GENG11 LAND REGISTRATION LAWS Unit I: Background, Basic Concept, and General Principles of Land Titles LAND TITLE The best evidence of the right of the owner or the extent of his interest, by which means he can maintain, control, and as a rule, assert right to exclusive possession and enjoyment of property. Note: Tax Declaration is not the best proof of ownership, it is rebuttable. Possession vs. Legal Title/Ownership Possession – is the right to control something, they have physical control and an intention to assert exclusive control over the property possessed. Legal Title/Ownership – Establishes that the owner has all the legal rights over that property or title over that property and that the owner may transfer ownership or possession of that property to another. Note: The court has found that a person who has lawful possession of physical property is entitled to keep possession of it against everyone but the true owner. DEEDS An instrument in writing in which any real estate or interest therein is created, alienated, mortgaged, or assigned or by which title to any real estate may be affected in law or equity. Example: Deed of sale, deed of donation, deed of conveyance. Components of a Deed 1. Grantor The person selling or transferring the ownership of the land. 2. Grantee The person purchasing or taking possession of the land. 3. Words of grant These are the statements that will be placed in the deed regarding the transfer of the land to a new owner. 4. Description of property It pertains to the land description that describes the exact location and legal boundaries of a piece of land. The description also includes measurements of the property as well as its geographic location. 5. Signature of grantor All deeds must contain the name and signature of the grantor. 6. Witnesses They are the people who serve as a witness during the signing of the deed. What can be construed as a VOID deed? A forged deed A deed signed by a person determined to be mentally incapacitated A deed signed by someone who totally does not understand what they are signing. A deed in which the Grantee was typed in without the Grantor’s authorization A deed signed by a minor (under 18 years old) A deed to a fictitious person What can be construed as a VOIDABLE deed? A deed given through fraud, by mistake, or under duress, A deed given by a person who may be mentally incapacitated A deed that was not supposed to be delivered A deed that was changed without the Grantor’s knowledge or consent (https://www.vivaescrow.com/grant-deed/) DEED VS. TITLE BASIC COMPARISON DEED TITLE Meaning A deed is a legal document used to confirm or convey the rights Used to describe a person's legal position regarding something What is it? A means of property interest transfer A person’s legal right to use the property Expression Writing Abstract Represents The right to claim ownership of property Ultimate holder of the property ESTATE “status” i.e., the strength of the connection that an owner has with their property. “the interest which one has in lands, or any subject of property is called his ‘estate’. TYPES OF ESTATES 1. Freehold Estate Indicates title of ownership. Types of Freehold Estate a. Fee simple absolute title; absolute estate in perpetuity; title of land is conferred upon a man and his heirs WITHOUT any limitation imposed upon the estate. b. Fee tail restrictive estates; designated to pass title from the grantee to his heirs, the intent of the grantor being to keep the property in the grantee's line. c. Life estate held for the direction of the life of the grantee. Example: estate may be given to a widow for life provided she shall remain a widow. 2. Less-than-freehold Estate (Leasehold) - signifies some sort of a right short of title from the grantee to his heirs, the intent of the grantor being to keep the property in the grantee's line of issue (nature of a lease) Types of Less-than-freehold a. Estate for years An estate for years has a definite start date and end date, which determines the period of time that the grantee will hold the estate. b. Tenancy from period to period Similar to an estate for years, has no definite end date. Instead, the tenant and landlord agree on a period that the rental agreement renews, like year-to-year, month-to-month, or week-to-week. However, if by the terms of the lease, the period can only be extended by written consent of the parties, no right for an extension can arise w/o such written consent. c. Tenancy at will form of lease agreement where a person is permitted to occupy the land of another w/o any stipulation as to the period, but either party reserves the right to terminate the occupation at will or at any time. (https://www.masterclass.com/articles/freehold-estate) LAND REGISTRATION DEFINITION REGISTRATION OF TITLE The state provides a public record of the title itself upon w/c a prospective purchaser or someone else interested may rely on. LAND REGISTRATION Is a judicial or administrative proceeding whereby a person’s claim over a particular land is determined and confirmed or recognized so that such land and the ownership thereof may be recorded in a public registry. Judicial proceedings for the registration of lands throughout the Philippines shall be in rem and shall be based on the generally accepted principles underlying the Torrens system [Sec. 2, par. 1, PD 1529] LAND REGISTRATION PURPOSE 1. Serve as constructive notice The act of registering a document is never necessary in order to give it legal effect between the parties. 2. Prevent fraudulent claims The system maintains a permanent record of landholdings, in order to prevent fraudulent claims to land by concealment of transfers. 3. Notify and Protect the interests of strangers to a given transaction. The purpose of the registration is to finally settle title to real property in order to preempt any question on the legality of the title – except claims that were noted on the certificate itself at the time of registration or those that arose subsequent thereto (i.e. mortgage, lease, sale) LAND REGISTRATION AUTHORITY (LRA) The LAND REGISTRATION AUTHORITY - (LRA) is an agency attached to the Department of Justice mandated to issue decrees of registration and certificates of title and register documents, patents, and other land transactions for the benefit of landowners, Agrarian Reform-beneficiaries and the registering public in general; to provide a secure, stable and trustworthy record of land ownership and recorded interests therein so as to promote social and economic well-being and contribute national development. MANDATE Implementing and protecting the Torrens System of land registration. It is the central repository of all land records involving registered or titled lands; It issues decrees of registration pursuant to final judgment of the courts in land registration proceedings and causes the issuance by the Registrar of Deeds of the corresponding certificates of title; It is tasked to issue all subsequent or transfer certificates of title derived from the original certificates of title which may either be issued judicially or administratively; It keeps the title history of records of transactions involving registered or titled lands; It exercises control in the disposition or alienation of registered lands in accordance with existing government rules and regulations; It provides legal and technical assistance to the courts on land registration cases; It extends assistance to other agencies of the government in the implementation of the agrarian reform program; It is a revenue-collecting agency of the government; and It performs such other functions as may be assigned by law. THE REGISTRY OF DEEDS (RoD) The Registry of Deeds is entrusted with the responsibility of keeping records of every land title in a municipality, city, province, region, and state. The registry of Deeds safe-keeps the electronic data and original hard copy of the registered land titles of the land owners of their respective titles. This data is known as the “Owner’s Duplicate Certificate of Title”. The office of the Register of Deeds constitutes a public repository of records of instruments affecting registered or unregistered lands and chattel mortgages in the province or city wherein such office is situated. SYSTEM OF REGISTRATION 1. System under the Spanish Mortgage Law - The Spanish Mortgage Law provided for the systematic registration of titles and deeds as well as possessory claims but it was abolished by PD 892 (Feb 16, 1976) 2. Torrens system The Torrens system mandated that the person eligible for registration must be the owner of the land. rights acquired by the registrant are guaranteed by the gov't for w/c purpose there is provided an assurance fund w/c is made avail to pay for damages that may be suffered by the registrant as a consequence of the operation of the Land Registration Act (Act 496) Cadastral Act (2259) Public Land Act Commonwealth Act 141 Torrens title - conclusive against the whole world, including the gov't and to a holder thereof in Good Faith it is guaranteed to be indefeasible, unassailable and imprescriptible 3. System of recording for unregistered lands governed by Sec. 194 of the Revised Admin. Code as amended by Act 3344 Property Registration Decree (P.D. 1529) (Jun 11 1978) governing registration of lands under the Torrens system as well as the recording of transactions relating to unregistered lands, including chattel mortgages BASIC LAW GOVERNING LAND REGISTRATION PD NO. 1529 The Property Registration Decree covers both ordinary and cadastral registration proceedings. It supersedes the Land Registration Act and the Cadastral Act (Act No. 2259) CA 141 The Public Land Act governs the procedure for the judicial confirmation of imperfect or incomplete titles. It applies to lands of the public domain that have been declared open to disposition or concession by the government and officially delimited and classified. RA NO. 8371 (IPRA LAW) The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act recognizes the rights of ownership and possession of indigenous cultural communities to their ancestral domains and lands on the basis of native title and defines the extent of these lands and domains.
