Redemption in sale of part of undivided immovable.

 The purpose of the above article (and Arts. 1612-1615.) is to discourage co-ownership
which is recognized as undesirable,since it does not encourage the improvement of the
property co-owned
1. A co- owner may demand the partition of the thing owned in common insofar as his
share is concerned (Art 494)
 If the thing is essentially indivisible, it may be allotted to the co-owner who shall
indemnify the others.
 If the co-owners cannot agree that the thing be allotted to one of them, it shall be sold
and its proceeds distributed. (Art498)
2. In either case, the vendee who acquires the whole of an undivided immovable a part of
which is subject to a right to re-purchase, has the right to demand that the vendor a
retro, who likes to exercise his right of redemption, redeem the whole property.

ART. 1612. If several persons, jointly and in the same contract, should sell an undivided
immovable with a right of repurchase, none of them may exercise this right for more than
his respective share.The same rule shall apply if the person who sold an immovable alone
has left several heirs, in which case each of the latter may only redeem the part which he
may have acquired. (1514)

 Each Co-Owner/Co-Heir can exercise right of redemption with respect to their share

 Under the rules contained in Article 1612, should one of the co-owners or co-heirs
succeed alone in redeeming the whole property, such co-owner or co- heir shall be
considered as a mere trustee with respect to the shares of his co-owners or co-heirs;
accordingly, no prescription will lie against the right to any co-owner or co-heir to
demand from the redemption-er his respective share in the property redeemed, which
share is subject to a lien in favor of the redemption-er for the amount paid by him
corresponding to the value of the share.

Redemption in joint sale by co-owners/co-heirs of undivided immovable.

1. The co-owners of an undivided immovable sold by them jointly or collectively and in
the same contract with the right to repurchase, can exercise such right only as regards
their respective shares. (Art. 1612, par. 1.)
2. (2)Similarly, the co-heirs of the vendor of an undivided im movable can exercise the
right of redemption only for the respective portions they have inherited. ( Ibid.par. 2)
3. The vendee a retro  can refuse partial redemption; he may require all the vendors or
all the heirs to redeem the entire property or to agree to its redemption by any one of
them. (Art. 1613.)This right is given to the vendee in line with the object of the law(see
Art. 1620.) to put an end to co-ownerships whenever possible.
4. Under Article 1620 (infra.)  the right of a co-owner who chooses not to redeem accrues
to the benefit of the others. The extent of the share of the redeeming co-owner is not
taken into account except as provided in the second paragraph thereof.

 Legal Terms
1. Indemnify - is to compensate that party for losses that that party has incurred or will incur
as related to a specified incident.
2. Co-owners -  has an absolute ownership of his undivided share in the co-owned property.
3. Co heir- an heir who shares an inheritance with one or more other people.
4. Vendee -A buyer, especially of real property.
5. A retro - transfers the legal title to the vendee in the absence of an agreement to the
contrary, carries with it the right of possession.
6. Trustee - is a third party who is authorized by a settler to execute and manage trust
assets. A trustee holds the title of the trust asset. A trustee is a requirement of an express
trust along with trust property, trust intent, and definite beneficiaries.
7. Redemptioner -  a creditor having a lien by attachment, judgment or mortgage on the
property sold, or on some part thereof, subsequent to the judgment under which the
property was sold.

 Note
Effect of redemption by co-ownerof entire property.

Under Article 1612, a co-owner cannot redeem more than his share in the co-ownership.
The redemption by a co-owner of the property in its entirety, shouldering the expenses
therefor, does not make him the owner of all of it. In other words, it does not put to end the
existing state of co-ownership.

- https://www.academia.edu/30297811/LAW_OF_SALES_BY_HECTOR_DE_LEON

Art. 1613 In the case of the preceding article, the vendee may demand of all the
vendors or co-heirs that they come to an agreement upon the repurchase of the
whole thing sold; and should they fail to do so,the vendee cannot be compelled to
consent to a partial redemption. (1515)

 Note

Article 1613 does not provide for a mode of terminating a co-ownership nor does
the fact that the redeeming co-owner has succeeded in securing title over a parcel of
land in his name terminate the existing co-ownership. Registration of property is not
a means of acquiring ownership. It operates as a mere notice of existing title, that is,
if there is one. (Adill vs. Court of Appeals,157 SCRA 455 [1988]; see Paul mian vs.
Court of Appeals, 215 SCRA866 [1992].

ART. 1614. Each one of the co-owners of an undivided immovable who may have sold his
share separately, may independently exercise the right of repurchase as regards his own
share, and the vendee cannot compel him to redeem the whole property.(1516)

Redemption in separate sales by co-owners of undivided immovable.

Although it is the policy of the law to avoid in division, it would be unjust, if the sale was
made separately and independently, to require the co-owners to come to an agreement
with regard to the repurchase of the thing sold, and certainly, it would be worse to deprive
them of their right in case they fail to agree.The very purpose of the article is to prevent
such injustice. (10Manresa 332.)

 Legal terms
1. Indivision - makes it possible to agree on the sharing of costs related to the property.
2. Deprive/ Injustice - to take away or withhold something from. no person shall… be
deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.
ART. 1615. If the vendee should leave several heirs,the action for redemption
cannot be brought against each of them except for his own share, whether the
thing be undivided, or it has been partitioned among them.But if the inheritance
has been divided, and the thing sold has been awarded to one of the heirs, the
action for redemption may be instituted against him for the whole. (1517)

Redemption against heirs of vendee.

The vendor a retro can exercise the right to redeem against the heirs of the vendee
a retro  with respect only to their respective shares, whether the thing be undivided
or it has been partitioned among them.However, if by partition the entire property
has been adjudicated to one of the heirs, the vendor can exercise the right to re-
deem against said heir for the whole.

 Legal Terms
1. Undivided- two or more persons have an interest in a property held under the
same title. The undivided interest encompasses the whole property, and its holders
have equal rights to the entire property. The undivided interest is not separated into
parts or shares.
2. Adjudicated -  the legal process of resolving a dispute or deciding a case. When a
claim is brought, courts identify the rights of the parties at that particular moment
by analyzing what were, in law, the rights and wrongs of their actions when they
occurred.
3. Partitioned - division of a property held jointly by several persons, so that each
person gets a share and becomes the owner of the share allotted to him.

ART. 1616. The vendor cannot avail himself of the right of repurchase
without returning to the vendee the price of the sale, and in addition:
(1)The expenses of the contract, and any other legitimate payments
made by reason of the sale;(2)The necessary and useful expenses made
on the thing sold. (1518)

Obligation of vendor a retro in case of redemption.

Article 1616 defines the obligations of the vendor who desires to exercise his right
of repurchase. (see Gargallo vs. Duero, 1 SCRA134 [1961].) He must return to the
vendee a retro
1. The price - The law speaks of “price of the sale” and not the value of the thing. It
is lawful, however, for the parties to agree that the price to be returned will be
more or less than the original sum paid by the vendee (10 Manresa 338-339.);(2)
2. Expenses of contract and other legitimate expenses.
 — If the expenses for the execution and registration of the sale were paid by the
vendee, the same shall be reimbursed by the vendor.
 But they need not be paid at the very time of the exercise of the right since they
are unknown amounts. They may be paid later. The same is true of necessary
and useful expenses (Decision of Supreme Court of Spain, Dec. 31, 1897; 10
Manresa 338.);and
3 Necessary and useful expenses.
 — The first are expenses incurred for the preservation of the thing or those which
seek to prevent the waste, deterioration or loss of the thing, while the second are
 
which increase the value of the thing or create improvements thereon, such as a
house.

(a) The necessary expenses which must be repaid to the vendee are not those which
are ordinary and simple expenses of preservation because these expenses are
incident to the enjoyment of the thing and should be borne by the vendee.
(10Manresa 339-342.)

(b) Useful expenses are refunded to the vendee a retro  because he is considered a

possessor in good faith. (Art. 546, par.2.)

(c) The vendor a retro is given no option to require the vendee  a retro  to remove the
useful improvements on the land subject of the sale a retro, unlike that granted the
owner of a land under Articles 546 and 547 13  of the Civil Code.

(d) The vendor a retro must pay for the useful improvements introduced by the
vendee a retro; otherwise, the latter may retain possession of the land until
reimbursement is made. It has been held, however, that considering the purpose of
the law on homesteads ,which is to conserve ownership in the hands of the
homesteader and his family,
 Article 1616 should be construed inconjunction with Articles 546 and
547. To allow a vendee a retro of a homestead the right of retention until
payment of useful expenses is made by the redemption er would be to
render nugatory the right of repurchase granted by law to a home-steadier
because all a vendor a retro can do to prevent repurchase is to build
something on the homestead beyond the ca-pacity to pay of the
homesteader who seeks to repurchase.

(e) The payment of land tax has been as neither necessary nor useful. It is a charge
against the property. The object of the land tax is to contribute to the expenses of the
government in the protection of the vendee’s right as owner and it is but jus tthat he
should bear said charges. (Cabigao vs. Valencia, 53 Phil.646 [1929].) Taxes on the
property may be considered necessary expenses in the sense that if they are not
paid, the property may be sold for tax delinquency or forfeited to the government.

 Legal Terms
1. Legitimate- it must have a valid legal pedigree. That is, it must be authorized by
a law that itself originates from a widely accepted source of law.
2. Reimbursed - means money paid to you to cover expenses that you have
already paid for out of your own funds.
3. Incurred - refers to becoming liable or subject to an obligation, be it a claim, a
loss, an expense, or another legal obligation. In other words, there has to be a
real legal obligation or liability, not a theoretical or expected obligation or liability.
4. Deterioration-any naturally occurring process or a natural disaster that results in
the destruction or partial destruction of a public document.
5. Possessor - in the concept of owner has in his favor the legal presumption that
he possesses with a just title and he cannot be obliged to show or prove it.
6. Homestead- a mode of acquiring alienable and disposable lands of the public
domain for agricultural purposes conditioned upon actual cultivation and
residence.
 Note
Conformably with Article 1616, the seller given the right to repurchase may
exercise his right of redemption by paying the buyer: (a) the price of the sale,
(b) the expenses of the contract, (c) legitimate payments made by reason of
the sale, and (d) the necessary and useful expenses made on the thing sold.

ART. 1617. If at the time of the execution of the sale there should be on
the land, visible or growing fruits, there shall be no reimbursement for
or prorating of those existing at the time of redemption, if no indemnity
was paid by the purchaser when the sale was executed.Should there
have been no fruits at the time of the sale, and some exist at the time of
redemption, they shall be prorated between the redemptioner and the
vendee, giving the latter the part corresponding to the time he
possessed the land in the last year, counted from the anniversary of the
date of the sale. (1519a)

Right of parties as to fruits of land.

 This article applies only when the parties have not provided for any sharing
arrangement with respect to the fruits existing at the time of redemption. (Almeda
vs. Daluro, 79 SCRA 327 [1977].)It refers only to natural and industrial fruits.
Civil fruits are deemed to accrue daily and belong to the vendee in that
proportion.

(1) If there were fruits at the time of the sale and the vendee paid for them, he must
be reimbursed at the time of redemption as the payment forms part of the purchase
price.

(2) If no indemnity was paid by the vendee for the fruits, there shall be no
reimbursement for those existing at the time of redemption. (par. 1.)

(3) If the property had no fruits at the time of the sale and some exist at the time of
redemption, they shall be apportioned proportionately between the redemptioner and
the vendee, giving the latter a share in proportion to the time he possessed the
property during the last year counted from the anniversary of the date of the sale
(par. 2.) to compensate the vendee for his expense.(see Lustado vs. Pinol, [unrep.]
102 Phil. 1164 [1958].)The same rule, it is believed, is also applicable if there were
fruits at the time of the sale and the vendee paid for them.

 Legal Terms
1. Proration -  actions when a company splits its original cash and equity offer to
accommodate investor choices
2. Latter - referring to the second of two things or persons mentioned (or the last
one or ones of several) 
3. Industrial fruits -  those produced by lands of any kind through cultivation or
labor. Civil fruits are the rents of buildings, the price of leases of lands and other
property and the amount of perpetual or life annuities or other similar income.
4. Redemption -It is the right to be subrogated upon the same terms and
conditions stipulated in the contract
5. Apportioned - . The division of a benefit or a liability between two or more
parties according to their proportionate interests.
 Note

Rule in case there is no agreement on the sharing of the fruits of the property. *
Preference when two or more owners of adjoining lands wish to exercise the right of
redemption 1

ART. 1618. The vendor who recovers the thing sold shall receive it free from all
charges or mortgages constituted by the vendee, but he shall respect the
leases which the latter may have executed in good faith, and in accordance
with the customs of the place where the land is situated. (1520)

Right of vendor a retro to recover thing sold free from charges.

 The vendee a retro may alienate, encumber, or perform other acts of

ownership over the thing sold. But his ownership being revocable upon
redemption, all acts done by him are also revocable. Thus, he
may borrow money and mortgage the property but when the vendor  a
retro redeems, the vendee a retro is obliged to redeem the mortgage. The
vendor has the right to receive the property in the same condition in which
it was at the time of the sale.
 The law, however, establishes an exception with respect to leases which
the vendee may have entered into in good faith ac-cording to the custom of
the place where the land is located. The exception is dictated by public
convenience in the interest of ag-riculture

 Legal Terms

1. Good Faith- an honest belief in the validity of one's right, ignorance of a superior
claim, and absence of intention to overreach another 
2. Customs- rule of conduct, obligatory on. those within its scope, established by
long usage
3. Alienate- the process of a property owner voluntarily giving or selling the title of
their property to another party. When property is considered alienable, that
means the property is able to be sold or transferred to another party without
restriction
4. Encumbrance-  a claim against an asset by an entity that is not the
owner
5. Ownership -  the legal right to use, possess, and give away a thing. Ownership
can be tangible such as personal property and land, or it can be of intangible
things such as intellectual property rights.

 
SECTION 2. — Legal Redemption
ART. 1619. Legal redemption is the right to be subrogated, upon the
same terms and conditions stipulated in the contract, in the place of one
who acquires a thing by purchase or dation in payment, or by any other
transaction whereby ownership is transmitted by onerous title. (1521a

Legal redemption defined.

 Article 1619 gives the definition of legal redemption. As theword “thing” is
employed without qualification, the right applies to both movable and immovable
property. (U.S. vs. Caballero, 23Phil. 65 [1912].)
Transfer of ownership by onerous title.
 Subrogation transfers to the person subrogated the rights pertaining to another.
(Art. 1303.) Note that legal redemption may take place not only in purchase or
dation in payment but in any other transfer of ownership by onerous title. It has
been held,however, that it cannot take place in barter and in the transmission of
property by hereditary title. (Decision of the Supreme Court of Spain, July 9,
1903 and June 7, 1915; 10 Manresa 319.)Evidently, the right is not available
where there is only a mortgage or lease
Dation in payment defined.
 Dation in payment or dacion en pago is the transmission of the ownership
of a thing by the debtor to the creditor as the accepted equivalent of the
performance of an obligation. (8 Manresa 314;see Art. 1245.) In this special
mode of payment, the debtor offers  another thing to the creditor who
accepts it as equivalent of payment of an outstanding debt.

Nature of dation in payment.

(1) Sale of thing
 The undertaking partakes in one sense of the nature of sale,  that is, the creditor
is really buying the thing or property of the debtor, payment for which is to be
charged against the debtor’s debt. As such, the essential elements of a contract
of sale, namely, consent, object certain, and cause or consideration must be
present. It is, therefore, governed by the law of sales.

(2) Novation of an obligation

 In its modern concept, whatactually takes place in dacion en pago
is an objective novation of the obligation where the thing offered as an
accepted equivalentof the performance of an obligation is considered as the object
of the contract of sale, while the debt is considered as the purchaseprice. (Filinvest
Credit Corporation vs. Phil. Acetylene Co., Inc.,111 SCRA 421 [1982].)

Basis and nature of right of legal redemption.

 (1) The nature of conventional and legal rights of redemption is identical, except
for the source of the right. While conventional redemption arises from the
voluntary agreement of the parties,legal redemption proceeds from law. (see
Alarcon vs. Esteva, 16SCRA 123 [1966].)

 The concept of legal redemption may be converted into one of conventional

redemption. Thus, where there was voluntary agreement of the parties,
consisting of extensions of the redemption period granted at the request of the
vendors followed by commitment by them to pay the redemption price at a fixed
date,it was held that the concept of legal redemption is converted by the parties
into one of conventional redemption such that it generated binding contracts
when approved by the vendee. In such case, the period of redemption is that
agreed upon by the parties

 (2)The right of legal redemption is not predicated on proprietary right

but on a bare statutory privilege  to be exercised only by the person named in
the statute. In other words, the statute does not make actual ownership at the
time of sale or redemption a condition precedent, the right following the person
and not the property. (Magno vs. Viola and Sotto, 61 Phil. 80 [1934].) Under the
law (Rules of Court, Rule 39, Sec. 30.), the property sold subject to redemption
may be redeemed by the judgment debtor or his successor-in-interest in
the whole or any part of the property. In an extra-judicial foreclosure sale, the
 mortgagor, his successors-in-interest, judgment creditor or any person having a
lien on the property subsequent to the mortgage, may redeem the same. (ActNo.
3155, Sec. 6.)
 3)Legal redemption is in the nature of a mere privilege
created partly for reason of public policy and partly for the benefit and convenience of
the redemptioner to afford him a way out of what might be a disagreeable or
inconvenient association into which he has been thrust. It is intended to minimize co-
owner-ship. (Basa vs. Aguilar, 117 SCRA 128 [1982]; Tan vs. Court of Appeals, 172
SCRA 660 [1989].) It works only one way in favor of the redemptioner. Not having
parted with anything, he can compel the purchaser to sell, but cannot be compelled
by him to buy.(Villasor vs. Medel, [C.A.] No. 8677, Sept. 29, 1948.)

 Legal Terms

1. Subrogtiaon - the right of an insurance company to get back the money that it
pays to someone with an insurance contract from the person who has caused
the loss, injury, or damage
2. Stipulated - agreement, a bargain, proviso, or condition.
3. Mortgage- a contract where immovable property (i.e. a house) is put up as
security by the debtor (the “mortgagor”) in the creditor's (the “mortgagee”) favor
for a loan or any other principal obligation.
4.

 Note
Basis and nature of right of legal redemption
Legal redemption is in the nature of a mere privilege created partly for reason of
public policy and partly for the benefit and convenience of the redemptioner to afford
him a way out of what might be a disagreeable and inconvenient association into
which he has been thrust

Article 1620.  A co-owner of a thing may exercise the right of redemption in

case the shares of all the other co-owners or of any of them, are sold to a third
person. If the price of the alienation is grossly excessive, the redemptioner
shall pay only a reasonable one.

 Should two or more co-owners desire to exercise the right of redemption, they
may only do so in proportion to the share they may respectively have in the thing
owned in common.

Right of legal redemption of co-owner

The right of legal redemption among co-owner presupposes of course the existence
of a co-ownership at the time the conveyance is made. The following are the
requisites for the right to exist:

(1) There must be co-ownership
(2.) There must be alienation of all or of any of the shares of the other co-owners.
(3.) The sale must be to a third person or stranger (non co-owner).
(4.) The sale must be before partition
(5.) The vendee must be reimbursed for the price of the sale.
When right cannot be invoked.
Article 1620 applies only if the co-ownership still exists. (seeMendoza vs. Court of
Appeals, 199 SCRA 778 [1992]; Abalos vs.Court of Appeals, 42 SCAD 569, 223
SCRA [1993].) It presupposes the existence of a co-ownership at the time the
conveyance is made by a co-owner and when it is demanded by the other co-owner
or co-owners.

 Note

Purpose of the grant of right to co-owners

The purpose of the law in establishing the right of legal redemption between co-
owners is to reduce the number of participants until community is done away with, as
being a hindrance to the development and better administration of the property

ART. 1621. The owners of adjoining lands shall also have the right of
redemption when a piece of rural land, the area of which does not exceed one
hectare, is alienated, unless the grantee does not own any rural land.

 This right is not applicable to adjacent lands which are separated by

brooks, drains, ravines, roads and other apparent servitudes for the benefit
of other estates.

 If two or more adjoining owners desire to exercise the right of redemption

at the same time, the owner of the adjoining land of smaller area shall be
preferred;and should both lands have the same area, the one who first
requested the redemption. (1523a)

Right of legal redemption of adjacent owners of rural lands.

The following are the requisites for the exercise of the right under this article:
(1) Both the land of the one exercising the right of redemption and the land sought to
be redeemed must be rural;

(2) The lands must be adjacent;

(3)There must be an alienation;

(4)The piece of rural land alienated must not exceed one (1)hectare;

(5)The grantee or vendee must already own any other rural land; and

(6) The rural land sold must not be separated by brooks,drains, ravines, roads and
other apparent servitudes from the adjoining lands.The lands mentioned in paragraph
2 of Article 1621 are not really adjacent

 Legal Terms

1. Rural Land - means land with an average of less than one residence per 5 acres.
2. Servitude - an encumbrance imposed upon an immovable for the benefit of
another immovable belonging to a different owner.
3. Adjacent - an encumbrance imposed upon an immovable for the benefit of
another immovable belonging to a different owner.
4. Adjoining lands -touching by a common corner or a common boundary line. It
includes land having common ownership but divided by a road or other right-of-
way.

 Note
When the land exceeds one (1) hectare, the adjacent owners are not given the
right of legal redemption because this may lead to the creation of big landed
estates. (10 Manresa 372.) The right cannot be exercised against a vendee if he
is also an adjacent owner. The last paragraph of Article 1621 refers to a
situation where the vendee of a piece of rural land is not an adjoining owner