CIVIL LAW: PROPERTY – REVIEWER

I. DEFINITION
A. PROPERTY vs. THING
 All Properties are Things; not all Things are Properties
Property
- physical or real, juridical, and legal entity capable of becoming the subject
matter or object of a juridical relation
- object to the validity of a contract
- susceptible to appropriation
Requisites (USA):
- has Utility
- possesses Substance (has separate autonomous existence)
- subject to Appropriation
Thing
- object that exists
- capable of satisfying human needs

B. MOVABLE vs. IMMOVABLE [Article 414, New Civil Code]

- Enumeration;
o Immovable – Art. 415, New Civil Code
o Movable – Art. 416, New Civil Code + Art. 417, New Civil Code

Movable (PERSONAL PROPERTY)

- transferable from one place to another
Immovable (REAL PROPERTY)
- fixed or permanent
- integral to an immovable property
- not transferrable; transfer results in destruction/deterioration
- ornamental, intended to be permanently attached [Article 415 (4)]
- those intended to be permanently fixed/attached
Juridical Classification of Real Properties (NIDA)
- Nature – by itself cannot be moved
- Incorporation – separation results in destruction
- Destination – placed
o Machinery/Equipment – calls for necessity
o Ornament – factors in the owner’s intention
- Analogy – real rights
CIVIL LAW: PROPERTY – REVIEWER

C. FUNGIBLE vs. CONSUMABLE [Article 418, New Civil Code]

Consumable – upon use:
- there is a reduction/decrease in the quantity
- there is physical destruction
- there is deterioration
Fungible
- replaceable by another property with the same kind of equal quantity
o equality by nature or by agreement

D. PROPERTY OF PUBLIC DOMINION vs. PATRIMONIAL PROPERTY

Private Property – owned by private persons, juridical or natural
Public Properties
- Public Dominion
o owned by the government
o outside the commerce of man
o inalienable
- Patrimonial Properties
o owned by the state in its private capacity
o proprietary
o alienable

E. PROPERTY FOR PUBLIC USE vs. PROPERTY FOR PUBLIC SERVICE

- Property for Public Use – used by indiscriminately everyone
- Property for Public Service – only used by authorized persons

F. RES NULLIUS vs. RES COMMUNES vs. RES DERELICTA vs. RES
ALICUJUS
(N) R. Nullius – unowned; susceptible to appropriation
(C) R. Communes – owned by everyone
(D) R. Derelicta – abandoned; intended to be no longer owned
(A) R. Alicujus – tangible/intangible; owned privately, collectively/individually
G. BUILDER/POSSESSOR IN GOOD FAITH
B. in Good Faith
- a person built in a property he thought he owned
o or without the consent of the landowner
CIVIL LAW: PROPERTY – REVIEWER

H. NECESSARY EXPENSES vs. USEFUL EXPENSES vs.

ORNAMENTAL/LUXURY EXPENSES
Necessary
- without it, the thing will physically deteriorate or perish
Useful
- increase the productivity or raise the value
Ornamental/Luxury
- add to the value of the thing
o neither essential nor useful

I. ORDINARY vs. EXTRAORDINARY EXPENSES

Ordinary – shouldered by the person enjoying the possession of the property
Extraordinary – responsibility of the owner
J. REAL RIGHT vs. PERSONAL RIGHT
Personal Right
- belonging to one person
- attached to the owner
Action in PERSONAM
- attached to the person
Real Right
- autonomous power to derive directly from an appropriate thing certain
economic advantages
- respected regardless of the owner
Action in REM
- attached to the property, whomever the owner may be

K. OWNERSHIP vs. POSSESSION

Possession – right of an owner
Ownership – exercised over things or rights; all-encompassing
Kinds of Ownership
- Full – all rights
- Naked – right to use; no fruits
- Sole – vested only in one
- Co-ownership – vested to 2 or more
(6) RIGHTS OF AN OWNER
CIVIL LAW: PROPERTY – REVIEWER

1. Jus Possidendi – to possess

2. Jus Fruendi – to the fruits
3. Jus Utendi – to use
4. Jus Abutendi – to abuse
5. Jus Disponendi – to dispose
6. Jus Vindicandi – to recover

L. LEASE vs. USUFRUCT

Lease Usufruct
Nature Onerous Gratuitous or Onerous
Possess
Use
Under stipulation
rd
Enjoy 3 person (right to dispose
of—original owner)

M. DOCTRINE OF SELF-HELP vs. DOCTRINE OF INCOMPLETE PRIVILEGE

Doctrine of Self-Help [Article 429, New Civil Code]
- use of reasonable force necessary to repel/prevent actual or threatened
unlawful act, i.e., physical invasion/usurpation of property
Doctrine of Incomplete Privilege [Article 432, New Civil Code]
- necessary interference to prevent more significant damage to adjoining
properties
o factor in the absence of absolute right
o a justifying circumstance in Criminal Law
CIVIL LAW: PROPERTY – REVIEWER

N. LIMITATIONS TO OWNERSHIP
(3) Inherent Powers of the State
Police Power
- destruction/taking of private property for the general welfare of society
- without just compensation
Eminent Domain
- taking of private property for public use
- with just compensation
Taxation
- imposition of taxes
Limitations Imposed by 3rd Persons [Article 431, New Civil Code]
- impairment of others’ rights

II. HIDDEN TREASURE [Article 438, New Civil Code]

- hidden and unknown money, jewelry, and other precious objects discovered
by chance
o the lawful owner is unknown
- shared with a spouse under Absolute Community Property [Article 117,
Family Code]
- G.R. Owner of the property; discovers = owns hidden treasure //
o the State, in the interest of Science or the Arts
 with a just price
o Finder’s entitlement
 ½ of the Hidden Treasure
 Not an Agent or Trespasser

III. ACCESSION
- not a mode of acquiring ownership
o an extension of ownership over a thing to whatever is incorporated into
it
 natural or artificial
- Attached, Produced, and Incorporated
Accessories – ornaments; add beauty and may be removed without causing
injury
Kinds of Accession
AS TO REAL PROPERTY
CIVIL LAW: PROPERTY – REVIEWER

1. Accession Discreta [Article 441, New Civil Code]

- Right to the Fruits
- the Owner //
o Possessor in good faith
o Usufructuary
o Antichresis Creditor
o Lessee
2. Accession Continua
- by External Forces
Accession Industrial
- by human intervention = API
o by the Builder, Planter, Sower

Category Personalities
Landowner = B/P/S B/P/S Landowner
Different from the owner of the material Owner of the material
Landowner Landowner
Different from the Owner of the material,
who is the B/P/S B/P/S Owner of the material
Landowner Landowner
Different from the Owner of the material Owner of the Material
Different from the B/P/S B/P/S

Accession Natural (AAUA/R)

- without human intervention = API
o Alluvium
 unidentifiable
 gradual accumulation of small particles to a greater mass
 belongs to the owner of the property it is attached to
 delayed accession
 ownership takes effect after two years without a claim
from the owner of the detached area
o Avulsion
 identifiable
 sudden/abrupt process
 belongs to the owner of the property it detached from
 may claim within (2) two years
o Uprooted Trees
 the owner of the uprooted tree can be found
CIVIL LAW: PROPERTY – REVIEWER

delayed accession
 (2) two months for the owners to claim
o Abandoned Riverbeds
 does not apply to canals
 change of river flow
 the owner of the area where the river now flows may
claim the abandoned riverbed
AS TO PERSONAL PROPERTY
Conjunction/Adjunction
- two personal properties put together
- removal of one results in destruction // if possible
o may be separated by the owners
o the owner of the principal may demand separation
- separate identities are retained
- determining the principal and accessory
o by the higher value // if unidentifiable
 Rule of Importance //
 Both in Bad Faith
 O. Principle in Bad Faith
o O.P. is liable for damages
o O.A. may demand separation even if there is
destruction
 O. Accessory in Bad Faith
o O.A. is liable for damages
o O.P. takes the accessory property
 No Bad Faith
o Qualify the properties
 Rule of Greater Value
 Rule of Greater Volume
 Rule of Greater Merit/Sentimental Value
Mixture
- union of property
o Commixtion – the mixture of two solids
o Confusion – the mixture of two liquids
 separate identities are lost
- results to Co-Ownership
- impossibility of separation
- no Principal or Accessory
CIVIL LAW: PROPERTY – REVIEWER

- //
o by accident in Good Faith = Co-Ownership
o by accident in Bad Faith
 liability for damages
 loss of right over property

Specification
- the transformation of an object by the application of labor
o becoming a thing of a different kind
o HUMAN LABOR is the principal
- the identity of the personal property is transferred to another by human
intervention
- RULES:
o EMPLOYER OF LABOR IN GOOD FAITH
 G.N. Maker acquires the new thing and compensates the owner of
the materials. [(1) Art. 474]
 If the value of the material is greater than the value of labor, the
Owner Of The Material may:
 to acquire the property & indemnify for labor
 demand indemnity for the material
o EMPLOYER OF LABOR IN BAD FAITH
 The owner of the material may:
 acquire the result without indemnity (due to the
impossibility of separation)
 acquire indemnity for the material with damages
o OWNER OF MATERIAL IN BAD FAIT
 the material is lost, and damages must be paid

IV. QUIETING OF TITLE

- For purposes of RESTORATION
- To determine the condition of the ownership/rights to an immovable (real)
property
o and remove doubts about it
- action does not prescribe
o in possession //
 not in possession
 Good Faith = 10 years
 Bad Faith = 30 years
CIVIL LAW: PROPERTY – REVIEWER

- legal or equitable title is required, not possession

- DECLARATORY RELIEF
CIVIL LAW: PROPERTY – REVIEWER

V. CO-OWNERSHIP
- Plurality of Parties
o common dominion over property
- Not a juridical person/entity
CO-OWNERSHIP v. PARTNERSHIP
CO-OWNERSHIP PARTNERSHIP
Created by contract //
Created by sources other than a contract
- Conjugal Partnership
No Juridical Personality Has Juridical Personality
For Common Enjoyment For Profit
10 years maximum; 20 if imposed by the
It may last for 10 years or more
testator/donor
Not Dissolved by the Death of a Party Dissolved by the Death of a Party
- A co-owner can demand partition of ownership at any time
o Partition—judicial or extrajudicial
o No co-owner should be compelled to stay in a co-ownership indefinitely
o Action does not prescribe
SOURCES:
1. LAW
a. Common Law Spouses
b. Commixtion/Confusion
c. Hidden Treasure
d. Formation of Islands
2. Contract
3. Succession
4. Chance
5. Occupation (i.e., hunting or fishing)

CONSENT:
1. Of Majority
a. (E) Enjoyment
b. (M) Management
c. (I) Improvement
2. Unanimous
a. (E) Encumbrance (Mortgage)
b. (D) Disposition of Entire Property (Sale/Donation)
c. (A) Alteration of the Common Property
Extinction of Co-ownership:
1. Total Destruction of the Thing
CIVIL LAW: PROPERTY – REVIEWER

2. Merger of All Interests into One Person

3. Prescription (adverse possession)
- By a 3rd person or one co-owner (open and adverse)
4. Partition (judicial/extrajudicial)
- Maybe Asked at Any Time //
o Stipulation Against Partition
o Imposed Condition by Transferor
o Legal Nature Preventing Partition
o Prohibited by Law
o Rendering the Thing Unserviceable

VI. POSSESSION
- Material Holding or Control of a Thing
- Exercise of a Right (Quasi-possession)
- The holding of a thing/right, either materially or the having it under the action
of a person’s will.
- It does not automatically refer to actual physical possession; consider—
o Possession in the concept of a holder (i.e., lessee)
o Possession in the concept of an owner (i.e., lessor)

CREDIT TRANSACTIONS
1. Commodatum
2. Usufruct
3. Antichresis
4. Lease
OBJECTS OF POSSESSION
- Things and rights susceptible to appropriation (Art. 530, NCC)
o Res Nullius
o Res Alicujus
- //
o Res Communes
o Property of Public Dominion
o Discontinuous Servitudes
o Non-apparent Servitudes

WAYS OF ACQUIRING POSSESSION

1. Material Occupancy
a. Traditio Brevi Manu – the property to be transferred is already
possessed by the person (i.e., rent-to-own property)
b. Constitutum Possessorium – the owner of a property alienates the thing
but continues to be in possession of it (i.e., lease/usufruct)
CIVIL LAW: PROPERTY – REVIEWER

2. Subject to the action of a person’s will according to law, even without

physical seizure
a. Tradicion Symbolica – i.e., delivery of the keys to a storage room
b. Traditio Longa Manu – thing cannot be manually transferred to the
transferee at the time of the agreement, but there is no legal obstacle to
the transfer of possession
3. Through proper acts and legal formalities – acts merely tolerated, and those
executed clandestinely and without knowledge of the possessor of a thing or by
violence; it does not affect possession
a. Clandestine possession – hidden or disguised, distinguished from open
or public possession.
b. Possession by tolerance – does not give rise to ownership (i.e.,
squatters)
RIGHT OF v RIGHT TO—Possession
OF TO
Independent from Ownership The mere incident of Ownership

Possession WITH JURIDICAL TITLE vs. WITH JUST TITLE

WITH JURIDICAL TITLE WITH JUST TITLE
Possession of an adverse claimant
Predicated on a juridical relation existing
whose title is sufficient to transfer
between the possessor and the owner of
ownership but is defective when the seller
the thing
is not the actual owner

RULE ON DISPUTES OF POSSESSION:

 PREFERENCE:
o The one in Actual Possession
o Longest in Possession (multiple persons)
o Showing of Title
- Equal Conditions = determined in proper proceedings
ACTIONS TO RECOVER POSSESSION OF REAL PROPERTY
1. Summary (Accion Interdictal)
- Proof of Actual Possession and Deprivation of Possession via fraud,
intimidation, strategy, threat, or stealth (FISTS)
2. Unlawful Detainer
- Demand to vacate the premises (15 – 30 days)
- A Letter made by a lawyer must be given for the action
 Elements to be proved:
 Prior existence of lawful possession
 Expiry/Violation of the Contract
CIVIL LAW: PROPERTY – REVIEWER

Remedies:
- Recovery of Possession
 Summons (Accion Interdictal)
 Injunction (against the continuation of trespass)
 Interpleader (to determine a right to property held by a
disinterested 3rd party who is in doubt of a property’s ownership; to
allow interested parties to contest ownership)
- Accion Publiciana (issue on possession)
- Accion Reinvidicatoria (issue on ownership)

VII. USUFRUCT
- Right to enjoy the property of another with the obligation of preserving its
form and substance unless the title constituting it or the law provides otherwise.
- A real (temporary) right over real or personal property
CHARACTERISTICS & ELEMENTS
 Essential – without them, results in not a usufruct.
 Real Right
 Temporary in Nature
 Purpose—to enjoy the benefits
 Natural – ordinarily is absent
 Accidental
- G.R.: to preserve it; XPMTN: when the law allows not to preserve it
USUFRUCT v LEASE v COMMODATUM
USUFRUCT LEASE COMMODATUM
Owner &
PARTIES Lessor & Lessee Bailor & Bailee
Usufructuary
May possess, use, May possess and
RIGHT TO ENJOY May possess, and enjoy (subject use, but there is no
FRUITS use, and enjoy to the stipulations transfer of the right to
on sublease) enjoy
Lessor’s consent
The Civil Code is
before Lessee can
silent
sublease
Consideration is
CONSIDERATION only ONCE Essentially gratuitous
Consideration is
To prevent
regular (i.e.,
exploitation,
weekly or monthly)
abuse, and
impairment
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OBLIGATIONS OF A USUFRUCTUARY
- Before:
 make an inventory of all the property
 give a security
- During:
 Make an Inventory of all the Property
 return the object under the same condition when it was delivered
 to protect the interest of the naked owner
 Take care of the thing as a good father of a family
 Give a Bond/Security
 in cash or surety
 Make ordinary repairs at his expense
 Pay taxes and charges
 Notify owner of urgent need for extraordinary repairs (Art. 593) and acts
detrimental to ownership (Art. 601)
 Bear cost of litigation over the usufruct (Art. 602)
 Answer for fault of lessee/agent
- After:
 Return the property unless there is right of retention = extraordinary
expenses
 To pay interest or the amount spent by the owner of extraordinary repairs
(Art. 594) or taxes on the capital (Art. 597).
 To indemnify owner for loss due to negligence of usufructuary or
transferee.
Causes for Extinguishment of Usufruct:
- Waiver
- Expiration/loss of property
- Resolution/termination of the right to constitute usufruct
- Expropriation
- Prescription
- Merger
- Expiration of period/fulfilment of the resolutory condition
- Death
CIVIL LAW: PROPERTY – REVIEWER

VIII. EASEMENT
PARTIES TO AN EASEMENT
1. Dominant Estate – refers to the immovable for which the easement was
established
2. Servient Estate – the estate which provides the service or benefit
(W) – WATERS—C-A-P
(A) – Against Nuisance—D-NA-N
(L) – Light and View—C-A-P
(L) – Lateral and Subjacent—C-NA-N
(D) – Drainage—C-A-N
(R) – Right of Way—D-A-P
(I) – Intermediate Distance—D-A-N
(P) – Party Wall—C-A-N

IX. NUISANCE
ATTRACTIVE NUISANCE
- One who maintains on 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 in it, is liable to a child of tender years who is
injured thereby, even if the child is technically a trespasser in the premises.
PUBLIC NUISANCE AND PRIVATE NUISANCE
Remedies against PUBLIC NUISANCES:
- Prosecution under the RPC or any local ordinance;
- Civil action; or
- Abatement, summarily and without judicial proceeding. (Art. 699, NCC)
NOTE: A private person may file for a civil action against a public nuisance if the latter
is injurious to him. Thus, insofar as he is concerned, the nuisance becomes a private
nuisance which affects him in a special way, different from that sustained by the public
in general.

Remedies against Private Nuisances

- Civil action;
- Abatement, summarily and without judicial proceedings. (Art. 705, NCC)
CIVIL LAW: PROPERTY – REVIEWER

NOTE: Any person injured by a private nuisance may abate it by removing, or if

necessary, by destroying the thing which constitutes the nuisance, without committing a
breach of the peace or doing unnecessary injury.
EXTRJUDICIAL ABATEMENT:
1. The nuisance must be especially Injurious to the person affected;
2. No Breach of peace or unnecessary injury must be committed;
3. Demand must first be made upon the owner or possessor of the property to abate
the nuisance;
4. Demand is Rejected;
5. Abatement is Approved by the district health officer and executed with the assistance
of the local police; and
6. The Value of the destruction does not exceed P3,000.00

X. MODES OF ACQUIRING OWNERSHIP

TITLE vs. OWNERSHIP
- Mode – Process of acquiring ownership
- Title – Justification or proof of ownership
 Title is a proof of ownership, same thing when we distinguish mode from title.

ORIGINAL MODES:
i) Occupation
ii) Acquisitive Prescription
iii) Law
iv) Intellectual Creation
2. Derivative Modes:
i) Succession Mortis Causa
ii) Tradition

XI. DONATION
A. Time of Perfection
- The Donor knows of the Donee’s acceptance
B. Void Donations (Art. 739)
a. those made by a guardian or trustee in relation to the properties entrusted
to them;
b. those made between persons who were guilty of adultery or concubinage
at the time of the donation
c. those made between persons found guilty of the same criminal offense, in
consideration thereof;
CIVIL LAW: PROPERTY – REVIEWER

d. those made to a public officer or his wife, descendants, and ascendants,

by reason of his office;
e. those made to incapacitated persons, though simulated under the guise of
another contract or through a person who is interposed
C. Grounds for Revocation of Donation (Arts. 760, 764, 765)
a. Non-fulfillment of a Condition
b. Due to Ingratitude
c. Subsequent Birth of Children
d. Incapacity of the Donor at the Time of the Donation
e. Presence of Legal Grounds Specified in the Deed
f. Mutual Agreement
D. Grounds for Reduction
o Donor, more or less, reserves something for his sustenance
o Donation will not affect the legitime of compulsory heirs of the donor
E. Double Donations, the Rule on Double Sale (Art. 1544).
o Determine which was perfected ahead of the other
F. Formal Requirements
o Movable & exceeds P5,000.00, in writing (Art. 748)
o Immovable, in public instrument (Art. 749)

XII. PRESCRIPTION
- A method of acquiring ownership and other real rights over immovable property
owned by another by the lapse of time through an uninterrupted and regular use
without the permission of the real owner for a period of years required by the law
of the state.
Acquisitive Prescription
a. Ordinary Acquisitive Prescription
- Requires an uninterrupted possession in good faith and with just title for 10
years.
- This means that a possessor in good faith and with a just title may no longer be
dispossessed by the real owner after ten years.
b. Uninterrupted Adverse Possession
- Prescribes in 30 years without need of title or good faith
Extinctive Prescription
- Right over a property is lost after a lapse of time.