- Statute
- Civil Code
- Article
- Art. 448
- Topic
- Right of Accession GENERAL PROVISIONS
- Status
- In force
- Book
- BOOK II PROPERTY, OWNERSHIP, AND ITS MODIFICATIONS
- Title
- TITLE II OWNERSHIP
- Chapter
- CHAPTER 2 Right of Accession GENERAL PROVISIONS
- Formerly
- Art. 361a of the old Civil Code
- Year
- 1949
- Cited by
- Multiple Supreme Court decisions
The provision
The owner of the land on which anything has been built, sown or planted in good faith, shall have the right to appropriate as his own the works, sowing or planting, after payment of the indemnity provided for in articles 546 and 548, or to oblige the one who built or planted to pay the price of the land, and the one who sowed, the proper rent. However, the builder or planter cannot be obliged to buy the land if its value is considerably more than that of the building or trees. In such case, he shall pay reasonable rent, if the owner of the land does not choose to appropriate the building or trees after proper indemnity. The parties shall agree upon the terms of the lease and in case of disagreement, the court shall fix the terms thereof. (361a)
Intellegal Wiki · In plain terms
When someone builds, plants, or sows in good faith on land owned by another, the landowner chooses between two options: keep the improvement by paying the builder or planter an indemnity, or make the builder or planter buy the land (the sower instead pays rent). A builder cannot be forced to buy land worth far more than the building; then a court may set a reasonable rent.
An editorially maintained plain-language explanation of this provision — not legal advice.
Intellegal Wiki · How the courts apply it
In Sulo Sa Nayon v. Nayong Pilipino Foundation, the Supreme Court held: The rights of a lessee who builds on the leased property are governed by Article 1678, not by the builder-in-good-faith rules (Articles 448 and 546), since a lessee has only a possessory, not an ownership, claim.
One leading Supreme Court case applying this provision.
Cases applying this article
- Mercedes Moralidad v. Sps. Diosdado Pernes G.R. No. 152809
- Francisco S. Dizon v. Sebastian Gonzaga G.R. No. 138863
- Rodolfo Morales v. Court of Appeals (Former Seventeenth Division) G.R. No. 117228
- Onesimo Agapito v. Marilyn F. Agapito G.R. No. 255157
- Bermon Marketing Communication Corporation v. Spouses Lilia M. Yaco G.R. No. 224552
- Mr. v. Mr. G.R. No. 222530
- Bank of the Philippine Islands v. Vicente Victor C. Sanchez G.R. No. 179518
- Lourdes C. Fernandez v. Norma Villegas G.R. No. 200191
Other Supreme Court decisions also apply this article.