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.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →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.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →Under the Maceda Law (RA 6552), if you have paid at least two years of installments, you get a grace period of one month for every year of installment payments you have made — for example, five years of payments earns a five-month grace period. This right can be exercised only once every five years. If you have paid less than two years, the seller must still give you a grace period of not less than 60 days from the date the installment fell due. Paying the arrears within the grace period reinstates your contract, and no interest is charged on the installments you catch up on.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →No. Under the Maceda Law (RA 6552), a seller cannot validly cancel a residential installment contract by mere demand or by a clause in the fine print. Cancellation takes effect only after 30 days from your receipt of a notice of cancellation or a demand for rescission delivered by a notarial act, and — if you have paid at least two years — only upon full payment to you of the cash surrender value. The Supreme Court has repeatedly voided cancellations that skipped the notarized notice or the cash-surrender-value payment. Until both steps are properly done, your contract is still alive.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →Yes, but less than a two-year buyer. Under Section 4 of the Maceda Law (RA 6552), a buyer who has paid less than two years of installments is entitled to a grace period of not less than 60 days from the date the installment became due to pay the unpaid installments without additional interest. If you still cannot pay, the seller may cancel the contract — but only after 30 days from your receipt of a notarized notice of cancellation. A buyer with less than two years paid is NOT entitled to a cash surrender value refund, so the priority is to use the 60-day window to catch up or negotiate.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →Under PD 957 (the Subdivision and Condominium Buyers' Protective Decree), the developer must deliver the title of the lot or unit to you upon your full payment (Section 25). If they refuse or keep stalling, you can file a complaint against the developer with the Human Settlements Adjudication Commission (HSAC), the quasi-judicial body that took over the former HLURB's adjudication function under RA 11201, at the HSAC Regional Adjudication Branch covering the project's location. HSAC can order the developer to deliver the title, deliver the finished unit, or refund what you paid. Keep your contract, official receipts, and every written follow-up.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →Possibly, yes. Under Section 23 of PD 957, if the developer fails to develop the subdivision or condominium project according to the approved plans and within the time limit, you may — after giving due notice to the developer — desist from paying further installments, and none of your payments will be forfeited. At your option, you can instead be reimbursed the total amount you paid, including amortization interests but excluding delinquency interests, with interest at the legal rate. Section 20 requires the developer to finish the promised facilities within one year of the license to sell (or the period fixed by the regulator). Serve a written notice first and file with the HSAC if they don't comply.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →Complaints by buyers against subdivision and condominium developers are filed with the Human Settlements Adjudication Commission (HSAC), the quasi-judicial body that took over the adjudication function of the former HLURB under RA 11201 (the DHSUD charter, 2019). File at the HSAC Regional Adjudication Branch with jurisdiction over the region where the project is located. HSAC hears claims for refunds, delivery of title or the unit, and unsound real-estate business practices under PD 957. Regulatory and licensing matters (like a developer selling without a license) are handled by DHSUD itself. Bring your contract, official receipts, advertisements/brochures, and written correspondence.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →Yes. Under Section 5 of PD 957, an owner or developer cannot sell any subdivision lot or condominium unit in a registered project unless it has first obtained a License to Sell from the regulator (now DHSUD, successor to the HLURB). Selling without a valid License to Sell is a violation of PD 957. Before you pay, ask for the project's Certificate of Registration and License to Sell and verify them with DHSUD — this is one of the strongest early signals of whether a developer is legitimate.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →For covered units, rent increases are capped by the Rent Control Act (RA 9653), which has been kept in force by later government issuances. The Act covers residential units renting from ₱1 up to ₱10,000 a month in Metro Manila and other highly urbanized cities, and up to ₱5,000 a month everywhere else. For those covered units, the allowable annual increase is not open-ended — it is set by the periodic rent-control resolution of the DHSUD's National Human Settlements Board (NHSB). The current resolution (NHSB Resolution No. 2024-001, covering 2025–2026) caps increases for units still occupied by the same tenant at 2.3% for 2025 and 1% for 2026. Units renting above the coverage ceiling are not protected by these caps.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →Under Section 7 of the Rent Control Act (RA 9653), for covered units a lessor cannot demand more than one month advance rent, nor more than two months deposit, and that deposit must be kept in a bank under the lessor's account for the duration of the lease. The deposit is meant to answer for unpaid utilities and repairs of damage beyond normal wear and tear at the end of the lease — it is not automatically forfeited. If the landlord withholds it without a valid, itemized reason, demand it in writing; unresolved deposit disputes over amounts at or below ₱1,000,000 can be pursued in small claims court without a lawyer.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →Under Section 9 of the Rent Control Act (RA 9653), a covered tenant may be judicially ejected only on specific grounds: assigning or subleasing the unit without the lessor's written consent; arrears of at least three months of rent; the lessor's own legitimate need to repossess the property for personal or immediate-family use (subject to conditions, including at least three months' formal notice and that the lessor does not own another available residential unit); the need to make necessary repairs of a condemned building; and the expiration of the lease period. These are grounds for a court case — a landlord who wants you out must still go through the proper judicial ejectment process, not self-help.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →No. In the Philippines a landlord cannot lawfully evict a tenant through self-help — changing the locks, cutting off utilities, removing your belongings, or physically forcing you out. Eviction must go through a court case (an unlawful-detainer or ejectment suit under Rule 70 of the Rules of Court), and only on the grounds allowed by the Rent Control Act (RA 9653) for covered units. A landlord who resorts to force or intimidation may face civil and even criminal liability. Only a court, through a sheriff enforcing a writ of execution, can carry out an eviction.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →Often, yes, if you act early. Pag-IBIG (HDMF, under RA 9679) runs a loan-restructuring program that lets a borrower in arrears renegotiate the loan — extending the term, consolidating unpaid amortizations into a new principal, and sometimes condoning penalties — to make payments manageable and cure the default before foreclosure. If foreclosure does proceed, Pag-IBIG typically uses extrajudicial foreclosure under Act No. 3135, which gives the borrower a right of redemption — generally one year from the registration of the certificate of sale — to buy the property back by paying the redemption price. Contact Pag-IBIG the moment you fall behind; the earlier you engage, the more options remain.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →A contract to sell is an agreement to buy real estate on installments where the seller keeps the title until you finish paying — it is the classic setup the Maceda Law (RA 6552) protects, so a residential buyer who has paid two years or more gets the cash-surrender-value and grace-period safeguards. 'Rent-to-own' is a marketing label that can be structured either as a genuine installment purchase (in which case Maceda-type protections can apply once it is really a sale on installment) or as a lease with only an option to buy (governed mainly by lease/rent rules until the option is exercised). What controls is the substance of the deal, not the label — read whether you are buying on installment or merely renting with a future option, and check whether the property is residential and PD 957-covered.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →The Urban Development and Housing Act — RA 7279 (UDHA) — sharply limits when underprivileged and homeless citizens can be evicted or demolished. Under Section 28, eviction or demolition is allowed only in specific situations: when you occupy a danger area (esteros, riverbanks, railroad tracks, dump sites), when a government infrastructure project with available funding is about to start, or when there is a court order for eviction and demolition. When it is allowed, Section 28 makes several safeguards mandatory: at least a 30-day written notice before the eviction/demolition date, adequate consultation with the affected families, the presence of local government officials or their representatives, execution during regular office hours and good weather (not at night or during a storm), and — for the enumerated cases — adequate relocation, whether temporary or permanent. Demolition outside those situations generally requires a court order; and 'professional squatters' and squatting syndicates (as defined in the law) are excluded from these protections.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →Ejectment is governed by Rule 70 of the Rules of Court, and it comes in two forms: unlawful detainer (you were let in lawfully but your right to stay ended) and forcible entry (you took possession by force, intimidation, threat, strategy, or stealth). It decides physical possession only — not who owns the land. Two features matter most for a defendant. First, in an unlawful detainer case a prior written demand to vacate (and to pay, if rent is owed) is a jurisdictional requirement — no valid demand, no valid case. Second, an ejectment suit must be filed within one year: counted from the last demand to vacate in unlawful detainer, or from the date of dispossession in forcible entry; beyond one year the remedy is a different, ordinary action (accion publiciana), not summary ejectment. Cases proceed under the Rules on Summary Procedure before the first-level court (MTC/MeTC), so deadlines to file your Answer are short and strict — do not ignore the summons.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →When someone dies leaving no will and no outstanding debts, and all the heirs are of legal age (or minors are duly represented) and agree on how to divide the estate, the heirs can use an extrajudicial settlement under Rule 74 of the Rules of Court instead of a full court proceeding. The heirs execute a public instrument (a notarized 'Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate'), and Rule 74 requires it to be published in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for three consecutive weeks. Before the title can actually be transferred at the Register of Deeds, the estate tax must be settled with the BIR, which issues an electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration (eCAR) once the tax and documentary requirements are cleared. Rule 74 also keeps the estate answerable to any omitted heir or creditor for two years after the settlement, so an heir who was left out can still make a claim within that window.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →Transferring a title after a sale means moving the Transfer Certificate of Title into your name at the Register of Deeds — but you cannot register until the taxes are cleared with the BIR. The usual sequence: sign and notarize the Deed of Absolute Sale; file and pay the BIR taxes to get the electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration (eCAR); pay the local transfer tax at the LGU treasurer; then present everything, with the registration fee, at the Register of Deeds to issue the new title; finally update the tax declaration at the assessor's office. Several distinct tax types apply — described here by TYPE, not by rate, because rates and bases are set by law and BIR/LGU schedules and change: capital gains tax (or, for some sellers, creditable withholding tax) on the sale, documentary stamp tax, the local transfer tax, and the Register of Deeds registration fee. Do not rely on a remembered percentage — confirm each current rate and who customarily pays it with the BIR, the LGU, and the Register of Deeds.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →Real property tax ('amilyar') is a local tax on land, buildings, and improvements, imposed by your city or municipality under the Local Government Code (RA 7160). It is due annually and may be paid in full or in quarterly installments; many LGUs give a discount for early or advance full payment. When it goes unpaid, the LGC lets the LGU charge interest on the delinquency that accrues per month up to a maximum set by the Code, and — if it stays unpaid — the LGU can pursue administrative remedies, including a tax lien and ultimately a public auction of the property, subject to the taxpayer's right to redeem within the period the law gives. Because the exact interest rate cap, redemption period, and any discount are set by RA 7160 and local ordinance, confirm the current figures with your LGU treasurer. Separately, tax-amnesty relief on delinquent real property tax is granted from time to time by national law or local ordinance — ask your LGU whether an amnesty is currently open before paying penalties.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →Generally no. Under the Family Code (Executive Order No. 209), property acquired during the marriage usually belongs to the spouses jointly — either the absolute community of property (the default for marriages from August 3, 1988 onward with no prenup) or the conjugal partnership. For both regimes, the sale, mortgage, or other disposition or encumbrance of community/conjugal property requires the written consent of BOTH spouses (Family Code Articles 96 and 124). A sale or mortgage made by one spouse WITHOUT the other's consent (and without court authority) is void, although the law treats it as a continuing offer that the non-consenting spouse can still accept. Exclusive/paraphernal property (for example, something a spouse owned before the marriage or received purely by inheritance) can generally be dealt with by that owner-spouse alone — but the family home enjoys extra protection. If your spouse is trying to sell or mortgage the conjugal home without you, put your objection in writing and seek legal advice quickly.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →A boarding house or dormitory arrangement is essentially a lease, so your deposit is governed first by what your contract or house rules say, and then by the general lease provisions of the Civil Code. A security deposit is meant to answer for unpaid rent, unpaid utilities, and repair of damage you actually caused beyond ordinary wear and tear — it is not the operator's to keep by default. If your dues are settled and you left the room in the condition you found it (normal wear aside), you are generally entitled to the return of the deposit within the period your contract states (or within a reasonable time if it is silent). If the unit's monthly rent falls within the ceiling covered by the Rent Control Act (RA 9653), that law's limits on advance and deposit amounts can also apply. Ask for a written, itemized accounting of any amount the operator withholds; if they refuse without basis, a demand letter and — for small amounts — small claims court are your practical remedies.
Read the full answer, sources & FAQ →Yes to properly levied dues — but their remedies have limits. A homeowners' association operates under RA 9904 (the Magna Carta for Homeowners and Homeowners' Associations); a condominium is governed by RA 4726 (the Condominium Act) through its condominium corporation and master deed/by-laws. Both can validly assess dues and special assessments to maintain common areas, provided the charges are imposed according to the association's/corporation's by-laws and the law. If you do not pay, the association or corporation can pursue collection and, under its by-laws and the governing documents, may impose a lien on the unit for unpaid assessments and enforce it as allowed by law. What it generally cannot do is act as judge and enforcer at will — cutting off essential utilities or services as a collection tactic is constrained, and disputes between a member and the association fall under the jurisdiction of the DHSUD (formerly HLURB), where you can contest an assessment or an abusive act. Ask for the board resolution and by-law basis of any charge, and raise a disputed assessment with the DHSUD rather than simply having services cut.
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