Ownership the independent and general right of a

person to control a thing particularly in his possession,

enjoyment, disposition, and recovery, subject to no
restrictions except those imposed by the state or private
persons, without prejudice to the provisions of the law.
Kinds of Ownership
1. Full Ownership this includes all the rights of an
owner;
2. Naked Ownership this is ownership where the right
to the use and the fruits has been denied;
3. Sole Ownership where the ownership is vested only
in one person;
4. Co-ownership when the ownership is vested in two
or more owners.
Rights of an Owner:
1. The right to enjoy
a.
The right to possess
b.
The right to use
c.
The right to the fruits
2. The right to dispose
a.
The right to consume or destroy or abuse
b.
The right to encumber or alienate
3. The right to recover or vindicate
Rights of an Owner Under Roman Law:
1. Jus possidendi the right to possess; this means the
right to hold a thing or to enjoy a right. In either
case, it means that the thing or right is subject to the
control of my will.
2. Jus utendi the right to use; this includes the right to
exclude any person, as a rule, from the enjoyment
and disposal thereof. For this purpose, the ownerpossessor may use such force as may be reasonably
necessary to repel or prevent an actual or
threatened unlawful physical invasion or usurpation
of the property. However, the owner of a thing
cannot make use of it in such a manner as to injure
the rights of a third person.
3. Jus Fruendi the right to the fruits.
4. Jus abutendi the right to consume; includes the right to
abuse or transform.
5. Jus disponendi the right to dispose; includes the right
to donate, to sell, to pledge or mortgage.
6. Jus vindicandi the right to recover; expressed in Art.
428 which provides that the the owner has also a
right of action against the holder and possessor of
the thing in order to recover it.
Actions to Recover:
1. Recovery of Personal Property Replevin an action or
provisional remedy where the complainant prays for
the recovery of the possession of personal property.
2. Recovery of Real Property
a. Forcible entry or unlawful detainer;

of any contract, express or implied. Prior physical

possession is not required.
Prescriptive period: within one year from the withholding
of the property, thus:
i.
If there is a fixed period for the termination of the
lease, the lease ends automatically without need
of any demand; hence, the one-year period
begins from the expiration of the lease.
ii.
If the reason for ejectment is non-payment of
rent or non-fulfillment of the conditions of the
lease, then the one-year period must be counted
from the date of demand to vacate.
iii.
If the demand to vacate comes only 3 years from
the time tenant had begun not to pay the rents,
the landlord still has a period of one year to be
counted from the date of such demand.
Notes:
The demand to vacate must be absolute not conditional.
Complaint must show that the withholding of the
possession, or the refusal to vacate, is unlawful.
Unlawful detainer, however, is not the proper remedy if
the purpose is not to recover possession but to exact
specific performance of a contract.
The existence of a formal contract is not necessary in
unlawful detainer. Even if there is no formal contract
between the parties, there can still be an unlawful
detainer because implied contracts are covered by
ejectment proceedings. Possession by tolerance creates
an implied promise to vacate the premises upon the
demand of the owner
Forcible entry vs. Unlawful detainer
Forcible Entry
Possession of the land by
the defendant is unlawful
from the beginning as he
acquires possession by
FISTS.

No previous demand for

the defendant to vacate
the premises is necessary.

The plaintiff must prove

that he was in prior
physical possession of the
premises until he was
deprived thereof by the
defendant.
The 1 year period is
generally counted from the
date of actual entry on the
land.

Unlawful Detainer
Possession is inceptively
lawful but it becomes
illegal by reason of the
termination of his right to
the possession of the
property under his contract
with the plaintiff.
Demand is jurisdictional if
the ground is non-payment
of rentals or failure to
comply with the lease
contract.
The plaintiff need not have
been in prior physical
possession.

Period is counted from the

date of last demand or last
letter of demand.

Forcible entry a summary action to recover material

Similarities:
or physical possession of real property when a person
1.
In both actions, ownership is not involved, but only the
originally in possession was deprived thereof by FISTS.
right to the material possession of the premises;
2.
Both
actions are proceedings in personam (binding only
Prescriptive period: within one year from the
to
the parties)
dispossession; in case of strategy or stealth, count the
3.
Both
involve
real property, which is also termed actions
period of one year from the time of DISCOVERY of such
quasi-in
rem
which are really actions in personam,
strategy or stealth.
involving real property.
Unlawful detainer action taken when possession by a
landlord, vendor, vendee or other person of any land or b. Accion publiciana the plenary action to recover the
better right of possession.
building is being unlawfully withheld after the expiration
or termination of the right to hold possession, by virtue

Prescriptive period: The action must be brought within

ten (10) years. Otherwise, the real right of possession is
lost.
Kinds of Accion Publiciana
i. Entry was not obtained through FISTS This
action can be brought as soon as the
dispossession takes place, without waiting for the
lapse of one year. Failure to state that
deprivation was caused by FISTS would make
the action not one of forcible entry but accion
publiciana.
ii. The one-year period for bringing forcible entry or
unlawful detainer has already expired An action
may still be brought after the lapse of the oneyear period for forcible entry as accion publiciana
in the RTC.
Accion reivindicatoria It is an action to recover
ownership over real property. The action must be
brought before the RTC where the real estate is located.
Prescriptive period:
i. If ordinary prescription (good faith and just title)
10 years
ii. If extraordinary prescription (does not require
good faith or just title) 30 years
Writ of Possession A writ of possession used in
connection with the Land Registration Law is an order
directing the sheriff to place a successful registrant
under the Torrens system in possession of the property
covered by a decree of the Court. The action cannot be
used either against the party in whose favor the land has
been decreed to be registered, or against his
representatives or successors-in-interest. The action may
be issued ONLY against the person defeated in the
registration case, and against anyone unlawfully or
adversely occupying the land or any portion thereof,
during the proceedings, up to the issuance of the final
decree.
Prescription: The right to demand the writ of possession
never prescribes.
Doctrine of SELF-HELP The doctrine of self-help
exists once there is an actual or threatened danger or
physical usurpation of property. It is sort of self-defense,
where the use of such necessary force to protect
proprietary or possessory rights constitutes a justifying
circumstance under the Penal Code.
Requisites to Use Force
1. There must be an invasion or usurpation of property
which is either
a. Threatened prevent
b. Actual repel
2. Invasion or usurpation must be unlawful
3. Force is employed by the owner or lawful possessor
4. Force must be reasonably necessary to prevent or
repel such invasion or usurpation
Kinds of Invasion
1. Mere disturbance of possession Force may be used
against it at any time as long as it continues, even
beyond the prescriptive period for an action of
forcible entry. Thus, if Pedro in the land of Juan
opened a ditch, Juan may close it or cover it by force
at any time.
2. Real Dispossession Force, to regain possession can
only be used immediately after the dispossession.

Note: Use of force is valid if attack on property is coupled

with attack on person.
Art. 432 Requisites
1. existence of an evil sought to be avoided
2. the injury feared is greater than that done to avoid it
3. that there be no other practical and less harmful means
of preventing it
4. the means employed is necessary and indispensable to
avert danger.
Effect Indemnity may be demanded by the owner from
the person benefited.
Effect of Mistake If through error, one believed
himself to be in a state of necessity, or used means in
excess of the requirements, his act would be illicit and
the owner of the property can use the defensive force
authorized in art 429.
Effect of Negligence The law does not require that
the person acting in a state of necessity be free from
negligence in the creation of such situation.
Actual possession disputable presumption
ownership, whether immovable or movable

of

Remedy of the True Owner If the possessor does not

want to surrender the property to the true owner after
proper request or demand has been made, then the true
owner has to resort to judicial process to recover his
property.
Requisites in an Action to Recover:
1. Property must be identified The boundaries of the
land sought must be proved, so that if a person fails
to specify which portion of a parcel of land is the
portion he is supposed to have inherited, his actions
to recover the property will necessarily fail.
2. Reliance on title of the plaintiff If the claims of both
plaintiff and defendant are weak, judgment must be
for the defendant, for the later, being in possession,
is presumed to be the owner, and cannot be obliged
to show or prove a better title.
Eminent Domain the right of taking upon payment of
just compensation
Requisites
1. The taking must be done by the
authority;
2. Observance of the due process of law;
3. Taking must be for public use;
4. Upon payment of just compensation

competent

Rule on Seizure (without just compensation)

General Rule: Owner should not be entitled for any
compensation as to property seized or condemned by
competent authority if it is done in the interest of health,
safety, or security.
Exception:
The
owner
should
be
entitled
to
compensation if he can show that such condemnation or
seizure is unjustified.
Surface Right of a Land Owner This article deals
with the extent of ownership which a person has over a
parcel of land, more specifically, with what is commonly
referred to as surface right. Thus, if a person owns a
piece of land, it is understood that he also owns its
surface, up to the boundaries of the land, with the right

to make thereon allowable constructions, plantings, and

excavations, subject to:
a. Servitudes or easements
b. Special laws like the Mining Law
c. Ordinances
d. The reasonable requirements of aerial navigation
e. Principles on human relations and prevention of
injury to the rights of third persons

2. Price of leases (rentals) of lands and other property

(even if personal property);
3. The amount of perpetual of life annuities or other
similar income (but not a bonus granted as a reward
or as a compensation to a person who mortgaged
and thus risks his land to secure anothers
indebtedness;
4. Dividends/cash dividends are considered fruits.

Hidden Treasure:
1. If the treasure is discovered on the property of the
finder, the treasure belongs to him
2. If the treasure is discovered on the property of
another, the sharing is 50-50. 50% belongs to the
landowner; 50% goes to the finder.
3. If the treasure found is of interest to the science or
the arts, the State shall have the right to acquire
them provided that there is payment of a just price.

Art. 443 does not apply when the planter is in good

faith, because in this case, he is entitled to the fruits
already received, hence, there is no necessity for
reimbursing him.

Requirements
1. The finder must not be a trespasser
2. It should be found by chance
Requisites for Hidden Treasure
1. Hidden and unknown deposit such that finding
would indeed be a discovery
2. Consists of money, jewelry or other precious objects
3. Their lawful ownership does not appear
4. There must be no owner
Accession is the right of a property owner to everything
which is:
1. Produced thereby accession discreta
2. Which is incorporated or attached thereto, either
naturally or artificially accession continua or
accession non-interrumpida, which are:
a. Natural accession (accession natural)
b. Artificial accession (accession artificial or
accession industrial)
General Rule: The owner of the land is the owner of the
fruits.
Exceptions:
1. When there is possessor in good faith of the land
he owns the fruits already received [Art. 544{1}]
2. When there is a usufructuary [Art. 566]
3. When lessee gets the fruits of the land [of course,
the owner gets the civil fruits in the form of rentals]
see Art. 1654
4. In a contract of antichresis, the antichretic creditor
gets the fruits, although of course, said fruits should
be applied first, to the interest, if any is owing and
then to the principal amount of the loan. [ Art. 2132]
Note: The bonus is not the rent of a building or of land,
the only meaning of "civil fruits" left to be examined is
that of "income." The said bonus bears no immediate,
but only a remote and accidental relation to the land.
Natural Fruits
1. The spontaneous products of the soil there is no
intervention of human labor; Examples: herbs,
common grass
2. The young and other product of animals; Examples:
chicks and chicken eggs
Industrial Fruits They are those produced by lands of
any kind through cultivation of labor.
Civil Fruits
1. Rent of buildings;

Characteristics of the Expenses

1. They must have been used for production, gathering,
or preservation, not for the improvement of the
property.
2. They must have been necessary, and not luxurious
or excessive. Indeed, they must be commensurate
with those ordinarily necessitated by the product.
Two Kinds of Crops
1. Annual crops deemed manifest (existing) the
moment their seeding appear from the ground,
although the grains have not yet actually appeared
(cereals, grains, rice, corn, sugar).
2. Perennial crops deemed to exist only when they
actually appear on the trees (oranges, apples,
mangoes, coconuts).
RIGHTS OF ACCESSION
IMMOVABLE PROPERTY

WITH

RESPECT

TO

Art. 445 can be applied only if the owner of the land is

known. If he be unknown, no decision on the ownership
of the things planted, built or sown, can be made.
Notes:
1. To the owner of the principal (land for example) must
belong also to accessions in accordance with the
principle that the accessory follows the principal
2. The union or incorporation must, with certain
exception, be effected in such manner that to
separate the principal from the accessory would
result in substantial injury to either.
3. He who is in good faith may be held liable but he
should not be penalized.
4. He who is in bad faith may be penalized.
Exception to Art. 445 Art. 120 of the Family Code
Possessor in good faith must return the fruits
received from the time the answer to the complaint was
filed, that is, from the time he became aware that he
was in undue possession.
Disputable Presumptions:
1. The works, sowing, and planting were made by the
owner.
2. They were made at the owners expense.
RIGHTS OF THE LANDOWNER Articles 447, 448
and 455
Art. 447 The landowner is the BPS, but the materials
do not belong to him
Landowner is in Good Faith but Material Owner is
in Bad Faith
1. Landowner would:

a. Not only be exempted from reimbursement

higher than the value of the house), while sower may
b. But he would also be entitled to consequential
be compelled to pay proper rent.
damages as when the materials are of inferior
4. BPS is liable to pay damages.
quality
2. Material owner would lose all rights such as the right
Notes:
to removal, regardless of whether substantial injury 1. The owner cannot, refuse both to pay for the building
would be caused.
and to sell the land and compel the owner of the building
to remove it from the land where it is erected. The
Both Parties are in Bad Faith Consider the
landowner is entitled to a demotion only when, after
landowner and the owner of the materials in good faith.
having chosen to sell his land, the other party fails to
pay for the same.
Landowner offers to dismantle the new thing and 2. Art. 448 cannot apply where a co-owner builds, plants or
return the materials When the materials can be
sows on the land owned in common for then he did not
removed without causing injury thereof, or when the
build, plant or sow upon land that exclusively belongs to
materials had not been transformed, the landowner may
another but of which he is a co-owner. The co-owner is
return them at his expense to the owner of the
not a third person under the circumstances, and the
materials.
situation is governed by the rules of co-ownership.
3. Article 448 does not apply to a case where the owner of
the land is the builder, sower, or planter who then later
Note: In case of alienation by the landowner, the owner
loses ownership of the land by sale or donation.
of the materials may go against the new owner, because
4.
To fall within the provision of this Article, the
he is the one benefited by the accession.
construction must be of permanent character, attached
to the soil with an idea of perpetuity; but if it is of a
Art. 448 applies ONLY if the BPS is in GOOD FAITH. The
transitory character or is transferable, there is no
BPS thinks he owns the land, and therefore must have a
accession, and the builder must remove the
claim of title.
construction. The proper remedy of the landowner is an
action to eject the builder from the land.
Rights and Obligations of Landowner (LO)
1. Right appropriate what BPS has worked; and
Obligation indemnify BPS; or
2. Right
a. Compel the BP for the price of the land provided
that land is not substantially greater in value.
b. Compel the S to pay proper rent
Right of BPS retention
Landowner in GOOD FAITH and BPS in GOOD FAITH
1. Right of appropriation to appropriate for himself
anything that has been built, planted or sown upon
the proper payment of indemnity. Ownership over
the thing built, planted or sown does not pass to the
landowner till after payment therefore has been
given. In the meantime, before payment, the BPS
(who is in good faith) has the right of retention.
2. Right to compulsory selling to compel the BPS to
buy the land unless the value of the land be
considerably more than the value of what has been
built, planted or sown. In this situation, there is no
right of retention because the BPS is the one
required to pay.
3. Limited Right of Removal Can only be availed of
when after having opted to sell the land to BPS, BPS
fails to pay for the land. Because if BPS cannot pay
for the land, he should not be allowed to continue
using it.
Notes:
1. It is the landowner who has the option not the
builder, planter or sower.
2. Once the landowner makes a choice, it is generally
irrevocable.
LANDOWNER in GOOD FAITH and BPS in BAD FAITH
1. BPS loses what is built, planted or sown without right
to indemnity (except necessary expenses for the
preservation of the land).
2. BPS may be required to demolish or remove what is
built, planted or sown.
3. Builder may be compelled to pay the price of the
land (wherein the value of the land is considerable

Options available to the land owner if the builder

is in bad faith:
1. Appropriation without need to indemnify the builder
in bad faith plus damages;
2. Demand the builder in bad faith to remove the house
he built. He has the absolute right of removal plus
damages;
3. Compel the builders in bad faith to pay the value of
the land if the value of the land is not considerably
more than the value of the improvements. If the LO
chooses to compel the builder to pay the land, he
has to do so, plus damages.
Bad Faith The landowner is considered in bad faith
whenever the act was done with his knowledge and
without opposition on his part.
Art. 455 If the LO, BPS and MO are all in good faith,
the BPS who uses the material of another must
reimburse the MO for the materials.
Exceptions:
1. The BPS may demand reimbursement from the LO
provided the BPS is insolvent;
2. The BPS is in good faith;
3. The LO decides to appropriate whatever is built,
planted, or sown.
4. The LO is only oblige to reimburse if the 3 items
enumerated above are present. The LO has also the
option to reimburse the BPS if he chooses to
reimburse. Now after the BPS pays the MO, when can
he not ask for reimbursement from the LO?
a. If he is in bad faith;
b. if the LO exercises his option under 450 which is
the demolition;
c. if he compels the BPS to buy his land
Rights of the Owner of the Materials
1. BAD FAITH he loses all rights to be indemnified.
Moreover, he can even be liable for consequential
damages (as when materials are of inferior quality)
2. GOOD FAITH he is entitled to reimbursement form
the BPS principally, since it was the BPS who first
made use of the materials. In case of insolvency on

the part of the builder, the landowner is subsidiarily

liable, if he makes use of the materials.
Note: The landowner makes use of the materials only if
he appropriates the construction. If he compels the
builder to:
a. Purchase the land; or
b. Demolish the construction,
The landowner does not make use of the materials,
hence, he cannot be held subsidiarily laible.
Bad Faith on All Parties If all of the three parties are
in bad faith, all must be considered to have acted in
good faith.
Forms of accession natural
1. Alluvium (Art. 457)
2. Avulsion (Art 459
3. Chang of course of rivers (Art 461-462)
4. Formation of Islands (Art. 464-465)
ALLUVIUM
Alluvium The soil deposited or added to (accretion)
the lands adjoining the banks of rivers and gradually
received as an effect of the current of the waters. The
accretion is owned by the owner of the estate fronting
the river bank (riparian owner).
Requisites of Alluvium
1. The deposit should be gradual and imperceptible as
a process (natural);
2. Current must be that of a river; does not apply to
accretion by man-made means (Republic v. CA 132
SCRA 154);
3. The river must continue to exist (otherwise, if the
river disappears, Art. 58 PD 1067 & Art. 461 NCC,
shall apply) if the river dries up, it is considered a
dry river bed, belonging to the public domain;
4. The increase must be comparatively little.
Notes:
The riparian owner need not necessarily make an
express act of possession, it being that the accretion is
automatic, the moment the soil deposit appears.
Alluvium caused by artificial means is prohibited and
penalized, unless made with the authorization of the
government.
If the alluvium is caused by fish traps in a river, there
is no artificial alluvium unless there was a deliberate
desire to cause alluvium.
Although the owner of the land on which the alluvial
deposit is made becomes automatically the owner of the
alluvial deposit, the law not requiring any act of
possession on his part from the moment the deposit
becomes manifest. Still ownership of a piece of land is
one thing and registration under the Torrens System is
another.
Failure to register the acquired alluvial deposit by
accretion for a period of 50 years subjects said accretion
to acquisition through prescription by third persons.
Bay an opening into the land where the water is shut
in on all sides except at the entrance; an inlet of the sea;
an arm of the sea, distinct from a river, a bending or
curbing of the shore of the sea or of a lake.
Pond a body of stagnant water without an outlet,
larger than a puddle and smaller than a lake, or a like
body of water with a small outlet.

Lagoon a small lake, ordinarily of fresh water, and not

very deep, fed by floods, the hollow bed of which is
bounded by the elevations of the land.
Lake a body of water formed in depressions of the
earth; ordinarily fresh water, coming from rivers, brooks,
or springs and connected with the sea by them.
AVULSION
Avulsion It is the process whereby the current of a
river, creek, or torrent segregates from an estate on its
bank a known portion of land and transfers it to another
estate. It is the removal of a considerable quantity of
earth upon or annexation to the land of another,
suddenly and by the perceptible action of the water.
Torrent a violent, rushing or turbulent stream.
River a natural stream of water, of greater volume
than a creek or rivulet flowing, in a more or less
permanent bed or channel, between defined banks or
walls, with a current which may either be continuous in
one direction or affected by the ebb and flow of the tide.
Creek a small stream less than a river; a recess or
inlet in the shore of a river, and not a separate or
independent stream, though it is sometimes used in the
latter meaning.
Alluvium vs. Avulsion
ALLUVIUM
The deposit of the soil is
gradual
Soil cannot be identified
Belongs to the owner of
property to which it is
attached

AVULSION
Sudden
or
abrupt
process may be seen
Indentifiable or verifiable
Belongs to the owner
from whose property it
was detached

CHANGE OF COURSE OF RIVERS

General Rule: The abandoned river beds ipso facto
belong to the owners whose land are occupied by the
new course in proportion of the area lost. But the owners
of the land adjoining the old bed shall have the right to
acquire the same by paying the value thereof.
Requisites
1. The change must be sudden, not gradual;
2. The changing of the course must be more or less
permanent and not temporary over flooding of
anothers land;
3. The change of the river bed must be natural one and
not by artificial means;
4. There must be a definite abandonment by the
government. No effort has been made to bring back
the river to its old bed;
5. The river must continue to exist.
Note: If the river dries up, then it belongs to the public
domain. It has no effect on the private lands.
Art. 58 of PD 1067 states that when the river or
stream suddenly changes its course to private lands, the
owners of the affected lands:
1. May not compel the government to restore the river
to its former bed;
2. They cannot restrain the govt. from taking steps to
revert the river or stream to its former course; So,

the owners have no right as to the acts or omission

by the government.
3. They are not entitled to compensation for any
damage sustained thereby.
4. The owners of the affected lands may undertake to
return the stream or river to its bed at their own
expense, provided:
a. A permit is secured from the DOH and DOTC;
b. Work commence within 2 yrs from the change of
the course of the river or stream.

2. If formed on lakes, or navigable or floatable rivers

the State.
3. If formed in non-navigable or non-floatable rivers
a. If NEARER margin to one bank, owner of nearer
margin is the sole owner;
b. If EQUIDISTANT, the island shall be divided
longitudinally in halves, each bank getting half.
Navigable or Floatable River if useful for floatage
and commerce, whether the tides affect the water or not
should benefit trade and commerce.

ISLANDS
1. if formed on the sea Within the territorial waters or
maritime zone or jurisdiction of the Philippines
State (464 Patrimonial property)

Non-Navigable opposite of navigable or floatable

river