Text of the provision
Art. 154. The beneficiaries of a family home are:
(1) The husband and wife, or an unmarried person who is the head of a family; and
(2) Their parents, ascendants, descendants, brothers and sisters, whether the relationship be legitimate or illegitimate, who are living in the family home and who depend upon the head of the family for legal support.
(226a)
Family Code of the Philippines, Executive Order No. 209, approved July 6, 1987. The Code took effect on August 3, 1988 (Republic v. Orbecido III, G.R. No. 154380, October 5, 2005). Reproduced in full.
What this article means
Who counts as a beneficiary matters, because the family home stays protected only "so long as any of its beneficiaries actually resides therein" (Article 153). This article lists them.
The first group is the couple, or the unmarried head of the family. The second group is their parents, ascendants, descendants, and siblings — legitimate or illegitimate — but only those who satisfy two conditions together: they must actually live in the home, and they must depend on the head of the family for legal support. Both must be true; a relative who lives elsewhere, or who is not a dependent for support, is not a beneficiary.
Related provisions
- Article 153 — residence of a beneficiary keeps the exemption alive.
- Article 159 — a minor beneficiary extends the home after death.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on Article 154 will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.