PROPERTY LAW
Trees, plants and growing fruits while
Atty. Romero
What is property?
Latin work prosprius which means
belonging to one or ones own.
The concept of property is not confined to
things which are already appropriated or
possessed by man but also extends to those
susceptible of such appropriation, although not
yet appropriated.
Requisites:
1. Susceptible of appropriation
- Can be subjected to human
control.
2. Utility
- Serves as means of satisfying
human needs.
3. Substantivity/ individuality
- Must have an autonomous and
separate existence.
Classification of things
1. Res nullius (belonging to no one)
- Not yet appropriated or because
they have been abandoned
2. Res communes (belonging to
everyone)
- Particular no one owns common
property
3. Res alicujus ( belonging to someone)
- Tangible or intangible, owned
privately, collective or individual
capacity
Real vs Personal
Art. 414. All things which are or may be the
object of appropriation are considered
either:
1. Immovable or real property; or
2. Movable or personal property
Art. 415 Immovable property
The ff are immovable property:
1. Land, buildings, roads and
construction of all kinds adhered to the
soil;
2.
they are attached to the land or form
an integral part of an immovable;
3. Everything that is attached to an
immovable in a fixed manner, in such
a way that it cannot be separated
without breaking the material or
deterioration of the object;
4. Statues, reliefs, paintings or other
objects for use or ornamentation,
placed in buildings or lands by the
owner of the immovable in such a
manner that it reveals the intention to
attach them permanently to the
tenements;
5. Machinery, receptables, instruments or
implements intended by the owner of
the tenement for an industry or works
which may be carried on to the
building or piece of land , and which
tend directly to the needs of the
industry or works. ;
6. Animal-houses, pigeon-houses,
beehives, fishponds or breeding places
of similar nature, in case their owner
has placed them or preserves them
with the intention to have them
permanently attached to the land, and
forming a permanent part of it; the
animals in these places are included;
7. Fertilizers actually used on a piece of
land;
8. Mines, quarries, slug dumps, while the
matter thereof forms part of the bed,
and waters either running or stagnant;
9. Docks and structures which, though
floating, are intended by their nature
and object to remain at a fixed place
on a river, lake or coast;
10. Contracts for public works, and
servitudes and other real rights over
immovable property.
Art. 416 The ff things are deemed to be
personal property;
1. Those movables susceptible of
appropriation which are not included
in the preceding article;
2. Real property which by any special
provision of law is considered as
personalty;
 3. Forces of nature which are brought
under control by science;
And
4. In general, all things which can be
transported from place to place
without impairment of the real
property to which they are fixed.
Art. 417 The ff are also considered as
personal property;
1. Obligations and actions which have
for their object movables or
demandable sums; and
2. Shares of stock of agricultural,
commercial and industrial entities,
although they may have real estate.
Classification of property
( M-O-A E-M-D-C N-C)
1. Mobility
a. Movable
b. Immovable
2. Ownership
a. Public dominion
b. Private ownership
3. Alienability
a. Within the commerce of man
b. Outside the commerce of man
4. Existence
a. Present property
b. Future property
5. Materiality/ immateriality
a. Tangible
b. Intangible
6. Dependence or importance
a. Principal
b. Accessory
7. Capable of substitution
a. Fungible
b. Non-fungible
8. Nature or definiteness
a. Generic
b. Specific
9. Whether in custody of the court or free
a. In custodial legis in custody of
the court
b. Free property
Importance of classification
1. Prescription
Movable property
Uninterrupted 4 years (good
possession faith)
Uninterrupted 8 years
possession without
condition
Immovable property
10 or 30 years, without need of title or of good
faith.
2. Contracts of pledge, chattel mortgage,
real estate mortgage, extrajudicial
deposit
Movable property Contract of pledge
Chattel Mortgage
Immovable property Real estate mortgage
contract
Extrajudicial deposit
3. Donation
Art. 748 of the Civil Code
The donation of a movable may be made
ORALLY or WRITING.
An oral donation requires the simultaneous
delivery of the thing or of the document
representing the right donated.
If the value of the personal property donated
exceeds P5,000, the donation and the
acceptance shall be made in writing.
Otherwise, the donation shall be void.
Art. 749 of the Civil Code
In order the donation of an immovable may be
valid, it must be made in a public document,
specifying therein the property donated and the
value of the charges which the done must
satisfy.
The acceptance may be made in the same deed
of donation or in a separate public document,
but it shall not take effect unless it is done
during the lifetime of the donor.
If the acceptance is made in a separate
instrument, the donor shall be notified thereof
in an authentic form, and this step shall be
noted in both instruments.

4. Crimes

Movable property Theft or robbery

Immovable property Usurpation

Classification of immovable
(N-I-D-A)
1. By nature
- Cannot be moved from one place
to another
E.g par. 1 (land, buildings, roads and
construction) and 8 (machinery, receptables,
instruments or implements) of Art. 415

2. By incorporation (Accessio cedit principali)

- Immovable by reason of their
attachment or incorporation to an
immovable in such a manner as to be
an integral art thereof
e.g Par.2 (trees, plants, growing fruits) and par.
3 (everything attached to an immovable) of
Art. 415

3. By destination
- Essentially movable, but by the
purpose for which they have been
placed in an immovable
e.g Par. 4 (Statues, reliefs ,paintings), par.5
(machinery, instruments or implements),par.6
(animal-houses, pigeon-houses), par.7
(fertilizers), par. 8 (mines, quarries) and par. 9
(docks and structures) of art. 415

4. By analogy or by law
- Those that are mentioned in par. 10
(contracts for public works and servitudes) of
Art. 415