Property & Real Estate

Usufruct

• If a calamity destroys most of the trees on land under usufruct, can the usufructuary leave the fallen trunks for the owner to clear away?
• Can a usufructuary demand reimbursement for the improvements he built on the property?
• Can someone who holds a usufruct over a property lease it out to a third person?
• Can a usufructuary remove the improvements they made if it can be done without damaging the property?
• Can a usufructuary set off the improvements they made against damage they caused?
• May the owner construct new works or make improvements on immovable property that is subject to a usufruct?
• Can the naked owner of property that is under a usufruct impose an easement on it without the usufructuary's consent?
• Can the owner of property in usufruct refuse to have artistic or sentimental items sold, and if so what must he do?
• If the owner pays for extraordinary repairs, can they charge the usufructuary interest for them?
• If a usufructuary neglects ordinary repairs after demand, can the owner make them at the usufructuary's expense?
• Can the owner alter or renovate property while someone else holds a usufruct over it?
• Can I sell property I own if someone else currently holds a usufruct over it?
• Can the owner still build or improve on property that is under usufruct?
• Can the owner waive the inventory and the security a usufructuary would owe?
• Can a usufructuary be excused from making an inventory and giving security?
• If a usufructuary has not given security, can the court still allow him to use furniture and live in the house covered by the usufruct?
• If a usufruct lasts only part of the year, does the usufructuary get all the rent collected that year or only a daily proportionate share?
• Does a usufruct end if the usufruct and the ownership come together in the same person?
• Does a usufruct end automatically when the usufructuary dies?
• Treasure was dug up on land held under a usufruct — does the usufructuary get to keep it?
• Does misuse or bad use of property under a usufruct automatically extinguish the usufruct?
• If a usufruct was granted to last until a named third person reaches a certain age, does it end early if that person dies before reaching that age?
• Can I donate the ownership of my house to one person and its use to another?
• If I want to donate the naked ownership of my land to one person and the usufruct to another, do both of them have to already be alive when I make the donation?
• If I donated property but kept a usufruct over it for myself, must I still post security before I can enjoy it?
• If the owner chooses to pay interest instead of replacing property taken by expropriation, must the owner post security to guarantee those payments to the usufructuary?
• My land is under someone else's usufruct — can I still grant an easement over it?
• How can a usufruct over property be legally created in the Philippines?
• How is rent divided between the owner and the usufructuary?
• How long can a corporation or association hold a usufruct?
• If mortgaged property under usufruct is sold to pay the debt, can the usufructuary recover the loss from the owner?
• If the owner takes over the property because the usufructuary gave no security, who receives the income from it?
• If the owner rebuilds a building destroyed under a usufruct, what is the usufructuary entitled to?
• If the entire herd under a usufruct dies from disease, what must the usufructuary give the owner?
• Is a usufructuary liable for damage caused by someone they let use the property?
• If items under usufruct gradually wear out with normal use, is the usufructuary liable only for damage from their own fault?
• When the usufruct ends and the property is returned to the owner, is the security or mortgage the usufructuary posted automatically cancelled?
• If a usufructuary leases or transfers the usufruct and the substitute damages the property, is the original usufructuary responsible?
• Can I mortgage a real right over land, such as a usufruct, rather than the land itself?
• Must a usufructuary tell the owner about anything that threatens the property?
• Must a usufructuary notify the owner when extraordinary repairs are urgently needed?
• When a usufruct ends, must the owner reimburse the usufructuary for the cultivation and seed expenses on the growing crops?
• Is a usufructuary obliged to inform the owner of any act by a third person that threatens the owner's rights, and what happens if the usufructuary fails to do so?
• The owner refuses to make major repairs the building badly needs — can the usufructuary do them and recover the cost?
• Are parents who exercise usufruct over their children's property required to post security, and does that change if they remarry?
• Can a perpetual voluntary easement be created where one person owns the land and another holds the usufruct?
• The government expropriated property that was under usufruct — what does the usufructuary get out of the payment?
• If a usufructuary has properly posted security, can he freely spend or use the capital he collects from matured credits however he likes?
• The usufructuary is badly abusing the property — can the owner have the usufruct terminated?
• If the deed creating a usufruct says nothing about who pays the property taxes, does the usufructuary or the owner pay them?
• What must a usufructuary do before taking over and enjoying the property subject to the usufruct?
• If the person who set up a usufruct over their whole estate had ongoing periodic payments to make, like a pension, does the usufructuary have to keep making those payments too, even without a specific fund set aside for them?
• Can a usufruct be limited to only a portion of a property's fruits, or can it be constituted over a right rather than a physical thing?
• If a usufruct covers a herd of livestock and some animals die of natural causes, does the usufructuary have to replace them?
• If a house under usufruct is also mortgaged, must the usufructuary pay off the mortgage debt?
• If I am a usufructuary and I sue to recover property on behalf of the usufruct, do I get the recovered property or only the fruits from it?
• If my usufruct covers just a building, not the land under it, and the building is destroyed, do I still get to use the land and materials?
• If a building under usufruct is destroyed, does the usufructuary still have any rights over the property?
• Can a usufruct be constituted over a credit right or lease right, or only over physical things?
• If I hold a usufruct over one co-owner's undivided share, what rights do I actually have over the property?
• If a usufruct covers things that can only be used by consuming them, what must the usufructuary return at the end?
• Can a usufruct be set up over just part of a property, or given to several beneficiaries one after another?
• Can a usufruct be created over only half the fruits of a property, leaving the other half to the owner?
• If I hold a usufruct over the right to receive a monthly pension or annuity, how are the payments treated and distributed between the usufructuary and the owner?
• If I hold a usufruct over a share of a company's undated profits, is that treated the same as a usufruct over rent?
• If a co-owner's undivided share in property is subject to a usufruct, and that co-ownership is later dissolved by partition, what portion does the usufruct attach to?
• What happens to a usufruct granted until a child comes of age if the child dies first?
• If a usufruct granted until someone reaches a certain age was expressly meant to last only as long as that person is alive, does it end when they die even before reaching that age?
• The co-owner whose share I hold in usufruct just had the co-ownership dissolved by partition — which piece of land does my usufruct now cover?
• Can a usufructuary cut trees in a woodland nursery to thin them out so the remaining trees grow better?
• If property under usufruct acquires a new addition or improvement through accession, does the usufructuary benefit from it?
• Can a usufructuary cut down trees to repair or improve something else on the property, outside the normal cutting allowance?
• If the usufruct ends while a lease the usufructuary granted is still running, does the tenant have to vacate immediately?
• Can a usufructuary transfer or sell their right of usufruct to another person?
• Can a usufructuary use or sell dead or storm-downed fruit trees, and must they be replaced?
• Is a usufructuary required to post security or make an inventory before taking over a property?
• If I hold a usufruct over a right to recover property, can I file the lawsuit to enforce that right myself?
• Can a usufructuary make use of fruit trees that have died or been uprooted on the property?
• If treasure is found on land that is under usufruct, does the usufructuary get a share of it?
• I damaged the property while under usufruct but also made improvements to it — can I offset the value of my improvements against the damage I caused?
• If a usufruct covers items that naturally wear out with use, like machinery or vehicles, what condition must they be returned in?
• If a usufructuary has not given security, or gave insufficient security, may the usufructuary collect matured credits without the owner's authorization?
• What standard of care does a usufructuary owe to the property while they hold the usufruct?
• If a usufructuary's abuse of the property causes considerable injury to the owner, what remedy does the owner have short of ending the usufruct?
• Article 605 says a usufruct ends if the town holding it is 'abandoned' -- but what actually counts as a town being abandoned?
• What actually counts as an 'ordinary repair' that a usufructuary must pay for, as opposed to a major structural repair?
• What document governs the rights of a usufructuary?
• What happens if the usufructuary posts the required security only later?
• What can the owner do if the usufructuary refuses to post the security the law requires?
• What happens to a lease that the usufructuary granted beyond the end of the usufruct?
• If a corporation holding a usufruct is dissolved before the usufruct period expires, does the usufruct end?
• What happens to a usufruct when the property is only partly destroyed?
• If a usufruct is constituted over an entire patrimony and the owner had existing debts at that time, must the usufructuary pay those debts?
• If only part of the thing in usufruct is lost or destroyed, does the usufruct over the remainder continue?
• What is the maximum period for which a usufruct may be granted in favor of a corporation, town, or association?
• What is a usufruct, and what obligations does it impose on the person enjoying it?
• If property subject to a usufruct is expropriated for public use, what obligation does the owner have toward the usufructuary?
• What must the usufructuary deliver to the owner when the usufruct terminates, and may the usufructuary retain the thing for any reason?
• What must a usufructuary who has not given security do with capital collected from matured credits that form part of the usufruct?
• What standard of care must a usufructuary observe toward the things given in usufruct?
• What events legally bring a usufruct to an end?
• From what date does a usufructuary become entitled to the proceeds and benefits of the property after finally giving security?
• Who must pay the expenses and costs of lawsuits filed about a usufruct?
• Who gets the fruits already growing when a usufruct begins and when it ends?
• If the usufructuary refused to help pay the insurance, who gets the payout when the building is lost?
• Who gets the insurance proceeds when property under usufruct is destroyed?
• Who is excused from posting security before enjoying a usufruct?
• Who must replace trees lost to a typhoon on land held in usufruct?
• Who is responsible for paying annual charges, taxes, and levies on the fruits during the period of a usufruct?
• During a usufruct, who is responsible for paying for major structural repairs to the property?
• Who is responsible for repairs on a property under usufruct — the owner or the usufructuary?
• Who pays the yearly real property tax on land under usufruct — the owner or the usufructuary?
• Who pays taxes imposed directly on the capital or value of property held under usufruct?
• How much timber can a usufructuary cut from woodland without breaching the usufruct?

Easements & Right of Way

• If a visible drainage arrangement existed between two properties before they were sold to different owners, can that stand in for a written easement agreement?
• Can my neighbor and I agree in writing to allow a view window closer than the legal minimum distance, or is any such agreement void?
• Does the law require me to pick the least damaging route across my neighbor's land when demanding a water pipe easement, even if a more convenient route exists elsewhere?
• If I channel water across my neighbor's land to reach my property, do I also have to compensate the owners of land further downhill where that water eventually drains?
• When an easement is granted, are all accessory rights necessary for its use automatically included?
• There is a water aqueduct easement across my land — can I still fence it or build over it?
• Can a compulsory easement for drawing water or watering animals be demanded for the benefit of a single private person?
• Can a discontinuous easement, such as a right of way used only occasionally, be acquired by prescription?
• Can an existing right of way be cancelled once it is no longer necessary?
• Can the owner of land burdened by an easement ask to have it moved to a less inconvenient spot on the property?
• Can an easement be sold or transferred separately from the land it serves?
• Can an easement belong to a person or community rather than to a piece of land?
• Can an easement be created to benefit a community or individual persons who do not own the burdened property?
• May an owner freely establish any kind of voluntary easement on his own property, and in any manner he chooses?
• Can an easement of aqueduct for private use be forced on a neighbor's existing orchard, garden, courtyard, or annexes?
• Can I acquire a right of way over my neighbor's land just by using it continuously for many years?
• Can a dominant owner avoid contributing to the cost of easement works by renouncing the easement?
• Can I create any kind of easement I want on my own land?
• If my yard or court is completely surrounded by other buildings and rainwater cannot drain out, can I demand an easement of drainage through a neighbor's land?
• If I need to build a dam on land I do not own in order to divert water, can I demand an easement for the dam abutment?
• When I sell one of two lots I own, can I keep an existing apparent easement between them from continuing?
• Can I use an existing easement for a purpose it was not originally granted for?
• Can the specific manner or form in which an easement is used change through prescription?
• Can the owner of the land I cross move my right of way to a different part of his property?
• Can the naked owner alone create a perpetual voluntary easement on land when the beneficial ownership belongs to another person?
• Can my neighbor and I create an easement by agreement, or can easements only be imposed by law?
• Can a landowner use their own property in a way that cuts off or injures a neighbor's right of way?
• Can the manner of using an easement be lost through long disuse?
• Can the parties to a legal easement established for private interest modify its terms by agreement?
• Can the owner of the land through which an aqueduct passes fence the land or build over the aqueduct?
• Can the owner of the servient land impair or obstruct my use of the easement in any way?
• If the servient estate owner agreed to bear the cost of maintaining the easement, can he later escape that obligation by giving up his property to the dominant estate owner?
• Can the width of a right of way be changed later if the needs of the dominant estate change?
• What must I prove to legally demand a right of way through my neighbor's land?
• What is the legal difference between a continuous easement and a discontinuous one, or an apparent easement and a non-apparent one?
• What is the difference between a positive and a negative easement?
• Do all co-owners of a property need to consent before a voluntary easement can be imposed on the shared land?
• If a right of way is extinguished because it is no longer necessary, is the indemnity returned?
• Do I have to pay indemnity to obtain a compulsory right of way through my neighbor's land?
• Do the minimum distance rules for windows and views apply when the two buildings face each other across a public alley or street?
• Does a lease or easement bind someone who later buys the land?
• Does a right of way include the right to do what is needed to use it?
• Does an easement end when the same person becomes owner of both the dominant and the servient estate?
• Does a right of way disappear if it goes unused for many years?
• If a compulsory easement for drawing water or watering animals is granted, does it automatically include the right to pass through the servient land to reach the water?
• If I sell or transfer my land that benefits from an easement, does the easement automatically pass to the buyer?
• Does granting a right of way mean I lose ownership of that strip of land?
• Does the legal easement of lateral and subjacent support protect only buildings that already exist when an excavation is made, or does it also protect future structures?
• If a dominant estate has multiple co-owners, does one co-owner's use of the easement protect the right of prescription for all the others?
• Does use by one co-owner preserve the easement for all of them?
• Does the owner of the servient estate retain ownership of the land where the easement is located?
• If I donated part of my land and the portion I kept became landlocked as a result, do I still have to pay indemnity to use a right of way through the land I gave away?
• I expanded my farm and want to route my right of way through my neighbor's land to serve the new portion — can the easement cover the additional land?
• Is a right of way over land itself legally classified as immovable property, separate from the land it burdens?
• If the land burdened by an easement is later subdivided among several owners, does each new owner still have to honor it?
• Can a compulsory easement to draw water or water animals be imposed across private land?
• One owner built a driveway serving two of his lots and later sold one — does the passage survive the sale?
• I found a hidden right-of-way on the lot I bought that was not in the agreement. Do I have to rescind within a year from the deed?
• How can a continuous and apparent easement over neighboring land be acquired under Philippine law?
• If an easement cannot be acquired by prescription and there is no written title for it, how can its origin be established?
• How far must a side or oblique-view window be from a neighbor's boundary line?
• My neighbour has a window with a direct view over my lot — how close to it can I build?
• If the dominant estate has a title-based right to direct views over an adjoining property, how close to the boundary can the servient owner build?
• How is the required distance measured when determining whether a window is too close to a neighbor's property — does it differ for direct views and oblique views?
• When does the clock actually start running on acquiring an easement through long use?
• How wide can an easement of animal path or animal trail across my land be?
• How wide must a legally granted right of way be?
• If the estate that benefits from an easement is subdivided, may each new owner use the whole easement?
• Is an easement of aqueduct treated as continuous and apparent even if water does not flow constantly through it?
• If I sell part of my land and the remaining portion becomes landlocked, must I grant a right of way over it?
• Can a local ordinance for the general welfare add conditions to a legal easement that was created just to benefit private landowners?
• If I inherit land burdened by an easement, does my mental incapacity excuse me from that obligation?
• If land I received by donation is left landlocked, must I indemnify the donor for a right of way?
• If the owner of the burdened land also uses the easement, must he contribute to its upkeep?
• My land became landlocked after part of it was sold. Who must give me a way out?
• Can one co-owner grant a right of way over property that all of us co-own?
• Can a neighbor force a water pipe easement through my property if it means cutting through my house or garden?
• If I sold off part of my own land and that's what left my remaining property landlocked, can I still demand a compulsory right of way from my neighbors?
• If a new road is built near my landlocked property but it doesn't actually meet my property's needs, can my neighbor still force the old right of way to be cancelled?
• Does the compensation I owe for a permanent right of way differ from what I'd owe for just a temporary passage to harvest my crops?
• Can the owner of land burdened by a right of way still use that strip of land himself, as long as he doesn't block the easement?
• If several neighboring properties benefit from the same easement, how are the costs of maintaining it divided among them?
• Even if I privately own land along a riverbank, can the public still use a strip of it for fishing or passage?
• Is there a three-metre strip along a riverbank that stays open to the public even if the land is titled to me?
• I bought land subject to an existing lease or easement, but it was never registered — am I still bound by it as the new owner?
• We subdivided the lot that a right of way passes through — must every new lot still bear it?
• What are legal easements, and can a neighbor demand one without my consent?
• If one co-owner consents to an easement on undivided shared land without the others agreeing, is that co-owner personally bound?
• When an easement is acquired by prescription rather than by written title, what rules govern the rights of the dominant estate and the duties of the servient estate?
• What can I do if there is no document proving the easement we have always used?
• What is an easement, and how does it affect two neighboring properties?
• In an easement, which property is called the dominant estate and which is the servient estate?
• What rules govern legal easements established for the benefit of the public or a community?
• What law governs easements over water sources in the Philippines?
• What distinguishes an apparent easement from a nonapparent one?
• What must I prove before I can demand an easement of aqueduct to carry water across a neighbor's land for my own estate?
• What do I have to prove before I can force a water channel across my neighbour's land?
• When does prescription start running to acquire an easement of light and view if the window is in a wall on the dominant estate rather than a party wall?
• When does the prescription period begin to run for acquiring an easement of light and view through a party wall?
• If my neighbor never objects to a window I opened facing their property, when does the countdown start toward me acquiring a permanent right to keep it?
• For a negative easement, when does the prescriptive period begin to run?
• If the land kept by the grantor after a sale becomes isolated, can the grantor demand a right of way through the land sold and pay indemnity for it?
• When a compulsory right of way must cross someone else's land, at what exact point must it be established?
• Are there easements that can never be acquired just by using a neighbor's land for years, no matter how long?
• My neighbor wants the right of way where it suits him, not me — how does the law decide where it goes?
• Who is responsible for the repairs and taxes on a permanent compulsory right of way?
• If I have a permanent right of way across my neighbor's land, am I responsible for maintaining it?

Property Held in Trust

• I signed over my property by an absolute deed but only to secure a debt — is a trust created that allows me to recover the property when I pay?
• Are the implied trusts listed in the Civil Code the only ones the law recognizes?
• Several of us bought property together but by agreement the title was taken in one name — what are the rest of us entitled to?
• Can a trust exist even if no one ever expressly created one?
• Can an implied trust over property be established and proven through oral or witness testimony alone?
• Can an express trust over land be proven by witness testimony alone, without a written document?
• I paid for property but the title was placed in another person's name, who really owns it?
• I paid for a property but had the title put in my brother's name — do I still own the beneficial interest?
• I transferred property to someone who declared he would hold it for another, is that a trust?
• My land ended up titled in another person's name through a mistake — can I recover it as the true owner?
• I paid for property but placed the title in my child's name — is that held in trust for me or presumed a gift?
• Someone acquired my property through fraud or mistake, can I compel him to reconvey it as a trustee?
• Someone acquired my property through fraud — are they holding it in trust for me?
• I conveyed property to a person relying on his declared intention to hold it for another — is there an implied trust?
• A trustee used money belonging to the trust to buy property and put the title in his own name — who is the real owner of that property?
• Several of us bought land together but titled it in one buyer's name, what are the others' rights?

Co-Ownership & Partition

• After co-owned property is divided, can a co-owner demand an accounting for expenses and income?
• Can a co-owner escape paying their share of expenses by renouncing part of their interest?
• After partition, can a co-owner be held liable for damage they caused to the property by negligence?
• Can an owner who wants to demolish his building avoid paying for party wall repairs by renouncing his share of the wall?
• Can one co-owner use the entire co-owned property, or only a portion equal to their share?
• Can a majority of co-owners make binding decisions on managing the co-owned property?
• Can every co-owner of a party wall use the full thickness of the wall for his own building, or only a proportionate part?
• Can co-owners agree to keep their property undivided instead of partitioning it, and for how long?
• Can co-owners validly agree that one of them bears more of the costs than his share?
• Can co-owners change the purpose for which their common property is used?
• Can a co-owner's creditors challenge a partition that has already been carried out?
• Can my creditors object to how I divide up co-owned property?
• Since a party wall follows the rules on co-ownership, can I force my neighbor to partition or physically divide it?
• If my co-owner donated his share to someone instead of selling it, can I still redeem it using my right of legal redemption?
• If several of us sold an undivided property together, can one of us redeem alone?
• Can a court force through a repair or alteration to co-owned property if one co-owner is unreasonably refusing to consent?
• Can one co-owner alone file an ejectment case to recover possession of co-owned property, without asking the other co-owners?
• If a co-owner sells the whole co-owned property without the others' consent, is the buyer limited to whatever share the selling co-owner actually owns?
• If I discover a hidden defect in the portion I received after co-owned property was divided, can I hold my former co-owners liable?
• Can one co-owner file an ejectment case without the others?
• Can a co-owner repair or improve co-owned property without asking the other co-owners first?
• Can I force a co-owner to pay their share of property taxes and maintenance costs?
• I sold my undivided share of a lot separately. Can I exercise the right to repurchase for my share only?
• My co-owner's share was sold to an outsider at a grossly inflated price — do I have to match that price to redeem it, or can I pay a reasonable one?
• Can the other co-owners redeem a share of property that one co-owner sold to an outsider?
• One co-owner is blocking a change that would benefit all of us — can a court step in and override the refusal?
• A co-owner received a portion in partition that turned out to be owned by a stranger — can they sue the other former co-owners who warranted the partition?
• After partition, if the portion I received turns out to have a title defect, can I hold the other co-owners liable?
• We co-owners cannot agree on how to divide the property — who decides the division?
• When co-owners vote on how to manage co-owned property, is majority calculated by the number of co-owners or by the size of their shares?
• One co-owner acquired the property through prescription — does that benefit the other co-owners as well?
• After dividing co-owned property, can I count the entire period of co-ownership toward my prescription period for the share I received?
• If the co-owners of a property cannot agree on how to manage it, can a court appoint an administrator over the co-owners' objections?
• Can the Register of Deeds record a sale of a co-owner's share without an affidavit showing that written notice was given to the other co-owners?
• If my creditor formally objects to a partition of co-owned property but I go ahead anyway, can I still defend the partition as valid?
• Do improvements or embellishments to co-owned property need approval by a majority of the co-owners?
• Does dividing co-owned land among the co-owners wipe out a mortgage a bank already had over it?
• If siblings inherit land together with no agreement on shares, is it presumed to be split equally among them?
• If different people own different floors of the same building, who pays for the roof?
• How is co-owned property legally divided if the co-owners can't agree among themselves?
• Can a co-owner force the partition of inherited property?
• If co-owned property cannot be physically divided, can it be sold and the proceeds split?
• If co-owned property cannot physically be divided and the co-owners disagree on who should buy the others out, what is the remedy?
• My co-owner sold his share to an outsider. Can I buy it back from the buyer?
• If the court rules I'm entitled to partition my co-owned property, can the co-owners just work out the division ourselves instead of going through commissioners?
• If co-owned land is divided among the co-owners, does that erase a mortgage a third party already had over it?
• If commissioners are appointed to physically divide co-owned land, what are they required to do before and during that process?
• Once the commissioners finish dividing our property in a partition case, does that division take effect immediately?
• If I co-own land and want the court to divide it among the co-owners, what must my partition complaint contain?
• After the objection period on our partition commissioners' report is over, what can the judge actually do with that report?
• The buyer's heirs already partitioned the estate and gave the whole property to just one of them — can I redeem the entire thing from him alone?
• If one of the co-owners in a partition case is a minor, who acts on their behalf in the proceedings?
• Once the partition judgment is final, what legal effect does it have on each co-owner's share of the property?
• What happens in a partition case if the land genuinely cannot be physically divided without prejudicing the co-owners?
• If one of my co-owners has been collecting rent from our jointly owned property without sharing it, can I recover my share in the partition case itself?
• Does Rule 69 only cover partitioning land, or can I also use it to divide personal property I co-own with others?
• Does going through a court partition case under Rule 69 wipe out someone else's superior claim to the property, or stop us from just dividing it amicably ourselves?
• In a partition case, how are the costs of the proceeding, including the commissioners' pay, divided among the co-owners?
• In a building with separately-owned floors, who pays to maintain the shared entrance hallway and sanitary pipes?
• What can I do with my share in property I co-own without asking the others?
• What legally makes a property 'co-owned' rather than owned by one person alone?
• Can a co-owner demand a physical split of the property even if dividing it would make it useless?
• In a building where each story has a different owner, who maintains the staircases?

Mortgage, Foreclosure & Redemption

• In an antichresis, must the creditor apply the harvest or rent he collects to the interest first before the principal?
• In an antichresis, if I fail to pay, how can the creditor collect - can he foreclose like a mortgage?
• If the buyer of my undivided lot share later acquires the whole property, can he force me to redeem everything instead of just my share?
• If I buy mortgaged property, do I inherit the seller's mortgage debt along with it?
• Can a court rewrite a document to show the loan the parties really intended?
• Someone already redeemed the property that was sold on execution - can another creditor still redeem it from him?
• I am foreclosing a mortgage and the borrower is letting the property fall apart — can the court put it under a receiver while the case is pending?
• I sold land that was under mortgage - can the bank still foreclose on it while it is in the new owner's hands?
• I bought a property that I later found out was mortgaged — can the bank still foreclose on it in my hands?
• Can I mortgage a car, or can only land and buildings be mortgaged?
• Can I still exercise my right to repurchase against the buyer's heirs?
• Can the seller and buyer agree to additional conditions for a right to repurchase beyond what the Civil Code requires?
• Can the seller's creditors interfere with a right to repurchase?
• I sold my land and want a right to buy it back later. What must I do to reserve that right?
• Can a creditor just keep my property if I fail to pay a debt secured by its fruits?
• What is it called when a creditor takes the harvest or rent of my property instead of cash payments?
• When land had no fruits at the time of sale but there's a harvest by the time of redemption, what formula does Article 1617 use to divide it between the buyer and the redeeming seller?
• We agreed on a mortgage but the document we signed says absolute sale — can the instrument be reformed to reflect the true agreement?
• Does a real estate mortgage need to be registered to be enforceable against other people?
• Does the Civil Code cover everything about registering and foreclosing a real estate mortgage, or do other laws apply too?
• Does a judicial foreclosure sale wipe out the rights of people holding earlier mortgages on the same property?
• Article 1607 requires a court order before a buyer consolidates ownership of unredeemed real property — does that same requirement apply if what was sold with a right to repurchase was personal property, like a car?
• Does repurchased property come back free of mortgages the buyer created?
• The government expropriated my mortgaged land - does the mortgage attach to the compensation I receive?
• Does a real estate mortgage also cover the rents and income from the property?
• My mortgaged building burned down - does the mortgage reach the fire insurance payout?
• The seller of a pacto de retro property died. Can each heir redeem only his proportional share?
• What happens if I fail to redeem my property within one year of the execution sale?
• Do the general rules on execution sales apply to a judicial foreclosure sale, or is foreclosure governed entirely on its own?
• After my mortgaged property is sold at a judicial foreclosure sale, in what order does the money get distributed?
• After a judicial foreclosure sale, how and when does the certificate of title actually get transferred to the buyer?
• If only part of my mortgage debt has come due, can the whole property still be sold at once in a judicial foreclosure?
• What are the ways a sale with a right of repurchase comes to an end?
• How many days do I have to exercise my right of legal redemption after learning of the sale?
• I sold my land under a repurchase deal but kept possession as a lessee, does that make it an equitable mortgage?
• I sold only my co-ownership share with right to repurchase, can the buyer force me to redeem the whole property?
• I sold the property but bound myself to keep paying its taxes, is it really an equitable mortgage?
• I sold my property with a right to repurchase for a price far below its value, is it really an equitable mortgage?
• Our mortgage names several borrowers who are only jointly, not solidarily, liable - does that make the mortgage divisible?
• Several of us sold an undivided lot together with a right to repurchase. Can one of us redeem more than his own share?
• If I'm filing a judicial foreclosure case against a mortgagor who defaulted, what details does my complaint need to include?
• The foreclosure sale did not cover my whole loan — can the lender still collect the balance from me?
• Someone lent me the purchase price and the title was put in the lender's name as security — can I redeem and compel a conveyance to me?
• Can a mortgage contract validly forbid the owner from ever selling the mortgaged property?
• My mortgage contract says I cannot sell the property while the loan is unpaid — is that clause legally binding?
• If the buyer leased out the property before I redeemed it, do I have to honor that lease after I get the property back?
• My deed says absolute sale, not a sale with right to repurchase, can it still be declared an equitable mortgage?
• I bought a property under a sale with right of redemption. Can I evict the existing tenant before the seller's redemption period expires?
• My pacto de retro buyer sold the land twice over. Does my right to repurchase follow the property through each successive transfer?
• I put up several different properties as collateral, each covering a specific part of my loan - can I get one released once I finish paying that part?
• When can the buyer at a judicial foreclosure sale take possession of the property?
• Can I buy back my land after it is sold at an execution sale, and how long do I have?
• We agreed in our pacto de retro that I have fifteen years to repurchase. Is that valid?
• I sold land with a right to repurchase but we never agreed on the period. How long do I have to exercise that right?
• I had a court attachment annotated on a parcel of land — does that give me priority over creditors whose claims arose or were registered after my attachment?
• How long does a seller have to buy back property under a sale with right to repurchase?
• If a 'deed of sale' over land was really meant to secure a loan, can a court treat it as a mortgage instead?
• Can I put up my own land in an antichresis to secure someone else's debt, the way a third party can pledge or mortgage their property?
• I made an absolute conveyance of my property only to secure a debt — can I demand reconveyance once I pay?
• Someone offered me a mortgage on land he claimed to own but did not - can he be held criminally liable?
• Someone paid for my property and took title only to secure a loan, can I get it back by repaying?
• The buyer retained part of the purchase price for himself, does that turn my sale into an equitable mortgage?
• The buyer under my pacto de retro sold the land to someone else, can I still redeem it from the new owner?
• The deed calls it a sale but our real intention was to secure a loan, how will a court treat the transaction?
• My co-owner sold his share to a stranger without sending me a written notice. Can I still redeem even after thirty days?
• How much time does the court give me to pay my mortgage debt before the property is sold in a judicial foreclosure?
• Does the Civil Code on sales yield to the Mortgage Law and the Land Registration Act when there is a conflict?
• Both the registered mortgagee and an unpaid contractor claim priority on the same building — if the building is not enough for both, how are they paid?
• We signed a real estate mortgage but never registered it - is it still valid between me and the lender?
• If I never annotated my right to repurchase on the title, is a later buyer who purchased in good faith still bound by it?
• After the repurchase period lapsed we signed a new instrument extending it, does that turn the sale into a mortgage?
• My co-sellers and I sold an undivided immovable with right to repurchase, can I redeem the whole thing alone?
• The law itself gives me a mortgage lien over someone's property, but nothing was ever formally executed or recorded — what exactly can I do about that?
• What is legal redemption, and who has the right to exercise it?
• What law governs the form and validity of a mortgage in the Philippines?
• When I buy under a pacto de retro sale, do I acquire the seller's rights and actions over the property?
• When will a court treat a sale as a mortgage in disguise?
• When it is doubtful whether a sale with right to repurchase is really a mortgage, which way does a court lean?
• Which pledge and mortgage rules also apply to an antichresis agreement?
• Who gets the fruits of the property when it is repurchased?

Donations & Gifts

• Can I accept a donation after the donor has already died?
• If I receive a donation, am I liable for the donor's debts?
• If a donation to a legally incapacitated person is disguised as a sale or other contract, is the donation still void?
• At what point in time must a donor have the legal capacity to make a donation for the donation to be valid?
• Can a donee accept a donation through an agent who only has a general power of attorney but no specific authority to accept donations?
• Can a donation be legally made to a minor, or does someone else have to accept it on the child's behalf?
• Can a guardian or trustee donate the property of their ward or beneficiary?
• Can a guardian give away property that belongs to the person under their guardianship?
• Can a minor or someone incapable of entering into contracts be a donee, and who accepts the donation on their behalf?
• Can a donation be made in favor of a child that has been conceived but not yet born?
• If a person is disqualified from inheriting by will from the donor, does that disqualification also prevent the person from receiving a donation inter vivos?
• If a donation is burdened with the donor's debts, can I be made to pay more than the property is worth?
• Can I donate property that I don't own yet but expect to acquire in the future?
• Can I give property to a public officer by reason of their office?
• Can I give away everything I own during my lifetime?
• Can someone accept a donation on my behalf?
• Can I attach a condition that donated property will revert to me or to someone else?
• How long do I have to revoke a gift on the ground of ingratitude?
• How long do I have to revoke a donation after a child is born or appears?
• What is the legal difference between a donation given to reward someone's past services and one that comes with conditions attached?
• If a simple donation contains an illegal or impossible condition, does that condition void the entire donation?
• If a donation requires the recipient to pay the donor's debts, does that cover debts the donor takes on later too?
• If a donation inter vivos is subject to a suspensive condition that may not occur until after the donor is expected to have died, does it become a donation mortis causa?
• If a donation is revoked, does the donee also have to return the fruits or income earned from the property?
• Can I donate property but reserve the right to take back part of it later?
• I donated property to someone but he was only to hold it, not enjoy it — is there an implied trust?
• If property donated to me is taken away by a third party, can I claim against the donor?
• Can I donate to a disqualified person by putting the property in someone else's name?
• If I accept a donated house only after the donor has already died, does that acceptance still count?
• If a donor revokes a donation because he adopted a child rather than because a biological child was born, is the amount clawed back calculated the same way?
• If I become incapacitated after making a donation, is the donation still valid?
• The donee sold the property before I revoked for ingratitude — can I recover anything?
• If the person I want to give a gift to dies before accepting it, can the donation still take effect?
• I donated property to someone with a condition that they pay a monthly allowance to my elderly parent — if the donee fails to pay, do I have a preferred claim on the donated property?
• What formalities does the law require before a donation of land or a house is legally valid?
• I want to give my house now but keep it until I die — is that a donation or a will?
• When a donation is revoked because a child is born, how much of the property comes back?
• If I mistakenly donate the same property to two different people, whose claim wins?
• If a donor intends a donation to take effect during his lifetime but delivery will only happen after he dies, is it still a donation inter vivos?
• If I donate the same thing to two different persons on different dates, which donee has the better right to the property?
• I attached an impossible condition to a gift — does that make the whole donation void?
• Is a donation given in return for services or with a burden attached treated as an ordinary contract?
• Is a donation between a man and his mistress or lover valid?
• Is a donation made to a public officer, or to the officer's spouse, children, or parents, because of that officer's official position valid?
• If a donor gives property subject to the condition that the donation is revoked if the donor survives the donee, is that donation inter vivos or mortis causa?
• Is there a limit to how much of my property I can give away as gifts?
• If I accept a donated immovable in a separate public document, must the donor be notified of it?
• I donated property when I had no children — can I revoke it now that I have a child?
• Can I revoke a donation against someone who publicly accused me of a crime, even a crime I actually committed?
• Can I revoke a donation if the person I gave it to commits an offence against me?
• I donated land on condition the donee build something, and they didn't — can I take it back?
• Can I take back a donation if the recipient unfairly refuses to support me?
• When a donation is revoked because a child is born, must the donee return the actual property or its value?
• Is a donation made between two people who were engaged in adultery or concubinage at the time valid?
• What is the consequence if the donee fails to accept a donation personally or through a duly authorized representative?
• When is a transfer of property considered a remuneratory donation rather than an ordinary gift?
• What is the difference between a donation that takes effect upon death and one that takes effect during the donor's lifetime?
• What rules govern a donation that imposes a burden on the donee equal to or less than the value of the thing donated?
• At what exact moment is a donation considered perfected and legally binding?
• When does a donation become legally binding on the donor?
• Who is legally capable of making a donation?
• From what point do the fruits of donated property belong to the donee when the donation is accepted before delivery?
• Who is legally allowed to accept a donation?
• Is there any general rule on who may accept a donation, and are there specific persons the law disqualifies from accepting?
• If a donation was made between persons guilty of adultery or concubinage, who has standing to file the action to have it declared void?
• Do I need a written document to give someone a gift of personal property?

Builders, Accession & Improvements

• If land under usufruct has an easement in its favor, does the usufructuary get to enjoy that easement too?
• Under the right of accession, does a property owner also become the owner of the offspring of his animals and the crops from his land?
• If I joined my accessory item to someone else's principal thing without permission, do I lose the item I incorporated?
• When two joined things are worth different amounts and neither is an ornament of the other, which one is treated as the principal thing?
• If the artistic or scientific value of a finished work far exceeds the material used, can the material owner still take the work away from the maker?
• Is a landowner who chose to keep a bad-faith builder's structure also entitled to damages from that builder?
• What happens to a house built in bad faith on someone else's land?
• Is a bad-faith builder entitled to any reimbursement at all before I take back my land?
• What can a landowner do when someone has built, planted, or sowed on his land in bad faith?
• What happens if I attach my property to someone else's without their permission and in bad faith?
• In an adjunction case, if both the owner of the principal thing and the owner of the accessory acted in bad faith, how are their rights resolved?
• What happens if both the person who built on my land and I, as the landowner, knew the construction was improper?
• Can a possessor in bad faith remove the luxury or ornamental improvements they added?
• Can a builder who genuinely believed the land was his still be made to pay damages for being careless?
• If a neighbor builds a view window too close to my land, can he gain a permanent right to keep it by prescription?
• If the landlord refuses to pay for the useful improvements I made, can I remove them?
• Can I demand that things joined together be separated again?
• If a landowner builds with someone else's materials in good faith, can the material owner take them back?
• Are the monthly rentals I receive from my house and the annual pension from an annuity I hold considered civil fruits of property?
• Do I own everything my land produces or that becomes attached to it?
• Does sentimental value count when property is valued in an accession dispute?
• Can a landowner force a good-faith builder to buy the land even if the land is worth far more than the building?
• What are the landowner's choices when someone has built on his land in good faith?
• If I built on someone's land in good faith and the land is worth far more than my building, can I simply pay rent instead of being forced to buy the land?
• If I mix my crop with my neighbor's by mistake, in good faith, whose rules decide who owns the resulting mixture?
• If I possessed property in good faith and made improvements, can I take them when I have to give the property back?
• If someone deliberately mixes my grain or produce with their own in bad faith, what are my rights over the mixture?
• If my harvested grain accidentally gets mixed with my neighbor's, who owns the resulting mixture?
• If someone used my materials without consent, can I demand identical replacement instead of money?
• I made improvements on property I received through a mistaken payment, honestly believing it was mine — who pays for those improvements when I am made to return it?
• Are rice harvested from a farmed field and vegetables grown through cultivation considered industrial fruits of the land?
• Is work or improvement found on my land presumed to be mine?
• If a landowner knows someone is building on his land in good faith but stays silent instead of objecting, does the landowner lose the right to choose what happens to the structure?
• If a landowner built with my materials while knowing they were not his to use, can I demand them back even if it destroys what he built?
• If someone builds on my land in bad faith, can I claim damages on top of keeping what they built?
• If a landowner saw someone building on his land and said nothing, is the landowner considered to have acted in bad faith?
• What happens if a landowner builds on his own land but uses someone else's construction materials without permission?
• Can I force someone who built on my land in bad faith to demolish what they built?
• Will a possessor in good faith be reimbursed for luxury renovations or decorative improvements they added to the property?
• When I am owed indemnity for materials joined to another's thing without my consent, can I choose to receive a replacement in kind instead of cash?
• If a landowner already had a bad-faith structure demolished under Article 450, can I still go after him for the value of my materials?
• Are the young of cattle I raise on my land and the wild grass that grows naturally on it considered natural fruits of the property?
• Can a landowner still sue for damages under civil liability even if the builder was in good faith when building on his land?
• My neighbor deliberately mixed his inferior stock with mine so it could not be separated — what am I entitled to?
• Can I demand payment for improvements I made to property I was possessing if those improvements no longer exist when I return it?
• A painting has been applied to someone else's canvas — which is the principal thing, the artwork or the canvas?
• The owner of the principal thing incorporated my accessory item without my consent — can I demand its separation even if that destroys the principal?
• Can someone who improved a property while possessing it demand reimbursement before giving it back?
• What happens if someone builds a house on my land in good faith?
• Someone used my materials in bad faith to make a new object — can I take the finished product without paying the maker anything?
• If my material is worth more than the new thing made from it, can I take the finished product even if the maker acted in good faith?
• I supplied the materials for a building put up on someone else's land and was never paid — can I collect from the landowner?
• If a tenant makes useful improvements to a rented unit, can the landlord keep them without paying for them?
• If two movable items belonging to different owners get combined into a single object without bad faith, who ends up owning it?
• When two things belonging to different owners get joined, which one is the principal?
• Two things belonging to different owners are joined together — who owns the accessory item and what must the new owner pay?
• If a builder uses construction materials that belong to someone else without paying for them, who is responsible to that material owner?
• If I use someone else's lumber in good faith to build furniture, who ends up owning the furniture?
• If a private contractor builds public infrastructure, does the water within its operational zone become public property?
• What is the difference between natural, industrial and civil fruits?
• Who benefits from improvements that came about through nature or the passage of time?
• If a third person paid to grow and harvest fruits on property, must the owner who gets the fruits reimburse those expenses?
• Who gets the standing crops when a possessor's good faith ends?
• Who owns a building or planting put up on my land by someone else?
• If a painting is made on someone else's canvas, who ends up owning it — the painter or the owner of the canvas?
• Who legally owns the rent, harvest, or other income that a piece of property produces?
• The court awarded me the land, but someone else planted and tended the crops standing on it — do I have to pay for their expenses?

Water, Rivers & Floods

• If a river changes course and abandons its old bed, who are the owners of the vacated riverbed?
• Can I acquire the right to use public water by using it continuously for ten years without a government concession?
• Can the landowner whose land borders an abandoned riverbed buy it back from the government, and what price applies?
• My riverbank lot has grown larger over the years because the river keeps depositing soil — who owns the additional land?
• If I dig a deep well or install a pump and bring up underground water, who owns that water?
• If I abandon the water I artificially brought to the surface and let it flow freely, does it become public water?
• A flood tore off a portion of my land and deposited it on my neighbor's property — how long do I have to recover it?
• Can I build a dam that rests on my neighbour's riverbank if I am not the owner of it?
• Can a company or a neighbor enter my property to search for or draw water without my permission?
• Can I demand that the owner of a riverbank allow me to build a stop lock or sluice gate in the stream bed to irrigate my land?
• If I have water I can use on my own estate and I need to channel it through my neighbor's land to reach mine, do I have that right and must I pay?
• Can the owner of higher land carry out works that increase the natural water flowing onto my lower land?
• Can someone enter my private property to look for underground water sources or to use them without my permission?
• Can my neighbor be ordered to clear rocks or debris on his land that are blocking the flow of a stream that drains through it, if the blockage is harming my property?
• If an animal path easement is being compulsorily established just so animals can reach water, is the maximum width narrower than an ordinary animal trail?
• Rainwater collects in my enclosed courtyard with no outlet — can I drain it onto adjoining land?
• If one landowner's negligence caused a river to overflow and damage the neighbors, who bears the cost of the repair works?
• Can I build something on my rain-water channel that's flimsy enough to wash out in a flood and hurt my neighbor's property?
• Is obstructing a public highway or a body of water considered a legal nuisance?
• If a new island forms in a non-navigable river next to my property, do I get to own part of it?
• Who owns an island that forms in a river running past my property?
• If a new island in a non-navigable river is closer to one bank than the other, who owns the whole island?
• Who owns an island that gradually accumulates by alluvial deposits in a river that is not navigable or floatable?
• If several landowners benefit from river-control or drainage works, must they all share in the cost of building them?
• If I own a spring, can I cut off the flow of water that the lower-lying neighbor has long been using?
• If my private riverbank land is needed for a towpath for river navigation, must I first be indemnified?
• Even if my roof water falls on my own land, must I keep it from causing damage to my neighbor's property?
• If a landowner refuses to rebuild flood-defense works on his land, can the affected neighbors carry out the work themselves on his property?
• My neighbor's roof dumps its rainwater onto my lot — can I force him to change it?
• Can someone who does not own the land dig on it to search for underground water sources?
• Must I maintain the flood-control or water-diversion works on my land, or can I let them fall into disrepair even if neighbors will be harmed?
• Do I need government permission before I can dig on public land to search for underground water?
• If extraordinary floods temporarily cover parts of my land bordering a lagoon, do I lose ownership of those parts when the water recedes?
• If a natural pond on my property shrinks over time, do I own the dry land that's left behind?
• My water concession has expired — must I apply for a new one, or does the right also disappear if I simply stopped using the water for five years?
• Can the owner of a private rain-water channel make constructions that redirect the water in a way that damages other people?
• Is rainwater that falls on my private land mine to use, or does it belong to the government?
• I want to build a rainwater reservoir on my own land — are there any restrictions that prevent me from doing so?
• Am I allowed to build a reservoir on my own property to collect rainwater?
• If I stop using water from a public source, after how many years do I lose my right to it?
• The river split into branches and left part of my lot isolated on the other side — do I still own that piece?
• If a river changes course and cuts a brand-new channel through my private land, who owns that new riverbed?
• A river changed course by itself and now cuts through my titled property — do I lose the strip it now occupies?
• If a river changes its course, who owns the dried-up riverbed it leaves behind?
• If a river gradually deposits soil onto my land along its bank, do I own the new land?
• If a river splits into branches and leaves part of my land isolated, do I still own that isolated portion?
• A river suddenly tore off part of my land and deposited it on my neighbor's property — can I get it back?
• Are rivers, brooks, and springs considered public property or can a private landowner own them?
• Am I required to design my roof so rainwater doesn't drain onto my neighbor's property?
• Can I channel water from my own source across my neighbour's land to reach my property?
• I have a spring on my land — at what point does the water from that spring become public property?
• If a spring naturally rises on my land, can I use all of its water, or does it belong to the public once it flows off my property?
• Can I stop rainwater from my neighbor's higher property from draining naturally onto my lower-lying land?
• Who owns water found underground beneath my privately owned land?
• What law applies to a water rights or irrigation dispute that the Civil Code's chapter on waters does not directly cover?
• If floodwaters carry an uprooted tree onto someone else's land, who owns the tree?
• Is underground water beneath government-owned land treated as public property?
• If I recover trees carried by floodwaters onto someone else's land, must I pay that person for gathering and storing them?
• If floodwaters swept away my trees and deposited them on another property, within what period must I claim them?
• Is wastewater flowing out of a public fountain or sewer considered public property?
• If I hold a government concession to use public water, can I use it in a way that harms third persons' existing water rights?
• Does my right to use public water depend on what my government concession document says, or on how I've actually used the water?
• If the Civil Code doesn't answer my water rights question, what law fills the gap?
• Who is responsible for maintaining a drainage ditch shared between two neighboring properties?

Expropriation & Public Property

• Can a city or municipality sell one of its streets to a private developer?
• What is the legal distinction between the public-use property and the patrimonial property of a city or municipality?
• Can a private person acquire government land through long possession — does prescription run against land of public dominion?
• Can I file a counterclaim against the government in an expropriation case?
• Can a private individual claim ownership over a road built by the government?
• Can the government sell or lease land that it owns?
• If the government expropriates my land, do the Civil Code's rules on sale price and delivery still apply?
• Does the law on sales apply if the government expropriates my land?
• If land ended up in a foreigner's hands in violation of the constitutional restriction on foreign land ownership, does that kind of case follow the same escheat procedure as an estate with no heirs, and where would it be filed?
• If I appeal the expropriation ruling against my property, can the government still take possession while my appeal is pending?
• In an expropriation case, what exactly do the court-appointed commissioners do, and how do they handle damage to the part of my land not being taken?
• How long do the commissioners in an expropriation case have to submit their report, and can I object to their findings?
• If several people are fighting over who owns the land being expropriated, where does the compensation money go while that dispute gets sorted out?
• If the government wants to expropriate my land, what must its complaint state?
• After the objection period on the commissioners' report expires in my expropriation case, what can the court actually do with that report?
• If the property being expropriated belongs to a minor or an incompetent person, who acts for them in the proceedings?
• Once the expropriation judgment is final, do I need to do anything to formally transfer title of the land to the government?
• If I lose my objection to the government's right to expropriate my property, can I still appeal, and does that stop the case?
• After the expropriation judgment is issued, when exactly can the government actually enter and use my land?
• In an expropriation case, who is responsible for paying the commissioners' fees and other costs of the proceeding?
• Can the government take possession of my land before paying me full compensation in an expropriation case?
• Can the government take my land for a public project without paying me first?
• How do I oppose the government's expropriation of my property?
• I left an objection out of my answer in the expropriation case — can I still add it later?
• I never filed an answer in the expropriation case — can I still argue for a higher price and share in the award?
• If a private contract gets recorded in a government registry because the law requires it, does that make it a 'public document' for evidence purposes?
• What is needed to convert land from public dominion into patrimonial property that the government can sell?
• What happens to the property of a public institution when it is dissolved and its charter is silent on the matter?
• Which properties of a local government unit count as property for public use and are therefore outside private commerce?
• What makes property public dominion rather than privately owned?
• Once government property is no longer used for a public purpose, can it be sold to a private buyer?
• Who determines how much the government must pay for my expropriated land?
• Who owns the roads, plazas and public spaces in a city or municipality?

Neighbors, Walls & Nuisance

• Are factories and shops automatically considered a nuisance to neighbors under Philippine law?
• Do I need special permits before building or planting near a military fort or fortified area in the Philippines?
• If my neighbor made our party wall thicker, not just taller, do I have to pay for the land that extra thickness took up if I want to buy into it?
• Can a factory or shop operate next to homes even if it causes some annoyance?
• Can a neighbor demand a path across my land for animals or watering?
• If I take it upon myself to abate a nuisance and it turns out the courts later say it wasn't a nuisance after all, can I be sued for it?
• Can I fence off my property even if a neighbor has an easement over part of it?
• Can I build a house or plant crops near a military fort or fortified place without any special permission?
• Can I cut off the branches and roots of my neighbor's tree that reach into my property?
• Can I cut my neighbor's overhanging branches myself, or may I only demand that he cut them?
• Can I demand that my neighbor uproot trees planted too close to the boundary of my land?
• May I open a window or any aperture in a party wall without the consent of the co-owner?
• Can I open a window or vent in the wall I share with my neighbor?
• Can I personally file a case over a public nuisance, or does only the city government have that right?
• Can I require my neighbor to let workers and scaffolding onto his lot while I repair my house?
• Can I remove or destroy something on my neighbour's land that is a nuisance to me?
• If a nuisance on my neighbor's property has already been stopped, can I still sue for the harm it caused me while it lasted?
• Can I stop contributing to a shared party wall's upkeep by renouncing my part-ownership of it?
• Am I allowed to remove or destroy a public nuisance myself without first going to court?
• Can my neighbor build a piggery, furnace, or chemical store right beside my house?
• Can my neighbor close the restricted light openings I made in our shared wall if he later acquires co-ownership of it?
• My neighbors have always said the old fence line has been the boundary between our two properties for generations — can that kind of general community belief actually be used as evidence in a boundary dispute?
• Can adjoining owners agree to waive the required safe distances for a dangerous or noxious structure?
• Can I escape paying for party wall repairs by renouncing my share of it, even if the wall is actually holding up my own house?
• My neighbor's large tree is leaning and threatens to fall on my yard — can I force him to cut it down?
• If I plan to demolish my house, can I avoid paying for repairs to the party wall it shares with my neighbor?
• What is the difference between a public nuisance and a private nuisance?
• If fruits from my tree naturally fall onto my neighbor's land, do those fruits belong to me or to my neighbor?
• Before abating a public nuisance myself, do I need a health officer's approval and police assistance?
• My neighbor's noisy workshop has been there for twenty years — does the passage of time make it legal?
• If my neighbor's nuisance has been going on for years without anyone complaining, does that make it legal now?
• If my neighbor raised the party wall higher at his own expense, can I later acquire part-ownership of the raised portion, and at what price?
• How close to my neighbor's property line am I legally allowed to put a window that looks directly over their land?
• How close to the property line can my neighbor build a window or balcony that looks onto my lot?
• How far from the boundary line must my neighbor plant his trees?
• How much of a shared party wall is each part-owner allowed to use?
• I bought a property with a nuisance the previous owner created — am I liable if I do not remove it?
• Is a fence, wall, or live hedge dividing two rural lands presumed to be owned in common?
• Is an agreement that allows excavations endangering my building or land valid?
• Is there a limit on the value of property I may destroy when abating a public nuisance myself?
• Before making excavations that could affect an adjacent land or building, must I notify the neighboring owners?
• Must I pay my neighbor for temporarily using his land for scaffolding while I repair my building?
• My neighbor is digging a deep excavation right beside my house — what protection do I have?
• Can I be stopped from using my own property in a way that injures my neighbor's rights?
• Can I force my neighbor to repair a wall that is in danger of collapsing onto my property?
• If I buy a property with an existing nuisance that the previous owner created, can I be held liable for not fixing it?
• If there's no specific ordinance setting the safe distance for a noxious business near my home, does that mean my neighbor can build it as close as he wants?
• Can something that offends public decency or morality, even without physical harm, legally count as a nuisance?
• Is a dividing wall between two gardens or yards in a city or town presumed to be a shared party wall too, not just walls between houses?
• If a private irrigation ditch or drain crosses my neighbor's land, can he claim ownership over the ditch itself?
• When I abate a private nuisance myself, do I have to follow the same strict procedure the law sets for abating a public nuisance, like getting a health officer's approval first?
• Can my neighbor ever lose the right to sue to stop a public nuisance just because they waited too long to complain about it?
• If only one of my neighbor's roof beams rests on our shared dividing wall and mine doesn't, does that prove the wall belongs only to him?
• What rules govern a party wall shared between two neighboring houses in the Philippines?
• If my house shares a dividing wall with my neighbor's house, is that wall presumed to be jointly owned?
• What signs would prove that a dividing wall between two houses actually belongs to only one neighbor, not both?
• Can I put a small opening for light in my own wall that adjoins my neighbour's property?
• Who pays to maintain a fence, hedge, or ditch that runs along the boundary between my property and my neighbor's?
• If a tree grew on its own near my property line without my neighbor planting it, can I still demand it be moved back to the legal distance?
• Can I stop my neighbour's noise, smoke, heat and offensive odours as a nuisance?
• My father's will authorized his executor to make excavations that would undermine my neighbor's retaining wall — is that testamentary provision enforceable?
• I bought land for a lump sum described by its boundaries, but the area inside is larger than the deed states. Do I get all of it?
• My neighbour raised our shared party wall at his own expense — can I use the added height?
• Can I take legal action against a neighbor whose machinery causes constant vibration or jarring that disturbs my property?
• What legal options do I have against a nuisance that affects the whole neighborhood, not just me?
• What can I legally do about a private nuisance affecting my property?
• What exterior signs of a dividing wall indicate that it is not a party wall but belongs to only one neighbor?
• What actually counts as a legal 'nuisance' that I can take action against?
• If I cannot observe the required distances for windows with views, what size of light-only openings may I make in my own wall?
• What kinds of nuisance can every building or parcel of land be subject to, and can an owner be prohibited from causing them?
• Who decides whether a public nuisance can be removed without going to court?
• Who files the lawsuit against a public nuisance?
• Who owns a ditch between two estates if the earth dug out was placed on only one side?
• My neighbour's tree drops fruit into my yard — who owns the fruit that falls?

Buying & Selling Property

• Someone started adversely possessing my land before I sold it to a buyer, and the prescriptive period finished only after the sale — is the seller liable to the buyer for eviction?
• Are the people legally barred from buying a property also barred from leasing it?
• I bought and was given land from someone who didn't own it yet, but he later obtained title — is it mine now?
• Someone is threatening to file a case to reclaim the property I just bought. Can I stop paying the balance while that threat exists?
• Can a buyer sue the seller if someone else later proves a better right to the property and evicts the buyer?
• I lost the property I bought because a court decided someone else owned it — must I appeal that judgment before I can sue my seller on his warranty against eviction?
• I waived the warranty against eviction knowing the risks and accepting the consequences — is the seller still liable if I am in fact evicted?
• My contract for a lot says the sale is automatically rescinded if I miss the payment deadline. Can I still pay after the deadline if the seller has not formally demanded rescission?
• I waived the warranty against eviction in the deed of sale without knowing the risk — what can I still recover from the seller after I am evicted?
• If the sale was faked just to end my lease, can the supposed buyer still evict me?
• Can a buyer with a right to repurchase take full ownership without a court order?
• If my agent already sold my land without written authority, can I still ratify the sale to make it valid?
• Can the buyer and seller agree in the contract to increase the seller's liability for eviction beyond what the law provides?
• Can a seller cancel a sale of land just because the buyer paid late?
• Can a tenant-farmer sell or transfer land awarded to him under Presidential Decree No. 27?
• Do the rules on a wrong land area also apply to sheriff or judicial sales?
• Does buying at a judicial or execution sale carry any warranty?
• If a sale of land was never registered, can it still be enforced against a buyer who later purchases the same land in good faith?
• Does an agent need written authority to sell someone else's land?
• Does signing a notarized deed of sale count as delivery even if I never physically took the property?
• Our verbal sale of land satisfies the Statute of Frauds but a public document is needed to register it — can I compel the other party to execute one?
• How do I formally make the seller a co-defendant in the case where someone is claiming the property I purchased?
• How long do I have to complain that the land area I bought was wrong?
• How long do I have to file an action based on an error in the area of property delivered to me in a sale?
• I bought a second-hand item in good faith and it turned out to be stolen — can the real owner take it back from me?
• I bought a thing from someone who did not own it yet but has since acquired title, is it now mine?
• I bought land with a notarized deed but never registered it — is my ownership safe against other claimants?
• We only had a verbal deal to sell a piece of land — is it enforceable in court?
• Is a verbal sale of land completely void, or only unenforceable until ratified?
• Is an unrecorded lease binding on a third person who later buys the property?
• We sold land through a private, unnotarized document instead of a public one — is the sale still valid between the buyer and me?
• In an equitable mortgage, is the rent or benefit the buyer receives treated as interest under the usury laws?
• I lost property I bought at a judicial sale because of a hidden defect. Can I claim damages from the judgment debtor?
• A sale contract says it is automatically rescinded for non-payment. Must the seller make a judicial or notarial demand before rescission takes effect?
• The land delivered to me has a greater area than what the contract stated — must I pay for the extra area?
• I bought land for a lump sum but the actual area turned out smaller than stated. Can I get a refund?
• I bought two adjoining lots together for one lump-sum price — does the same no-price-adjustment rule apply to both lots as a whole?
• Does the auction of my land on execution have to be published in a newspaper, or is posting enough?
• I am being sued by someone claiming the property I bought — must I bring the seller into that case before I can hold him liable for the warranty against eviction?
• If I bought lost or stolen movables in good faith at a public sale, must the owner reimburse me to recover them?
• If the house I'm renting gets sold to a new owner, can I be forced to move out right away?
• The hidden burden on the lot I bought is already recorded in the Registry of Property. Can I still rescind the sale?
• Part of the land I bought at a price per unit is of poorer quality than the contract promised. Can I rescind?
• I was evicted from only a part of the land I bought, but that part was so important I would not have bought the rest without it — can I rescind the entire sale?
• What if the prescriptive period that defeated my title finished running only after I bought?
• I bought property but it was later seized for unpaid taxes that the seller never told me about — is the seller liable to me for eviction?
• If my stolen property ends up with a buyer who purchased it in good faith, can I still get it back from them?
• Who owns the land if the same property was sold to two different buyers?
• The seller delivered land with a smaller area than stated in the unit-price contract — what are my options as the buyer?
• The seller knew of the eviction risk and sold in bad faith — what additional amounts can I claim beyond the value of the property?
• I am a seller and I have good reason to fear I will lose both the property and the unpaid price. Can I rescind right away?
• I'm a seller of land without any real fear of losing the property or the price — what's the process to rescind the sale for the buyer's non-payment?
• What happens if someone sells property they do not actually own?
• Is a seller still liable if the buyer later discovers unpaid real property taxes on the house?
• The purchase price stated in our deed of sale was simulated and did not reflect what was actually paid — is the sale void?
• I sold property while representing another person — can I later set up my own title against the buyer?
• The lot I bought turned out larger than stated. Can the seller charge me more?
• A court ruled that my pacto de retro was a true sale. Do I still have any time left to redeem?
• A neighbor is encroaching on part of the land I bought. Can I use that to suspend payment of the price?
• Two of us bought the same land but neither registered the sale. Who owns it?
• I bought two properties together and was evicted from one — can I rescind the sale of both if it is clear I would not have bought one without the other?
• I sold land on installment but the buyer never fully paid and is now insolvent — do I have a preferred claim on that same land over his other creditors?
• The land I bought produces income right after delivery but I have not paid yet. Do I owe interest on the unpaid price?
• I bought property in a sale with right to repurchase. Am I subrogated to the original seller's rights and actions over the property?
• I am a creditor of someone who sold his property with a right to repurchase. Can I redeem the property in his place if he won't?
• Our deed says the seller is not liable for eviction, but it turns out the seller knew of the problem and acted in bad faith — is that waiver valid?
• Can I enforce the seller's warranty against eviction before a final judgment has been rendered declaring that I lost the property?
• I was evicted from the property I bought — what can I recover from the seller under the warranty against eviction?
• I won my case but the losing party refuses to sign the deed the court ordered - can I still get title?
• What must be proven to bar someone from claiming land after he misled others about its ownership?
• What exactly must I pay to buy back property I sold with a right to repurchase?
• What rights does the buyer at an execution sale actually acquire, and as of what date?
• I bought property at a judicial execution sale and later lost it because of a better claim — is the judgment debtor liable to me for the eviction?
• In a sale, which party is responsible for paying the expenses of executing and registering the deed unless the contract says otherwise?

Lease, Rent & Eviction

• If I sublet my unit to someone else, am I still responsible to the landlord for the lease?
• Are agricultural-land tenants ejected under the same rules as ordinary renters?
• Are share-tenancy (kasama) farming arrangements governed by the Civil Code or by special agrarian laws?
• Can a court extend the lease of a month-to-month tenant who has already stayed for over a year?
• Can a farm tenant reduce the rent because the land turned out barren or the crops failed from an ordinary cause?
• Can a farm tenant get a rent reduction if a flood or typhoon destroys most of the harvest?
• If harvested crops are lost after being gathered, can the farm tenant still ask for a rent reduction?
• Can a guardian sign a registrable lease of a minor's real estate without special authority?
• Can a landlord evict a tenant for violating a condition in the lease, like a no-pets or no-subletting clause?
• Can a landlord go straight after the subtenant for rent, or only after the main tenant defaults?
• My tenant broke the terms of the lease - can I rescind the contract and claim damages, or only claim damages?
• Can a lease of property have an indefinite period with no fixed end date?
• If the new buyer already knew about my lease when he bought the land, can he still terminate it?
• Can a share-tenant (kasama) be ejected at the landowner's will?
• I'm renting property — can I assert ownership of it against my landlord?
• Can a tenant or borrower claim ownership of the very property he leased or received?
• Can a tenant remove the ornamental fixtures he installed when the lease ends?
• If a stranger trespasses on the property I rent, can I sue the intruder directly myself?
• Can decades of occupying land as a tenant or caretaker ever ripen into ownership?
• Can an incoming farm tenant start preparatory work on the land before the outgoing tenant finishes harvesting?
• Can I cancel my lease and sue my landlord for damages if he breaches the contract?
• If urgent repairs make the home I rent unlivable, can I cancel the lease?
• Can a tenant claim damages from the landlord for a breach while keeping the lease in force?
• Can I evict a tenant who puts my unit to an unstipulated use that causes it to deteriorate?
• My rented home has become dangerous to live in - can I move out at once even though I signed a waiver?
• Can a lease of real estate be recorded in the Registry of Property?
• Can a tenant run a business out of a unit that was rented for use as a home?
• If a new owner ends my unrecorded farm lease, can I still gather this year's harvest before leaving?
• Can my landlord change or renovate the property while I am still renting it?
• Can my landlord present evidence that I actually received the unit in bad condition, even though the lease is silent about it?
• Can my landlord choose to just pay me for the decorations I put up instead of letting me take them out when I move?
• Can a tenant stay in the unit while appealing an ejectment order against them?
• Can a tenant sublease the unit to someone else without the landlord's permission?
• I occupy property sold at an execution sale but I am not the judgment debtor, so can the sheriff put the buyer in possession over me?
• Do I need to go to court to end my lease over a dangerous dwelling, or is notifying my landlord enough?
• I received a summons in an ejectment case — how many days do I have to answer?
• What happens if the defendant never answers the ejectment complaint?
• Can the defendant delay my ejectment case with a motion to dismiss or postponements?
• Do I need to make a demand to pay and vacate before filing an ejectment case against my tenant?
• When a lease is impliedly renewed after it expired, do the other terms of the old contract still apply?
• Does a caretaker or tenant possess the property in their own right?
• Does a fixed-term lease end automatically on the last day, or must the landlord send a notice first?
• Does a good-faith possessor keep the rent from the property only in proportion to the time they possessed it?
• If a guarantor secured my original lease, does the guarantee carry over into an impliedly renewed lease?
• Does a manager need a special power to enter a lease that will be recorded in the Registry of Property?
• If a subtenant paid rent in advance, does it count against what the landlord can claim from him?
• Does a tenant being ejected under a legal ground still get the benefit of the statutory lease period?
• If I lose the ejectment case, do I lose ownership of the property too?
• Does the warranty against hidden defects apply to leased property, not just to sold property?
• I won the ejectment appeal in the RTC — can the occupant delay eviction again by appealing further?
• My tenant appealed an ejectment ruling just to delay. Can the higher court still order him evicted while the appeal is pending?
• My lease expired and the landlord wants me out. Am I entitled to the statutory periods in the Civil Code before he can eject me?
• The person I had evicted by court order went back onto the property — what can I do?
• My landlord leased me a store along with the fixtures inside. Does the Civil Code treat the lease of those fixtures as part of the lease of the store?
• I rented a furnished house. The lease of the premises is one year. How long does the lease of the furniture last?
• What are the legal grounds to evict a tenant in the Philippines?
• How do I stop my eviction while my appeal is pending?
• How quickly must the court decide an ejectment case?
• How long does a lease of farm land last if the parties never fixed a period?
• How long is my lease considered if rent is paid weekly or daily and no period was set?
• How much can a landlord collect from a subtenant for the main tenant's unpaid rent?
• How is the price of land calculated when it is transferred to a tenant-farmer under land reform?
• If I was evicted during the appeal and then won, can I recover damages?
• Is a house I built on land I'm renting considered immovable property?
• Is a landlord legally required to keep the tenant in peaceful enjoyment of the unit for the whole lease?
• If I get a refund because the leased thing was defective, is it reduced for the time I already used it?
• Is a lease of a thing valid if the parties never agreed on a definite rent or price?
• Is a subtenant directly answerable to the original landlord for how the leased property is used?
• If the lease does not describe the unit's condition, is the tenant presumed to have received it in good condition?
• If I pay rent monthly and we never fixed a lease period, is my lease considered month-to-month?
• Is there a maximum number of years a lease can run in the Philippines?
• Can my landlord force me to tolerate urgent repairs during my lease?
• Is a landlord liable if a tenant gets hurt because of a dangerous defect in the rented building?
• Is my landlord responsible if a stranger trespasses on the property I am renting?
• Does my landlord's 'mere trespass' defense still hold up if the person disturbing my rented unit claims he actually has a right to it?
• Can a tenant withhold rent if the landlord refuses to fix a serious problem with the unit?
• What is a landlord legally required to do for a tenant in the Philippines?
• Can my landlord raise the rent in the middle of a fixed-term lease?
• Is a lease still enforceable if the landlord and tenant never signed a written contract?
• Can I assign my lease to someone else without asking my landlord?
• My landlord is not keeping me in peaceful enjoyment of the property I rent. Can I suspend my rental payments?
• My landlord refuses to make necessary repairs. Can I stop paying rent until he does?
• My landlord wants to renovate the unit I rent in a way that will impair how I use it. Can he do that?
• Am I responsible if my guests or household members damage the place I am renting?
• Must a landlord deliver the rented unit in a condition fit for the use it was intended for?
• Must a tenant tell the landlord about a trespasser or a needed repair, and is he liable if he stays silent?
• Must an outgoing farm tenant let the incoming tenant prepare the land while he finishes his harvest?
• The person I am ejecting claims he owns the property — does that stop the ejectment case?
• Do the Civil Code's partnership rules apply to a share-tenancy farming arrangement?
• My lease is silent on when and where I pay rent. What rule determines where and when payment must be made?
• What is the legal reasoning behind the Philippines' agrarian land reform program?
• My rented unit was destroyed by fire. Do I still have to pay rent?
• The unit I rent was partly destroyed by a fortuitous event - can I get a rent reduction instead of ending the lease?
• Are share-farming arrangements for agricultural land governed by the ordinary lease provisions of the Civil Code?
• Will my ejectment case be dismissed if I skipped the barangay conciliation?
• What happens legally if I keep staying in a rental after my landlord has objected?
• If I'm directly liable to the landlord as a subtenant, do I still owe separate obligations to the person who subleased the unit to me?
• Can my tenant deny my ownership of the property I leased to him?
• What happens if a tenant-farmer misses a land amortization payment under Presidential Decree No. 27?
• Does a tenant-farmer get his land title right away, or only after joining a farmers' cooperative?
• If the rented property is destroyed by a typhoon or other event beyond my control, do I still have to pay for it before returning it?
• Am I liable as a tenant if the rented property gets damaged during my lease?
• Am I liable as a tenant if I don't tell my landlord that someone is trying to take over part of the property?
• What happens if a tenant keeps living in the unit after the lease term has already expired?
• My tenant appealed the ejectment judgment but stopped depositing the monthly rent — can I have him evicted now?
• Can a landlord evict a tenant for unpaid rent without a court case?
• I agreed by word of mouth to lease property for three years — does that have to be in writing?
• What is a tenant legally required to do under a lease of a house or apartment?
• What condition must I return a rented property in once my lease ends?
• What counts as an extraordinary fortuitous event that lets a farm tenant reduce the rent?
• What must a supersedeas bond cover in an ejectment appeal?
• If the lease says nothing about where and when to pay rent, what governs the place and time?
• Where do I deposit the monthly rent while an ejectment appeal is pending?
• Which court do I file an ejectment case in?
• Who is supposed to pay for repairs on a rented house, the landlord or the tenant?
• Who pays the expenses of executing the lease contract, the landlord or the tenant?

Possession, Prescription & Good Faith

• I acknowledged the true owner's right over the land I was possessing — did that wipe out my prescription period?
• Can someone acquire land through prescription even without good faith or a valid title?
• If both the landowner and the builder were in bad faith, what happens to the builder's rights to what was built?
• If someone possessed my property in bad faith, do they have to hand over the income or harvest it produced while they had it?
• Are necessary expenses like essential repairs refunded even to a possessor in bad faith?
• Can a minor legally acquire possession of property in the Philippines?
• Can a mistake on a doubtful or difficult question of law be the basis of good faith?
• Can the ownership of land be acquired by occupation the same way movable things can be?
• When I take back property from a good-faith possessor, can I choose to pay their useful expenses or the increase in value?
• During a forcible-entry case, can I get a court order restoring me to possession right away?
• Can someone who has already acquired property through prescription voluntarily give that up?
• Can I become the owner of land simply by occupying it, the way I could with an abandoned object?
• Can someone else acquire possession on my behalf?
• Instead of paying cultivation expenses, can the owner let a good-faith possessor finish gathering the growing crops?
• The plaintiff filed a case to stop my prescription period but then abandoned it — was my prescription interrupted?
• What is the deadline to file a lawsuit if no other specific prescriptive period applies to it?
• What happens to a co-owner's prescription period if another co-owner files a case that interrupts possession?
• Is possession lost if the possessor abandons the thing?
• Do I lose possession of a thing if I assign or give it away to another person?
• Do I need to be in physical possession of my land to sue to remove a cloud on its title?
• Do I still possess my domesticated animals if they roam but keep the habit of returning to my premises?
• Does someone who occupied my property in bad faith have to pay for income he never actually collected but could have?
• If I've been allowed to stay on someone's land purely out of their tolerance, does that time count toward acquiring it by prescription?
• The person who has my stolen car might already own it through the shorter four-year prescription rule, even though I still technically have eight years to sue to recover it — which one controls?
• I've possessed someone else's personal property for eight years without ever really having good faith about it — do I still legally own it now?
• I have no title and no deed to the land I have been occupying for decades — can I still acquire it by prescription?
• How does the law count the first and last day when computing a prescription period?
• If someone seizes my property by force or threats and I object, can they use that seizure to establish legal possession?
• I thought I had a right to possess property — at what point does my good faith end under the Civil Code?
• What counts as good faith when you are claiming ownership of property by prescription?
• Can a good-faith possessor remove ornamental items they added if the new possessor prefers to pay for them instead?
• Can a possessor in good faith keep the income a property earned before being forced to give it up?
• In a dispute over property, who has the burden of proving that the other party possessed in bad faith?
• I bought land from someone who was not the real owner — can I still claim good faith for ordinary prescription?
• If I inherit property, am I considered to possess it immediately, even before I physically move in?
• How does someone legally acquire possession of a thing?
• How long can someone occupy my land before I lose my legal right to recover possession of it?
• After how many years of possession can someone acquire ownership of land through ordinary prescription?
• I entered the land as a caretaker years ago — can I now claim I have been possessing it as owner all along?
• If I recover possession after being dispossessed, do I lose the years in between?
• If I validly renounce an inheritance, am I considered to have possessed the property at all?
• My possession of land was broken for exactly one year — is my prescription period wiped out or can I count the time before the break?
• Is someone occupying my property in bad faith liable if it is destroyed by a typhoon or other accident?
• Is a possessor in good faith liable if the property is damaged or lost while in their hands?
• Someone is holding and using my things - does the law presume that whoever possesses a thing owns it?
• In a property dispute, does the law presume good faith unless the other side proves otherwise?
• Is a possessor presumed to have held the property continuously the whole time?
• I have a title to land but the person who sold it to me was not actually the owner — can I still count this as a just title for prescription?
• In a prescription dispute, will the court presume that I have a just title even if I cannot produce one?
• Can prescription run in favor of a minor, or is the period suspended for the child?
• Must I produce a title document to defend land I have long occupied as owner?
• My guardian's negligence allowed a claim to prescribe against me — can I hold the guardian liable for that?
• My prescription period broke when I stopped occupying the land, and I later moved back in — does my new occupation revive the old count, or do I start from zero?
• I have been in possession of land for many years as a lessee — can that possession ripen into ownership through prescription?
• How long must I possess real property with title and good faith to acquire it by ordinary prescription?
• Can I become the owner of a piece of vacant land just by occupying it?
• If I possess a house, does that automatically mean I also possess the furniture and appliances inside it?
• I've been occupying a smaller area than what my land title actually says — does prescription still run based on what I actually possess, not what the title claims?
• If my caretaker occupies my property on my behalf, am I still considered to be in legal possession of it?
• Can I hold legal possession of property in someone else's name, such as when I act as their agent?
• I stopped occupying land for over a year — does that interrupt my prescription period?
• Can two people each claim full possession of the same thing at the same time, or must a court decide who has it?
• If the thing I possess is completely destroyed, do I still legally 'possess' it afterward?
• What kind of possession ripens into ownership through ordinary prescription?
• Can I lose possession of registered land for prescription purposes without following the rules of the Land Registration law?
• If I am in actual possession of a piece of property, does the law presume that I own it?
• I was sued by the owner over the land I possess and I won — was my prescription period interrupted by that case?
• What is the legal difference between possessing property in good faith and in bad faith?
• If I possess property as if I were the owner, does the law presume I have a valid title without me having to prove it?
• I have been possessing more land than my title describes — which area will the court use to compute my prescription?
• Can one spouse acquire ownership of the other spouse's property through prescription?
• If the contract creating a lien on my property has long expired, can I still file an action to remove the annotation from my title?
• I have been living abroad with an administrator managing my property — does extinctive prescription still run against my rights?
• Does prescription run against a private corporation the same way it does against an individual, or does a company get the same protection as the government?
• My parent died while I was a minor and had a guardian — did prescription still run against me during my minority?
• Can a prescription period run against me simply because I am a married woman?
• I possessed a piece of land years ago, then again more recently, but there's a gap where I can't prove I was there the whole time — does the law presume I continuously possessed it in between?
• If I started occupying land as a tenant, is the law presuming I am still occupying it as a tenant unless I prove otherwise?
• Are there any property-related rights that never expire, no matter how long they go unenforced?
• Must I physically occupy the property to file an action to quiet title or remove a cloud on my title?
• I have been in possession of property since before the Civil Code took effect and have made improvements — does my right of retention over that property still apply under the new code?
• My prescription period started running under the old law before the Civil Code took effect in 1950, and the shorter period under the new Code has already run out since then — does the shorter deadline control even though the old law required more time?
• Can a thief ever legally acquire ownership of stolen property through prescription?
• I never said out loud that the land wasn't mine, but my actions showed I recognized the true owner's right — does that tacit recognition still interrupt my prescription period?
• I let my completed prescription claim lapse by acting in ways that showed I'd given it up — does that count as renouncing it even without saying so out loud?
• I recently bought land from someone who had already been possessing it for years — can I add the previous owner's possession to mine for prescription?
• Can I claim possession over a river, a road, or other things that cannot be privately owned?
• I still have 30 years to sue to recover my land under this rule, but the person occupying it may already own it through a shorter acquisitive-prescription period — which one wins?
• Can I use a simulated title to support a claim of ordinary prescription?
• If I let a relative stay on my land out of generosity, can they later claim possession rights over it?
• My property dispute started before the Civil Code took effect in 1950 — which prescription period applies?
• If two people both claim to be in possession of the same property, how does the law decide who prevails?
• Two people are both claiming possession of the same movable — who has priority if one of them has been possessing it longer?
• Two possessors of the same property both started at the same time — the one with a title wins, but what if neither has one?
• If someone took possession of my property on my behalf without any authority from me, when does that possession legally become mine?
• A case was filed against me to interrupt prescription but the summons was defective — was my prescription actually interrupted?
• I occupied land during wartime when the courts were closed — can I count that time toward my prescription period?
• What is the difference between possessing a thing and owning it?
• What kind of possession actually counts toward eventually acquiring ownership through prescription?
• What kinds of movable property can be acquired by occupation under Philippine law?
• What legally counts as 'possession' of property under Philippine law?
• What kinds of events can legally interrupt someone's prescriptive period for acquiring property?
• At what point does a possessor's good faith legally come to an end?
• Can a minor acquire ownership of property through prescription, or only adults?
• Who pays the costs of a lawsuit over possession of property?

Land Titles & Registration

• Can just anyone inspect the records in the Registry of Property?
• When several heirs end up with exactly equal shares in land that was covered by one title, how is it decided who keeps the original document?
• Can a Philippine court rely on general legal principles, not just the Civil Code, to decide a quieting of title case?
• What procedure do I follow to file a case to remove a cloud on my property title in the Philippines?
• Can I sue to remove an old mortgage annotation from my title after the underlying debt has already prescribed?
• If I win a quiet title case, must I also return any benefits I received from the defendant before I can get a clean title?
• What legal remedy is available if there's a cloud on the title to my property?
• What is the purpose of the Registry of Property in the Philippines?
• Which law actually governs how my land title gets inscribed, annotated, or cancelled in the Registry?
• Who is entitled to inspect or consult the books of the Registry of Property?

Movables, Animals & Lost Property

• Can a floating dock or pontoon permanently moored at a riverbank be classified as immovable property?
• Are trees, plants, and growing crops on a piece of land considered real property or personal property under the Civil Code?
• Are shares of stock considered personal property even if the company itself owns real estate?
• Does a valuable buried item count as legal 'treasure' if the identity of its rightful owner can still be traced?
• What is the legal difference between consumable and nonconsumable movable property?
• Does the Civil Code give me a right to hunt or fish, or do I still need a license under other laws?
• Does finding something that someone else lost make it mine?
• Who owns treasure that is found buried and unclaimed on private land?
• I found hidden treasure by chance while lawfully working on someone else's property — what share of the treasure am I entitled to?
• Within how many days may the owner of domesticated animals reclaim them after they have been caught and kept by another person?
• If my swarm of bees flies onto a neighbor's land and the neighbor occupies them, how many days do I have to recover them?
• How long does someone need to possess a lost or stolen movable in good faith before they legally own it?
• If I turn in a found item and no owner appears after the announcements, do I eventually get to keep it?
• What determines whether a piece of property is legally classified as movable or immovable in the Philippines?
• If a factory owner installs heavy machinery to run the business on the land, is that machinery considered real property or personal property?
• If I misplace a movable item but it has not left my control, have I lost possession of it under the law?
• Someone is wrongfully holding my vehicle or other personal property — can I get it back before the case ends?
• If I find and return lost property, am I entitled to a reward?
• Can the government take hidden treasure that has scientific or artistic value, and if so what happens to the landowner and finder?
• I received stolen property — can I ever acquire it by prescription no matter how long I possess it?
• If I find hidden treasure while trespassing on someone else's private land, am I entitled to any share of it?
• Are animals still unborn in their mother's womb legally considered 'fruits' of property?
• What share of hidden treasure is a person entitled to if they discover it by chance on another person's property?
• What am I legally required to do if I find a lost item and don't know who it belongs to?
• If a swarm of bees from a neighbor's hive flies onto my land, do I get to keep it?
• If a wild animal someone else was hunting escapes onto my land, do I get to claim it?

Ownership Rights & Recovery

• Can I use force on my own to remove a squatter who refuses to leave my land?
• Can I use force to remove someone from my property in the Philippines?
• Even if I received and own private letters addressed to me, can I publish them without the writer's permission?
• Can a stranger enter my property without permission to escape a fire or other emergency?
• Can a court force the publication of someone's private letters even without the writer's consent, if it serves the public interest or a pending court case?
• Do I own my manuscript, artwork or invention before it is published or patented?
• Does a painter or sculptor own the product of their art before it is registered or copyrighted?
• Does a scientist or inventor have ownership over a discovery or invention before it is patented?
• How quickly must I act if someone forcibly takes possession of my property?
• The sheriff served a writ of execution ordering me to turn over the property - how many days do I have to move out?
• How much is the bond required for a replevin case?
• What must I prove to recover my property from someone occupying it?
• As a property owner, can I sue someone who entered or is occupying my property to get it back from them?
• I believe I am entitled to take back a thing my neighbor is holding — can I just take it by force, or must I go to court?
• If someone occupies my land claiming ownership, can I remove them myself, or do I have to sue them in court?
• The sheriff seized my property under a replevin order — how do I get it returned?
• What rights does an owner have over their property in the Philippines?
• What rights does ownership of a thing actually give me?
• Who acquires ownership of a musical composition under Philippine law?
• Who owns private letters, and can the person who received them publish them?

More Property & Real Estate Questions

• The seller already demanded rescission of our land sale through a notarial act. Can I ask the court to give me more time to pay?
• Who owns the copyright to a book, article, or play I wrote — do I automatically own it as its author?
• The person I bought my land from made statements about a boundary dispute before I bought it. Can those statements be used against me now?
• My land turned out bigger than what I paid for under a per-unit price contract — can I just refuse the extra area instead of paying more?
• If a caretaker I hired agrees to a contract or makes a deal involving my property, am I bound by it even though I gave no authority?
• Does the Civil Code cover my rights to a mining claim, or is that governed by a completely different law?
• I occupied land illegally for years and now claim I have acquired a vested right to stay — does the law recognize vested rights arising from unlawful acts?
• If my valuable jewel was set into someone else's cheaper item, can I demand it back even if removing it damages their item?
• If I own part of a building outright and share the rest with others, do majority-rule decisions apply to my exclusively-owned portion too?
• In a land deal I was misled by someone about who owned the property — can that person still assert his real title against me?
• I missed the one-year deadline to rescind for a hidden servitude on my lot. Can I still claim anything?
• Does a scientist or inventor automatically own their discovery or invention just by making it?
• If I build a stop lock or sluice gate in a streambed to irrigate my land, do I have to compensate other irrigators who use the same stream, not just the owner of the bank?
• Who governs mining claims and mineral rights in the Philippines — the Civil Code or a special law?