Short answer. Yes, if the landowner acted in bad faith. Article 447 gives you the right to remove your materials in any event when the landowner used them knowing he had no right to do so — even if removal destroys the construction. You are also entitled to be indemnified for damages.
What the law says
if the landowner acted in bad faith, the owner of the materials may remove them in any event, with a right to be indemnified for damages.
Civil Code, Article 447 — Landowner Building With Another's Materials. Read the full provision →
The general rule: removal only if no destruction
When a landowner uses another person's materials to build on his land, Article 447 gives the materials owner certain rights but limits them in the default case. Ordinarily, the owner of the materials may remove them only if removal can be done without injuring the construction. If taking back the materials would destroy what was built, removal is not an option — the landowner must pay the value of the materials instead. This limitation protects against the waste of destroying a completed structure over a materials dispute.
Bad faith changes everything
The bad-faith exception upends the general rule entirely. If the landowner knew the materials did not belong to him when he used them — and proceeded anyway — Article 447 removes the protection he would otherwise enjoy. The materials owner may then recover the materials regardless of whether removal destroys the construction. The landowner who built in bad faith cannot hide behind the completed structure to avoid accountability. He also owes damages in addition to bearing the loss of the construction.
What 'bad faith' means in this context
Bad faith under Article 447 refers to the landowner's knowledge that the materials belonged to someone else when he used them. If the landowner genuinely believed the materials were his, or had honest grounds to think so, bad faith is not established. But if the landowner knew — from the circumstances, from prior dealings, or from direct notice — that the materials had not been paid for or legitimately transferred to him, and used them anyway, the bad faith finding follows. Establishing bad faith is a factual question that depends on what the landowner knew and when.
What you can claim if bad faith is established
When the landowner acted in bad faith, your remedies include two components: the right to physically remove your materials from the structure — even at the cost of demolishing what was built — and the right to indemnification for damages. The damages portion compensates you for harm beyond the mere loss of the materials themselves: expenses incurred, any delay or disruption to your business or projects, and other quantifiable losses flowing from the unauthorized use. A lawyer can help you document both the bad faith and the damages before commencing any removal action.
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.
- Heirs of Delfin and Maria Tappa vs. Heirs of Jose Bacud, et al, G.R. No. 187633, April 14, 2016 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Homeowners Association of Talayan Village, Inc. vs J.M. Tuason & Co., Inc., et al./J.M. Tuason & Co., Inc. and Talayan Holdings, Inc. vs Homeowners Association of Talayan Village, Inc. and Quezon City Mayor, G.R. No. 203883 / G.R. No. 203930, November 10, 2015 — read the decision on LawPhil →