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Navarro Lecture on Usufruct and Easements and Servitudes
Nothing complicated about usufructs. The basic idea of usufruct is the property is given to a person, who is given the right to use and enjoy the prop propert erty y with with a basic basic oblig obligati ation on of prese preserv rving ing its form form and substa substanc nce. e. Basically that’s what usufruct is all about. Try to remember at least a few distinctions of usufruct and lease. Just remember the basic distinctions. ou need not remember all the distinctions. !sufruct is always a real right. "ease not always a real right becomes a real right only if the duration is more than one year or if it is registered. !sufruct is created only by the person who owns the property property.. !ng lease pwede. pwede. #t can be created by somebody somebody who is not actually the owner of the property. $or e%ample the lessee may actually sublease the property. #n the matter of its creation, there are various ways of creating a usufruct. #t may be created by the law itself, by the will of the testator, o&.. ahh.. #n the case of a lease, generally the only possible source of lease is the contract between the parties e%cept only in case of forced lease under 'rt. (() *ung if the value of the land is considerably more than the value of the building, the land owner cannot compel or as& the builder to buy but enter into a forced lease.+ ou ou remember remember the rights of the usufructuary usufructuary.. #f you are the usufructuary, what are your rights Basically you can use the property, you are are enti entitl tled ed to all all the the frui fruits ts whet whethe herr natu natura ral, l, indu indust stri rial al or civi civill frui fruits ts.. -upposing there are hidden treasures there, the usufructuary, the law says, is consi conside dere red d a strang stranger er.. #n other other wo word rds, s, if somebo somebody dy nds nds the hidd hidden en trea treasu surre then then the the usuf usufru ruct ctua uary ry does doesn’ n’tt get get any any shar share e of it. it. #f it is the the usufructuary himself who nds the hidden treasure, then he may be entitled to one/half of the hidden treasure and the other half will go to the na&ed owner of the property. property. ou ou remember remember the provisions provisions of growing growing and pending fruits, those fruits which are growing and pending at the commencement of the usufruct will belong to the usufructuary. Those fruits which are growing and pending at the time of the end or termination of the usufruct will of course belong to the na&ed owner of the property. 0ith respect to the fruits pending at the commencement of the usufruct, sabi natin, will belong to the usufructuary. 1oes he have to refund to the na&ed owner the e%penses incurred so far, there is no need to refund the e%penses. But when it comes to the fruits pending at the time of the termination of the usufruct, while the law says that they will belong to the na&ed owner, the owner has to reimburse reimburse the usufructuary usufructuary the e%penses e%penses incurred by the latter for cultivation, seeds, and other similar e%penses. 2&ay.
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#f the property under usufruct is tenantable, pwedeng i/lease or i/rent out to tenants, it is the usufructuary not the na&ed owner who has the right to determine who will be the tenant of the property. #f there are any accessions, halimbawa the property under usufruct happens to be a parcel of land, it’s located along the ban&s of the river and in the course of time the area increased because of alluvion, the usufructuary has the right to ma&e use of the additional area. That’s part of his right under 'rt. 345. The usufructuary may decide to personally use the thing, to personally enjoy it, or he may allow another person to enjoy the thing under usufruct. 2&ay But remember that all contract entered into by the usufructuary with third persons are 62/T789#N!- with the usufruct with the e%ception of lease of rural land which shall be deemed to continue up to the end of the agricultural year. The obvious purpose there is to allow the lessee, who may be cultivating the land, to continue with the production and gathering. 2&ay. !sufruct imposes upon usufructuary the obligation of preserving the form and substance of the thing. 2&ay. But the law allows the grant of usufruct over the entire patrimony of a person and when that happens, chances are in that patrimony there will be some properties which by their very nature will deteriorate or will be impaired due to ordinary wear and tear. 'lright. -upposing that what has been given by usufruct is property given which gradually deteriorate through ordinary use, ordinary wear and tear, halimbawa a car syempre &otse, if the usufruct is for more than ve years, after ve years iba na yung &otseng yan. The ordinary use of the car will result to ordinary wear and tear. 6an the usufructuary use the property The answer is yes. Pwede pa rin. 0hat will be his obligation :e is simply obligated to return the thing in the condition in which it may be in the time of termination of the usufruct. 2f course if the thing su;ered injury or damage due to his fraud or negligence, he is obligated to indemnify. Pero &ung ordinary wear and tear lang, no obligation. 2&ay :e simply has to return the thing in the condition in which it may be found at the termination of the usufruct. 2&ay. 6an there be a usufruct on consumable things, those which cannot be used in a manner appropriate to their nature without them being consumed or used up 6an there be a usufruct on money 6an there be a usufruct on rice, for e%ample The answer is yes. But well these are sometimes called 'BN289'" !-!$8!6T- 2N 62N-!9'B"7-, sometimes called
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right to return or pay their appraised value at the time of the termination of usufruct #$ T:7 0787 'PP8'#-71. #f they were not appraised, he will have the obligation of returning the same . #n case the na&ed owner waives the re
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consents. >. #f there is waiver by the na&ed owner. ?. #f the usufructuary happens to be the donor of the thing. -a &anya nanggaling, binigay nya, but he reserve the usufruct of the property, he is not re
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#ndians yan. 9ule is a sterile animal and you produce a mule by cross breeding a male don&ey and a female horse. The o;spring will be a mule. 2&ay. -terile yun. 'lright. 0ho is responsible for repairs ou distinguish between ordinary and e%traordinary repairs. 2rdinary repairs are the responsibility of the usufructuary. 0hen is a repair considered as ordinary repair #f it is due to ordinary wear and tear and it is indispensable for the preservation of the thing. -o two re
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:ow is usufruct e%tinguished ou ta&e note of the provisions of 'rt @? of the 6ivil 6ode. The death of the usufructuary E7N78'"" terminates the usufruct. 0hat about the death of the na&ed owner #t does not terminate the usufruct. 9erger would also result in termination of usufruct. 9eaning to say, if there is merger of the usufruct and the ownership of the same property on the same person, then the usufruct is necessarily terminated. Total loss of the thing, that also results in the termination of the usufruct. Termination of the right of the person constituting the usufruct, that also terminates the usufruct. #f # give you a usufruct over a parcel of land and during the e%istence of the usufruct my rights are declared by nal judgment of the court to be null and void. # am not really the owner then that’s an e%ample of a situation where the usufruct will be terminated by termination of the right of the person constituting the usufruct. 8enunciation on the part of the usufructuary, that will also result in the termination of the usufruct. 1oes a renunciation re
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owner forbids, he has the obligation to pay the usufructuary interest not only on the value of the materials but also on the value of the land. Ba&it meron interest pati sa value of the land because sabi nga natin, even if the usufruct e%pressly covers only the building it necessarily included the use of the land because a building cannot Goat. 2&ay. #f the property under usufruct has been e%propriated, what will be the legal conse4 ung given to the tenant. "ets us now go to 7'-797NT-. ' few important points to remember, again try to ta&e note some of the distinctions between easements and lease. 2ne distinction na naman ay easements is always a real right, lease is a real right only when it is more than one year and registered. 'nother important distinction of course is that in easement, you can only have an easement with regard to real or immovable property, ung lease pwede &ahit movable or personal property. 8emember the various types or &inds of easements. 'n easement may be continuous or discontinuous, apparent or non/apparent, it may be positive or negative. 0hen is an easement considered continuous 'n easement is considered continuous if its use does not depend upon the acts of man. #t is discontinuous if its use depends on the acts of man, if it is only used at intervals and depends on the acts of man. 0hen is an easement apparent #f there is an e%ternal sign which continually &eeps it in view and reveals its use and enjoyment. #t is non/apparent if there is no visible indication of its e%istence. 0hen is an easement positive 0hen is it negative 'n easement is positive when it imposes upon the owner of the servient estate the obligation of allowing something to be done or of doing it himself. #t is negative if it prohibits or prevents the owner of the servient estate from doing something which otherwise he could lawfully do where it not for the e%istence of the easement. 6ontinuous easement. 'n easement of drainage, an easement of abatement of a dam, an easement of light and view, these are continuous easements. The easement of light and view continuous to be used even if nobody is ma&ing use of the light and view. #t’s there, so it’s continuous. 1iscontinuous easement, right of way because it is impossible for a man to continuously wal&ing to and fro through the right of way >( hours a day 4 days a wee&. #ts use depends upon human intervention, upon the right of man.
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0hat about an apparent easement #f a right of way is a permanent right of way, there is a permanent road there, that’s apparent. 2&ay. 'gain, abatement of a dam, &itang &ita mo nanjan yan. 'n easement of a
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to serve you with a notarial prohibition telling you, oh do not bloc& my light and view.K The 5/year period will start to run only then upon service of the notarial prohibition. ou ta&e note however of 'rt @>(. 0hen there is an apparent sign of an easement between two estates established and maintained by the owner of both and these two estates are disposed of, either or both of them are alienated in favor of others and at the time of the alienation nothing to the contrary is provided for in the contract or agreement nor are these apparent signs of an easement removed, pag hindi tinaggal, then upon the alienation of either or both of the two estates these apparent signs will be considered as T#T"7 and would enable the easement to continue after the alienation. 7%ample "ot 5 and "ot > both owned by 9r. F. 2n lot 5 there is a house and there are big windows here facing "ot >. "ot 5 was sold to 9r. ' and "ot > was sold to 9r. B. 't the time of the sale, nothing was said about the removal of the easements, the big windows were not closed, sige lang, one year later 9r. B was trying to build on his property. -abi ni 9r. ', 2&ay pare &o, meron a&o easement of light and view. #f you want to build on your property you have to observe ? meters.K 'ng sabi ni 9r. B, 'ba te&a. 'saan ang notarial prohibition mo :ow could you possibly have ac(. The e%istence of those big windows is an apparent sign of an easement in favor of this property. -ince that apparent sign was not removed at the time when these properties where not alienated by the former owner, they will now be considered as title and the easement will be allowed to continue. an ang ibig sabihin ng 'rt @>(. Eargantos vs TaLano. ou ta&e note of 'rt @>@ which is a new provision of the New 6ivil 6ode which according to most commentators including the members of the 6ode 6ommission, is intended precisely to counter act a previous ruling of the -upreme 6ourt &asi under a previous ruling of the -upreme 6ourt ngyari ganito. 9eron sugar mill, it had an easement of right of way over intervening estates so that it could transport sugar canes of the sugar planters located further on. -abi ng -upreme 6ourt, if there are new sugar planters who would also want to have their sugar canes milled in that mill, o&ay, then sugar mill can also use the right of way to transport the sugar cane. 'ccording to most civilists including the members of the code commission, mali ung decision na un in Balderama vs. North Negros 6entral. Aaya nga daw nag&aroon ng 'rt @>@. !nder the present 'rticle, the owner of the dominant estate cannot use the easement e%cept for the benet of the movables originally contemplated neither can he e%ercise the easement in any other manner than that previously established. -o 'rt @>@ is precisely intended to correct that former ruling. -o under 'rt @>@, hindi pwede un. The milling company cannot use the easement of right of way to transport sugar cane of other additional planters who were not contemplated when the easement was earlier established.
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2n the rights and obligations of the owners of dominant and servient estate, of course e%penses for the maintenance of the easement this will have to be borne by the owner of the dominant estate. The owner of the servient estate if it becomes apparent later on that the location or the manner of use of the servient estate is turning out to be very very inconvenient to the owner of the servient estate, may propose a change in the manner or location of the easement. 2&ay. #f there are several dominant estates they will all have to contribute proportionately to the maintenance of the easement. 2&ay. 9odes of e%tinguishing easements, you ta&e note of 'rt @?5. :a 9erger, again just li&e you usufruct. 9erger of the ownership of the dominant and servient estates. That will result in the termination of the easement. The merger must be a permanent one not simply a temporary merger. 2&ay. #f it is merely a temporary merger, for e%ample the owner of the dominant estates sells his estate under pacto de retro to the owner of the servient estate, the easement is not e%tinguished it is merely suspended. !pon the e%ercise of the right to repurchase it will obviously be revived. 2&ay. 8enunciation by the owner of the dominant estate that also terminates the easement. None user for 5 years. #f either or both of the estates fall into such condition that the easement could not be used but the easement will revive if the conditions improved unless in the meantime prescription has already set in. 2n legal easements, ahh easements relating to waters ung lower estates are oblige to receive the water including the soil and other materials which naturally Gow from the higher estate. 2&ay. 's long as everything happens naturally, walang human intervention bumagsa& ang ulan meron mga bato etc water which Gows to the lower estate, there is no obligation to indemnify. #f there is human intervention, however, halimbawa the owner of the higher estate draws water from a river, uses the easement of a of the 0ater 6ode. -o under 'rt 35 of the 0ater 6ode, the width of the area covered by the easement for the benet of recreation, navigation, Goatage, shing and salvage *please ta&e note &asama ang recreation+. 2&ay. The area depends upon the location. -o in urban areas the width of the easement is only ? meters, in agricultural areas the width is much wider > meters, and in forest areas the width is actually ( meters. 7asement of right of way. Paborito din ito mga &asama. 8emember you can demand an easement of right of way if your estate has no ade
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belonging to other persons. The outlet to the public highway must be an ade
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donation you found out that the property # donated is surrounded by property belonging to me. 1o you have a right of way es. 1o you have to pay indemnity -yempre naman. 1onation ito eh ha. -o you apply di;erent rules to donors and di;erent rules to sellers of property. 2&ay. 0hat is the legal conse
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shoulder the additional e%penses for maintaining a taller and thic&er wall and he has to provide the additional land needed for a thic&er wall. #f one of the adjacent owners wants to e%empt himself from contributing to the e%penses of maintenance, the law allows him to renounce his part interest in the party wall e%cept when the party wall supports his building. 0ith respect to the easement of light and view, what are the things which we should remember Tandaan lang natin o&, if you ma&e an opening in a party wall that’s a positive easement prescription starts to run from the time opening is made. 2&ay. Nagbu&as &a ng opening sa party wall para ma&ita mo yung magandang dalaga na naliligo sa swimming pool dun sa &atabi mong lote, oh syempre, your neighbor who is the owner of the adjacent estate has the right to close the opening. -o what can you do 2pen it again. #t will be a game of close/open close/open. 2&ay. Pagpinabayaan nyang n&a open yan, n&atiwangwang yang opening na yan for 5 years, she can no longer as& for the closure. ou would have ac meters. 2&ay. 0ith respect to direct view, ung diretsong tingin yan ang direct view, yung obli meters and obli
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heat stro&e. 2&ay 'lright. -o remember the re meters. Pagdating sa small trees, 3 centimeters. 'nd then ahhh ayun yung magandang provision 'rt @)5.. ah before that 'rt @). #f the branches of the tree of your neighbor e%tends over your property, you don’t have the right to cut o; those branches. ou demand from your neighbor na putulin mo yan o&ay. Pero &ung ang invasions is from below, yung mga roots ah pwede mong &uwan yan, pwede mong tagain yan, you can cut o; the roots. 2&ay. Now, yun naming branches e%tending over your property hindi naman puro damage or injury yan, possible din na mei benet. :alimbawa matamis yung manga na n&a pwesto dun sa &anyang property, some branches e%tend over your land. 2&ay Number 5 rule, bawal hong yugyugin ang branch. The law simply gives you the right over the fruits which fall naturally. 2&ay -o hindi pwedeng sung&itin, hindi pwedeng yugyugin. Aung ano lang malaglag un lang. 'lright. 7asement against nuisance, it’s not really an easement. #t is simply a restriction on property. 2&ay. 'hhh. 7asement of lateral and subjacent support. Aung yung properties are on the same planes on the same level, ang tawag jan easement of lateral and subjacent support. #f one easement or one property is below that would involve subjacent support. Holuntary easements you simply read these provisions. 'hhh. #f the property is under co/ownership to impose an easement on the property, all co/owners of the property must give their consent. 0ith respect to perpetual voluntary easements, if na&ed ownership is vested in one person while the usufruct or benecial ownership is vested in another you cannot impose a perpetual voluntary easement without the consent of both owners ha. # thin& we can start with nuisance ne%t time. Aonti nalang ito. Nuisance. 9odes. Tapos. 'lright. -o let’s close with a prayer. 2ur $ather.
