Short answer. Not entirely. Under Article 870 of the Civil Code, a testator's declaration that all or part of the estate is inalienable is void if it extends beyond twenty years. A perpetual prohibition on selling the family house is void as written — but a prohibition lasting up to twenty years may be valid.
What the law says
The dispositions of the testator declaring all or part of the estate inalienable for more than twenty years are void.
Civil Code, Article 870 — The Twenty-Year Limit on Inalienability. Read the full provision →
What Article 870 says
Article 870 is direct: the dispositions of the testator declaring all or part of the estate inalienable for more than twenty years are void. A 'never sell this house' instruction is a disposition declaring the property inalienable without limit — it runs indefinitely, which is more than twenty years. The clause is therefore void under Article 870, and the heirs are not bound by it. The testator's good intentions for the family home cannot override a statutory limit on how long property can be locked up.
The twenty-year limit and what it allows
The Civil Code does not prohibit inalienability clauses altogether — it only limits their duration. A testator may validly direct that the heirs not sell or dispose of property for up to twenty years. Within that window, the restriction is enforceable. An heir who sells during that period would be acting against a valid testamentary condition. After twenty years, the restriction lapses and the property may be freely transferred. A perpetual or open-ended restriction, however, is void from the start.
What 'void' means for the rest of the will
When a clause is void under Article 870, the invalidity does not automatically cancel the whole will. The rest of the testamentary dispositions — who inherits what, which shares are given to whom — remain in effect. Only the inalienability clause itself is struck. The heirs still take the property under the will; they simply take it without the perpetual restriction. If the will included a time-limited inalienability clause of twenty years or less, that clause survives and the heirs are bound by it for its stated term.
When family members disagree about selling
Even when an inalienability clause is void, co-heirs may still have practical difficulties selling inherited property — particularly real property owned by multiple heirs as co-owners. All co-owners generally must agree to a sale, or one may compel partition under the law. Article 870 only removes the testator's attempted prohibition; it does not resolve disputes among the heirs themselves about what to do with the property. If your situation involves a will with this kind of clause and a disagreement among heirs about the family home, legal advice on your specific circumstances will help clarify what rights each heir actually holds.
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.
- Hilarion, Jr. and Enrico Orendain, represented by Fe Orendain vs. Trusteeship of the Estate of Doña Margarita Rodriquez, G.R. No. 168660, June 30, 2009 — read the decision on LawPhil →