How much cash surrender value (refund) am I entitled to under the Maceda Law?
Last updated: 2026-07-11 · Educational content; not legal advice.
Short answer
Under Section 3 of the Maceda Law (RA 6552), if you have paid at least two years of installments, the cash surrender value on cancellation is 50% of the total payments you made. After five years of installments, it increases by an additional 5% for every year beyond the fifth, but the total can never exceed 90% of your total payments. 'Total payments' refers to the installment payments made — the law's own phrasing is 'fifty per cent of the total payments made.' The seller cannot validly cancel the contract until this cash surrender value is actually paid to you.
Worked example (illustrative, not legal advice): if you paid a total of ₱600,000 over 3 years and default, your cash surrender value is 50% = ₱300,000. If you had paid for 7 years, it would be 50% + (2 extra years × 5%) = 60% of your total payments — capped at 90% no matter how many years you paid. Buyers with less than two years of installments are NOT entitled to a cash surrender value; their remedy is the 60-day grace period under Section 4.
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Frequently asked
Is it 50% of the property price or 50% of what I paid?
It is 50% of the total payments you actually made — not 50% of the contract price. RA 6552 §3 says 'the cash surrender value of the payments on the property equivalent to fifty per cent of the total payments made.'
How does it grow after five years?
After five years of installments, you add 5% for every year beyond the fifth. The maximum is 90% of total payments — the law says the additional amount 'shall not exceed ninety per cent of the total payments made.'
What if I paid less than two years?
Then you are not entitled to a cash surrender value. Your protection is a grace period of not less than 60 days under Section 4 to pay the unpaid installments and reinstate the contract.
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Your rights as a home buyer or renter — the Maceda Law (RA 6552) refund and cash-surrender-value rules when you stop paying a house or condo on installment, the grace period before a developer can cancel, PD 957 remedies when a developer won't deliver your unit, title, or promised amenities, how to file against a developer at DHSUD / the HSAC, and the Rent Control Act (RA 9653) limits on deposits, rent increases, and eviction.