Text of the provision
Art. 2242. With reference to specific immovable property and real rights of the debtor, the following claims, mortgages and liens shall be preferred, and shall constitute an encumbrance on the immovable or real right:
(1) Taxes due upon the land or building;
(2) For the unpaid price of real property sold, upon the immovable sold;
(3) Claims of laborers, masons, mechanics and other workmen, as well as of architects, engineers and contractors, engaged in the construction, reconstruction or repair of buildings, canals or other works, upon said buildings, canals or other works;
(4) Claims of furnishers of materials used in the construction, reconstruction, or repair of buildings, canals or other works, upon said buildings, canals or other works;
(5) Mortgage credits recorded in the Registry of Property, upon the real estate mortgaged;
(6) Expenses for the preservation or improvement of real property when the law authorizes reimbursement, upon the immovable preserved or improved;
(7) Credits annotated in the Registry of Property, in virtue of a judicial order, by attachments or executions, upon the property affected, and only as to later credits;
(8) Claims of co-heirs for warranty in the partition of an immovable among them, upon the real property thus divided;
(9) Claims of donors or real property for pecuniary charges or other conditions imposed upon the donee, upon the immovable donated;
(10) Credits of insurers, upon the property insured, for the insurance premium for two years.
(1923a)
Civil Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 386, approved June 18, 1949, effective August 30, 1950. Reproduced in full; verified verbatim against the LawPhil and ChanRobles official-text renderings.
What this article means
With reference to specific immovable property and real rights, ten classes of claims are preferred — including taxes on the immovable, the unpaid price of the real property sold, contractors', architects' and material-suppliers' claims on the building constructed, mortgage credits recorded, and attachments and judgments recorded in the Registry of Property.
Questions about this provision
- After partitioning inherited land among ourselves, I discovered my share had a hidden encumbrance — do I have a preferred claim on the divided land as against my co-heirs?
- Does my mortgage recorded in the Registry of Property give me priority over other creditors if the owner becomes insolvent?
- I built a house for a client who is now insolvent — do the laborers and I have preference on that building for our unpaid wages and fees?
- 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?
- I furnished the materials for a building and wasn't paid before the owner went insolvent - do I get priority against that building?
- 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?
- I had a court attachment annotated on the debtor's land - does it give me preference over creditors who came later?
- 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?
- I sold real property and wasn't fully paid before the buyer went insolvent - do I have a preferred claim on that same property?
- I spent money preserving someone's real property and they went insolvent - do I get priority repayment out of that property?
- I supplied all the cement and steel for a building project and was never paid — do I have a preferred claim on that building against the owner's other creditors?
- I'm a contractor who built a structure for someone now insolvent - do I have a preferred claim on that building for my unpaid fees?
- The owner never paid the premium on a building I insured before going insolvent - do I have a preferred claim on that property?
Related provisions
- Article 2241 — Preferred Credits on Specific Movables.
- Article 2243 — Taxes Come First.
Cases citing this article
- Atlantic Erectors, Inc. vs. Herbal Cove Realty Corporation, G.R. No. 148568, March 20, 2003 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Jan-Dec Construction Corporation vs. Court of Appeals, et al, G.R. No. 146818, February 6, 2006 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- J.L. Bernardo Construction, et al. vs. Court of Appeals, et al, G.R. No. 105827, January 31, 2000 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Strategic Alliance Development Corporation vs. Radstock Securities Limited and Philippine National Construction corporation, G.R. No. 178158 / G.R. No. 180428, December 4, 2009 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Bureau of Internal Revenue vs. Tico Insurance Company, Inc., Glowide Enterprises, Inc., and Pacific, G.R. No. 204226, April 18, 2022 — read the decision on LawPhil →
Compiled automatically from Supreme Court decisions published on LawPhil that expressly cite this article, most frequently cited first. A listing means the decision cites the provision — it is not a statement that the case is the leading authority, and it does not show whether a ruling has since been modified or abandoned. Always read the decision itself.