BASED ON MOBILITY [IMMOVABLE OR MOVABLE]

B. BASED ON MOBILITY [IMMOVABLE OR MOVABLE]

B. 1. REAL OR IMMOVABLE PROPERTY NCC 415.

(1) Land, buildings, roads and constructions of all kinds adhered to the soil;

(2) Trees, plants, and growing fruits, while they are attached to the land or form an integral part of an immovable;

(3) Everything attached to an immovable in a fixed manner, in such a way that it cannot be separated therefrom without breaking the material or deterioration of the object;

(4) Statues, reliefs, paintings or other objects for use or ornamentation, placed in buildings or on lands by the owner of the immovable in such a manner that it reveals the intention to attach them permanently to the tenements;

PAGE 90 OF 574 (5) Machinery, receptacles, instruments or

implements intended by the owner of the tenement for an industry or works which may be carried on in a building or on a piece of land, and which tend directly to meet the needs of the said industry or works;

(6) Animal houses, pigeon-houses, beehives, fish ponds 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) Fertilizer actually used on a piece of land;

(8) Mines, quarries, and slag 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.

CATEGORIES OF IMMOVABLES (a) By nature (nos. 1 & 8)

(b) By incorporation (nos. 2, 3 & 7) (c) By destination (nos. 4, 5, 6 & 9) (d) By analogy (no. 10)

Immovables by Nature: cannot be moved from place to place; their intrinsic qualities have no utility except in a fixed place. (pars. 1 & 8)

(1) Par. 5

(a) Building - their adherence to the land must be permanent and substantial, not merely superimposed

(b) Buildings have been considered as immovables by nature, despite:

(i) Agreement by the parties e.g. they constitute a separate mortgage on the building and the land [Punzalan v. Lacsamana (1983)]

(ii) Separate Ownership i.e. a building on rented land is still considered an immovable. [Tolentino]

(iii) No matter who built it

Where Building Is Treated As Personal Property:

Doctrine of Estoppel

“although there is no specific statement referring to the subject house as personal property, yet by ceding, selling or transferring a property by way of chattel mortgage could only have meant to convey the house as chattel, or at least, intended to treat the same as such, so that they should not now be allowed to make an inconsistent stand by claiming otherwise.”

[Tumalad v. Vicencio, (1971)]

(2) Par. 8

(c) Mineral Deposits

(i) Minerals still deposited in the soil;

(ii) When minerals have been extracted, they become chattel.

(d) Slag Dump: dirt and soil taken from a mine and piled upon the surface of the ground. Minerals can be found inside the dump.

(e) Waters: those still attached to or running thru the soil or the ground.

Immovables by Incorporation: essentially movables but are attached to an immovable in such a way as to be an integral part [Par. 2, 3, &

7]

(3) Par. 2

(f) Trees and plants: only immovables when they are attached to the land or form an integral part of an immovable (i) When they have been cut or

uprooted, they become movables.

(g) By special treatment of Act 1508 (Chattel Mortgage Law), growing crops may be subject of a Chattel Mortgage.

(h) For the purpose of attachment: growing crops are to be attached in the same manner as realty. (Rule 59, Sec. 7)

PAGE 91 OF 574 GENERAL RULE: Growing crops are considered

real property

EXCEPTION: the moment they are detached or uprooted from the land, they become personal property

(4) Par. 3

(i) Res vinta in Roman Law

(j) “Attachment in a fixed manner”:

breakage or injury in case of separation will be substantial e.g. wells, sewers, aqueducts and railways

(i) Whether attached by the owner himself or some other person

(5) Par. 7

Actually used (it has been spread over the land)

Immovables by Destination: essentially movables but by the purpose for which they have been placed in an immovable, partake of the nature of an immovable [Par. 4, 5, 6 & 9]

(6) Par. 4

(k) Placed by the owner or by the tenant (as agent);

(i) With intention of attaching them permanently even if adherence will not involve breakage or injury.

(l) Where the improvement or ornaments placed by the lessee are not to pass to the owner at the expiration of the lease, they remain movables for chattel mortgage purposes. [Davao Sawmill v.

Castillo (1935)]

(7) Par. 5

Immovability depends upon ownership of both movable and tenement, being destined for use in the industry or works which can be carried on in the tenement, e.g. sewing machines owned by the owner of a garment factory;

The moment they are separated, (from the immovable or from the industry or work in which they are utilized) they recover their condition as movables.

Requisites for Immovability in Par. 5:

(a) Must be machinery, receptacles, instruments, or implements

(b) Placed by the owner or the tenant (as agent);

Machinery which is movable in its nature only becomes immobilized when placed in a plant by the owner of the property or plant, but not when so placed by a tenant, a usufructuary, or any person having only a temporary right, unless such person acted as the agent of the owner.

[Davao Sawmill v. Castillo, (1935)]

(c) The machine, receptacle, instrument, implement must also be essential to the business (tend directly to meet the needs of industry or work) in order to be considered realty. [Mindanao Bus Co. v City Assessor (1962)]

Except: Estoppel

Parties may, by agreement, treat as personal property that which by nature would be real, as long as no third parties would be prejudiced. That characterization is effective between the parties. [Makati Leasing v. Wearever (1983)]

(2) Par. 6 Requisites:

(i) Placed by the owner or the tenant (as agent);

(ii) With the intention of permanent attachment;

(iii) Forming a permanent part of the immovable.

(3) Par. 9

Need not be placed by owner of land

A floating house tied to a shore and used as a residence is considered real property, considering that the waters on which it floats are considered immovables.

But if the floating house makes it a point to journey from place to place, it assumes the category of a vessel, and is considered a movable.

PAGE 92 OF 574 Immovables by Analogy: Contracts for public

works, servitudes, other real rights over immovable property e.g. usufruct and lease of real property for a period of 1 year and registered [Par. 10]

Note: Parties may by agreement treat buildings as movables, effective only as to them, but void if rights of third persons are involved. It is based, partly, upon the principle of estoppel.

[Evangelista vs. Alto Surety(1958)]

For purposes of taxation, improvements on land are commonly taxed as realty, even though for some purposes, they might be considered as personalty. [Manila Electric v. Central Bank (1962)]

B.2. PERSONAL OR MOVABLE

NCC 416 Corporeal or tangible movables

(1) Those movables susceptible of appropriation which are not included in the preceding article (Art. 415);

(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.

(5) NCC 417 Incorporeal or intangible movables (6) Obligations and actions which have for their

object movables or demandable sums; and (7) Shares of stock of agricultural, commercial

and industrial entities, although they may have real estate.

TESTS TO DETERMINE MOVABLE