Unwanted Debris and Low Hanging Fruits, Property Laws due to Crowded Neighborhoods
Living in a densely populated city, a resident might find that proximity may sometimes breed contempt. A person’s actions can affect their immediate neighbors. In fact, one of the most common conflicts of subdivision board meetings is the occurrence of abscission—that is the falling or shedding of various tree parts—from one property to the nuisance of another.
Good manners would often dictate that neighbors avoid conflict. In which case, the person who owns the property where the tree is rooted should take the necessary steps so at to not affect his neighbor’s adjacent property. In the instance that good manners may not be forthcoming, the law provides for specific solutions.
Article 680 of the Civil Code states that “[i]f the branches of any tree should extend over a neighboring estate, tenement, garden or yard, the owner of the latter shall have the right to demand that they be cut off insofar as they may spread over his property…”. The law empowers the affected neighbor to demand the owner of the land where the tree is rooted to remove any part of the tree that encroaches on the former’s land. Note, however, the peculiarity should it come to roots. When roots of a neighboring tree penetrate into the land of another, the affect land owner may cut it themselves without need of demanding the tree owner. There may be some advantage as the aggrieved property owner is entitled to any fruits that may fall unto his property. The fruits referred to by the law not only refer to the edible type but natural fruits – spontaneous products of the soil – which may include leaves, twigs, flowers, nuts, and seeds.
Next to abscission, the most common property feud between neighbors living closely together is water drainage. This is unsurprising, as the Philippines averages up to 4,064 millimeters in rainfall a year. But where abscission is an annoyance, faulty drainage may lead to loss of property or in the extreme cases even loss of life.
Under Article 674 of the Civil Code, property owners are mandated to construct roofs in such a manner that rainwater will only fall in his own land. More importantly, it obliges the property owner to collect water as to not damage adjacent properties. Should property, surrounded by other properties, cannot give an outlet itself, an easement of drainage can be demanded at the point where egress is easiest, and which will cause least damage to the property it passes through.
Should your neighborhood association have property problems between neighbors, you may contact Batocabe & Partners at 8687-1025 or visit https://batocabeandpartners.com for more legal information on Property Law.
