that the coping sheds the water upon only one of the estates;
6) Whenever the dividing wall, being built of masonry, has stepping stones, which at certain
4. By Final judgment, if owner denies existence of easement or refuses to execute deed of intervals project from the surface on one side only, but not on the other; and
recognition; (Rabuya, 2008) 7) The lands enclosed by fences or live hedges adjoin others which are not enclosed.

TN: If the owner of the servient estate refuses to execute the deed of recognition, the TN: In all these cases, ownership is deemed to belong exclusively to the owner of the property which
court may, in its judgment, declare the existence of the easement. has in its favor the presumption based on any of these signs. (Art. 660, NCC)

5. By Apparent sign established by the owner of the two adjoining estates.

Acknowledgment of an Easement in One Who Owns Property
XPN: unless at the time the ownership of the two estates is divided:
An acknowledgment of the easement is an admission that the property belongs to another.
a) There are contrary stipulations; or (BOMEDCO v. Heirs of Valdez, G.R. No. 124669, 31 July 2003)
b) The sign is removed before the execution of the deed. (Art. 624, NCC)

Prescriptive Period Rights and Obligations of the Owners of the Dominant and the Servient Estates

1. Positive easement – The 10-year period is counted from the day when the owner of the
dominant estate begins to exercise it; and Rights of the Dominant Owner
 (Art. 629(1), NCC)
1. Make on the servient estate all works necessary for the use and preservation of the servitude;
(Art. 627, NCC) 2. He must Contribute to the necessary expenses in case he uses the easement, unless otherwise
2. Ask for mandatory injunction to prevent impairment of his right; (Resolme v. Lazo, G.R. No. L- agreed upon. (Art. 628(2), NCC)
8654, 30 Mar. 1914)
3. Renounce the easement if he desires to be exempt from contributing necessary expenses; (Art.
628, NCC) and Modes of Extinguishment of Easements (Article 631, NCC)
4. Exercise all rights necessary for the use of the easement. (Art. 625, NCC)
1. By Merger in the same person of the ownership of the dominant and servient estates;
2. By Non-user for ten (10) years; with respect to discontinuous easements, this period shall be
Obligations of the Dominant Owner 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;
1. He cannot Exercise the easement in any other manner than that previously established; (Art. 3. Impossibility of Use. When either or both of the estates fall into such condition that the
626, NCC) easement Cannot be used; but it shall revive if the subsequent condition of the estates or either
2. He cannot Alter the easement or render it more burdensome; (Art. 627(1), NCC) of them should again permit its use, unless when the use becomes possible, sufficient time for
3. He shall Notify the servient owner of works necessary for the use and preservation of the prescription has elapsed, in accordance with the provisions of the preceding number;
servitude; (Art. 627(2), NCC) 4. By the Expiration of the term or the fulfillment of the condition, if the easement is temporary or
4. He must Choose the most convenient time and manner of making the necessary works as to conditional;
cause the least inconvenience to the servient owner; 5. By the Renunciation of the owner of the dominant estate; and
5. If there are several dominant estates, he must Contribute to the necessary 6. By the Redemption agreed upon between the owners of the dominant and servient estates.
expenses in proportion to the benefits derived from the works; (Art. 628(1), NCC; (Art. 631, NCC)
6. He may make, at his Own expense, on the servient estate, any works necessary for the use of
servitude, provided it will not alter or make it more burdensome. (Art.627(1), NCC)
Merger
It is not necessary, however, that the merger takes place to the full extent of the property, it being
Servient Owner sufficient that the merger takes place with regard to that part affected by the servitude or that part for
The owner of the immovable whose property is subject to easement for the benefit of the dominant the benefit of which the servitude was established. (Rabuya, 2006)
owner. (Pineda. 2009)
Where the merger is temporary or under resolutory condition, there is at most a suspension, but not
an extinguishment of the servitude. (De Leon, 2006; 4 Manresa 657-658)
Rights of the Servient Owner
Non-user
1. Retain the ownership of the portion of the estate on which easement is imposed; Non-use must be due to voluntary abstention by the dominant owner, and not to fortuitous event,
2. Make use of the easement unless there is an agreement to the contrary (Art. 628(2), NCC); and because the basis of this cause of extinguishment is a presumptive renunciation. (Rabuya, 2008)
3. Change the place or manner of the use of the easement, provided it be equally convenient.
(Art. 629(2), NCC) TN: Reckoning point:
1. Discontinuous – counted from the day they ceased to be used; and
2. Continuous – counted from the day an act adverse to the exercise takes place. (Art.
Obligations or Limitations Imposed on the Servient Owner 631(2), NCC)

1. GR: He cannot impair the use of the easement/servitude;
XPNS:
a) When the easement has become very inconvenient to the said servient owner; or
b) If it prevents him from making any important works, repairs, or improvements thereon.
Non-user presupposes that the easement has been used before but it was abandoned for ten (10)
years. Thus, it cannot apply to easements which have not been used. (Pineda, 2009)
Impossibility of Use
The impossibility of use only suspends the servitude until such time when it can be used again.
(Rabuya, 2008) 8. Easement relating to lateral and Subjacent support

Expiration
E.g., An easement was agreed upon to last till the owner of the dominant easement becomes a Voluntary Easement
lawyer. When the condition is fulfilled, the easement ceases. (Paras, 2008)
An easement is voluntary when it is established by the will of the owners. (Art. 619, NCC)
Renunciation
Renunciation must be express, definite, clear, specific (otherwise it might be confused with nonuser). Voluntary easements may be constituted by the owner possessing capacity to encumber property. If
This is particularly true for discontinuous easements. (Ibid.) Renunciation of a real right must be there are various owners, all must consent; but consent once given is not revocable.
reflected in a public instrument. (Pineda, 2009)
TN: Third persons are not bound by a voluntary easement unless the same is duly recorded
Redemption with the proper authorities.
This is voluntary redemption, existing because of an express stipulation. The stipulation may provide
conditions under which the easement would be extinguished. (Paras, 2008) Q: For whose favor are voluntary easements established?
A:
1. Praedial Servitudes:
Legal Easements v. Voluntary Easements
a. For the owner of the dominant estate (Art. 613, NCC); and
b. For any other person having any juridical relation with the dominant estate, if the
Legal Easements owner ratifies it.

Legal easements are those imposed by law having for their object either public use or the interest of 2. Personal Servitudes
private persons. (Art. 634, NCC) They shall be governed by the special laws and regulations relating
thereto, and in the absence thereof, by the Civil Code. a. For the owner of the dominant estate (Art. 613, NCC); and

Kinds of Legal Easements

Q: How are voluntary easements created and what are the governing rules for such?
1. Public legal easement is for public or communal use, primarily governed by special laws and
regulations, and Arts. 634 to 687 of the NCC; and A:
2. Private legal easement is for the interest of private persons or for private use, primarily 1. If created by title (contract, will, etc.), the title governs; and
governed by: 2. If acquired by prescription, it is governed by the manner or form of possession.
a. Agreement of the parties provided they are neither prohibited by law nor prejudicial to third
persons;
b. In default, general or local laws and ordinances for the general welfare; or Easement of Right of Way
c. In default of a and b, Title VII, Arts. 613687 of the NCC. (De Leon, 2006)
Easement of right of way is the right granted to a person or class of persons to pass over the land of
Also includes: another by using a particular pathway therein, to reach the former’s estates, which have no adequate
outlet to a public highway subject, however, to payment of indemnity to the owner of the land
1. Easement relating to Waters; burdened by the right. (Pineda, 2009)
2. Easement relating to right of Way;
3. Easement of Party wall; It may refer either to the easement itself, or simply, to the strip of land over which passage can be
4. Easement of Light and view; done. (Paras, 2008)
5. Drainage of Building;
6. Intermediate distances and works for certain construction and plantings;
7. Easement against Nuisance Modes of Acquiring an Easement of Right of Way
 and where the distance from the dominant estate to a public highway is the shortest. In case of
1. By voluntary title conflict, the criterion of least prejudice prevails over the criterion of shortest distance.
2. By compulsory title

Measurement for the Easement of Right of Way

Q: May the easement of right of way be acquired by prescription? The width of the easement shall be that which is sufficient for the needs of the dominant estate. (Art.
A: Easement of right of way cannot be acquired by prescription because it is discontinuous or 651, NCC)
intermittent. (Ronquillo v. Roco, G.R. No. L- 10619, 28 Feb. 1958)

Special Causes of Extinguishment of Right of Way:

Q: When may the owner of the dominant estate demand a compulsory right of way?
A: The owner of the dominant estate may validly claim a compulsory right of way only after he has 1. The opening of a public road giving access to isolated estate; or
established the existence of the following requisites: 2. When the dominant estate is joined to another estate (such as when the dominant owner
1. The dominant estate is surrounded by other immovables and is without adequate outlet to bought an adjacent estate) which is abutting a public road, the access being adequate and
a public highway convenient. (Art. 655, NCC)
2. After payment of the proper indemnity
3. The isolation was not due to the proprietor’s own acts; and TN: Both cases must substantially meet the needs of the dominant estate. Otherwise, the easement
4. The right of way claimed is at a point least prejudicial to the servient estate may not be extinguished

TN: Said extinguishment is NOT automatic. There must be a demand for extinguishment coupled
Q: What kind of servitude in favor of the government is a private owner required to with tender of indemnity by the servient owner. (Paras, 2008)
recognize?
A: The only servitude which he is required to recognize in favor of the government are:
1. The easement of a public highway; Light vs View
2. Private way established by law; or
3. Any government canal or lateral that has been pre-existing at the time of the registration of Easement of Light
the land. “Jus luminum” The opening is for the purpose of admitting light and not for viewing as in the case of
small windows, not more than 30 cm. square, at the height of the ceiling joist, the purpose of which is
to admit light, and a little air, but not view. (Paras, 2008)
Requisites for Easement on Right of Way
Easement of View
1. The easement must be established at the point least Prejudicial to the servient estate; (Art. 649, “Servidumbre prospectus” The opening is for the purpose of viewing as in the case of full or regular
NCC) windows overlooking the adjoining estate. Incidentally, although the principal purpose here is view,
2. Claimant must be an Owner of enclosed the easement of light is necessarily included, as well as the easement of altius non tollendi not to
3. There must be no adequate Outlet to a public highway; (Art. 649, (1), NCC) build higher for the purpose of obstruction.
4. The right of way must be absolutely Necessary not mere convenience;
5. The isolation must not be Due to the claimant’s own act; (Art. 649, NCC) and When easement of light and view is positive and when negative:
6. There must be payment of proper Indemnity
1. Positive — If the window is through a party wall. (Art. 668(1), NCC) Therefore, the period of
prescription commences from the time the window is opened.
Q: What if the property is not the shortest way but will cause the least damage to the servient
estate? TN: The mere opening of the window does not create the easement; it is only when after a
A: The way which will cause the least damage should be used even if it will not be the shortest. sufficient lapse of time the window still remains open, that the easement of light and view is
created. (Art. 668(1), NCC) Moreover, even if the window is on one’s own wall, still the easement
The easement of right of way shall be established at the point least prejudicial to the servient estate would be positive if the window is on a balcony or projection extending over into the adjoining
land. (Paras, 2008)
1. Direct Views - The distance of two (2) meters between the wall and the boundary must be
2. Negative — If the window is through one’s own wall, that is, through a wall of the dominant observed; and
estate. (Art. 668(2), NCC) Therefore, the time for the period of prescription should begin from
the time of notarial prohibition upon the adjoining owner. (Cid v. Javier, G.R. No. L-14116, 30 2. Oblique Views - (Walls perpendicular or at an angle to the boundary line) must not be 60 cm to
June 1960) the nearest edge of the window. (Art. 670, NCC)

XPN: Even if the window is on the wall of the dominant estate, still easement of light and view Any stipulation to the contrary is void. (Art. 673, NCC) And the owner who opened them may be
would be positive if the window is on the balcony or extension extending over the land of the ordered by the court to close them. Prescription may still be acquired as a negative easement after
servient estate. ten years from the time of notarial prohibition.

The period of prescription for the acquisition shall be counted from the time of: The distance referred to in Art. 670 of the NCC shall be measured in cases of direct views from the
1. Opening of the window, if through a party wall; or outer line of the wall when the openings do not project, from the outer line of the latter when they do,
2. The formal prohibition upon the proprietor of the adjoining land, if window is through and in cases of oblique view from the dividing line between the two properties. (Art. 671, NCC)
a wall on the dominant estate. (Art. 668, NCC)

Openings to admit light and air but NOT view

When the distances in Art. 670 are not observed, the owner of a wall which is not a party wall can
make an opening for the purpose of admitting light and air, but not for view. (Art. 669, NCC)

Restrictions for making an opening for light and air:

1. The size must not exceed 30-centimeter square;

2. The opening must be at the height of the ceiling joists or immediately under the ceiling;
3. There must be an iron grating imbedded in the wall; and
4. There must be a wire screen. (Art. 669, NCC)

Direct and Oblique View

Direct View
The gaining of direct sight from an opening in a wall parallel to the boundary line without having to
extend out or turn one’s head to see the adjoining tenement. (Pineda, 2009)

TN: When windows are opened at a distance less than that prescribed by Art. 670 of the NCC from
the boundary lines, they constitute unlawful openings (Rabuya, 2006), however, it is not necessary
always that the wall sustaining the opening and the dividing line be exactly and geometrically
parallel. (Pineda, 2009)

Oblique View
The gaining of sight of the other tenement from an opening made at an angle with the boundary line,
such that to be able to see the adjoining tenement, there is necessity for putting out or turning one’s
head either to the left of right.

Restrictions as to Easement of Views