Short answer. At least sixty centimeters. Article 670 requires a distance of sixty centimeters for side or oblique views toward a neighbor's property, and a wider two-meter distance for windows or openings that afford a direct view. Building closer than that does not become legal just because your neighbor never objected.
What the law says
Neither can side or oblique views upon or towards such conterminous property be had, unless there be a distance of sixty centimeters.
Civil Code, Article 670 — Distances For Windows And Views. Read the full provision →
What the law says
No windows, apertures, balconies, or other similar projections which afford a direct view upon or towards an adjoining land or tenement can be made, without leaving a distance of two meters
Civil Code, Article 670 — Distances For Windows And Views. Read the full provision →
What the law says
The nonobservance of these distances does not give rise to prescription.
Civil Code, Article 670 — Distances For Windows And Views. Read the full provision →
Sixty centimeters for side or oblique views
Article 670 sets a specific minimum for the kind of opening you are describing. It says: Neither can side or oblique views upon or towards such conterminous property be had, unless there be a distance of sixty centimeters. A side or oblique-view opening is one that does not look straight across at the neighboring property but at an angle, so it affords a more limited view than a window facing directly at it. That lesser intrusion is why the law allows a shorter minimum distance for it than for a direct-view opening.
The stricter two-meter rule for direct views
Direct-view openings are held to a higher standard. The same article provides that no windows, apertures, balconies, or other similar projections which afford a direct view upon or towards an adjoining land or tenement can be made, without leaving a distance of two meters between the wall where they are built and the neighboring property. If your opening looks straight onto your neighbor's land rather than at an angle, the sixty-centimeter rule for side views does not apply to it; the stricter two-meter distance does instead.
Ignoring the distance never becomes legal by itself
Article 670 closes with a rule that matters if a window has already been standing too close for years: The nonobservance of these distances does not give rise to prescription. A neighbor's silence, or the passage of time, does not turn a window built in violation of the required distance into a legally protected opening. Unlike some property rights that can be acquired through long, uncontested use, the failure to keep the required distance here stays a violation no matter how long it has gone unchallenged.
What this means if you are planning or disputing an opening
Before installing a side or oblique-view window near a boundary, measure the sixty-centimeter distance from the wall to the property line, and confirm the opening genuinely qualifies as a side or oblique view rather than a direct one, since that distinction changes the required distance significantly. If you are the neighbor affected by an opening that appears to violate either distance, the rule against prescription means the passage of time alone does not defeat your objection.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Sps. Tedy Garcia and Pilar Garcia vs. Loreta T. Santos, Winston Santos and Conchita, G.R. No. 228334, June 17, 2019 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Rachel C. Celestial vs. Jesse Cachopero, G.R. No. 142595, October 15, 2003 — read the decision on LawPhil →