I stopped paying my house or condo installment — can I get a refund?
Last updated: 2026-07-11 · Educational content; not legal advice.
Short answer
It depends on how long you have been paying. Under the Maceda Law (RA 6552, the Realty Installment Buyer Protection Act), if you have paid at least two years of installments on a residential house, lot, or condominium unit and then default, the seller cannot simply keep everything: on cancellation you are entitled to a cash surrender value of 50% of your total payments (rising after five years). If you have paid less than two years, you get a grace period of not less than 60 days to catch up, but there is no automatic cash refund. The developer must serve a notarized notice and pay any cash surrender value before a cancellation is valid. Maceda Law covers residential installment sales; it does not cover industrial lots, commercial buildings, or land sold under agrarian reform.
RA 6552 applies to the sale or financing of real estate on installments, including residential condominium apartments, but excludes industrial lots, commercial buildings, and sales to tenants under the agrarian-reform law. Your remedy turns on the two-year threshold in Sections 3 and 4.
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Frequently asked
Does the Maceda Law cover a condo unit?
Yes. RA 6552 expressly applies to residential real estate sold on installment, including residential condominium apartments. It does not cover industrial lots, commercial buildings, or land sold to tenants under the agrarian-reform program.
What counts as 'paying at least two years'?
It refers to at least two years of installment payments actually made under the contract. Reaching that threshold is what unlocks the cash-surrender-value refund and the longer grace period under Section 3; below it, Section 4 gives you only the 60-day grace period.
Can the developer keep all my money if I just walk away?
Not if the Maceda Law applies. If you have paid two years or more, cancellation is valid only after the developer serves a notarized notice and actually pays you the cash surrender value. If you have paid less than two years, they must first give you the 60-day grace period and a notarized notice.
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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.