8/13/2019 Possession Property Law

1/3

September 6, 2013 Property CodalCHAPTER 2

Acquisition of Possession

Article 531.

Possession is acquired:

- by the material occupation of a thin or the e!ercise of a

riht,

- or by the fact that it is sub"ect to the action of our #ill,

- or by the proper acts and leal formalities established for

acquirin such riht$ %&3'a(

Article 532.

Possession may be acquired:

- by the same person #ho is to en"oy it,

- by his leal representati)e, by his aent, or

- by any person #ithout any po#er #hate)er:

but in the last case, the possession shall not be considered

as acquired until the person in #hose name the act of

possession #as e!ecuted has ratifiedthe same,

#ithout pre"udice to the "uridical consequences ofnegotiorum gestioin a proper case$ %&3*a(

Article 533. %succession mortis causa(

+hepossession of hereditary property

is deemed

transmitted to the heir #ithout interruption

and from the moment of the death of the decedent,

in case the inheritance is accepted$

ne #ho validly renounces an inheritanceis deemed never to have possessedthe same$ %&&0(

Article 534.

n who succeeds by hereditary title

shall + suffer the consequences of the #ronful

possession of the decedent,

if it is + sho#n that he #as a#are of the fla#s affectin

it.

/+ theeffects of possession in ood faith shallNOT

benefit him exceptfrom the date of death of the decedent$%&&2(

Article 535.

inors and incapacitated persons

may acquirethe possession of thins.

but

they need the assistance of their legal representativesin

order to e!ercise the rihts #hich from the possession arise

in their fa)or$ %&&3

Article 536.

nNO CASE,

may possession be acquired throuhforce or intimidation,

as lon as there is a possessor #ho ob"ects thereto$

e #ho belie)es

that he has an action or a riht to depri)e another of the

holdin of a thin,

must invoethe aid of the competent court,

if the holdershould refuseto deli)er the thin$ %&&1a(

Article 537.

4cts merely tolerated,

and those executed clandestinelyand without the

nowledgeof the possessor of a thin,

or by )iolence,

!O NOT A""ECTpossession$ %&&&(

Article 538. %Conflicts bet#een se)eral claimants(Possession as a fact CANNOTbe reconi5ed

at thesametime

in t#o different personalities

E#CE$Tin the cases of co-possession$

Should a questionarise

reardin thefact of possession, thepresent possessor

shall be preferred.

if there are two possessors, the one longer in possession.

if the dates of the possession are the same, the one who

presents a title. and

if allthese conditions are equal,the thin shall be placed injudicial depositpendin

determination of its possession or o#nership throuh

proper proceedins$ %&&(

CHAPTER 3

Effects of Possession

Article 539.

7)ery possessor has a right to be respectedin his

possession.and should he be disturbedtherein

he shall beprotected in or restored tosaid possession

by the means established by the la#s and the 8ules of

Court$

4 possessor depri)ed of his possession throuhforcible

entry may within ten days from the filing of the complaint

present a motion to secure from the competent court,

in the action for forcible entry,

a writ of preliminary mandatory injunctionto restore him

in his possession$

+he court shall decide the motion within thirty %&'( days

from the filin thereof$ %&&6a(

Article 540.

nly the possession acquiredand en)oyedin the concet

of o!nercanserveas a title for acquirin dominion$ %&&9(

Article 541.

4 possessor in the concet of o!nerhas in his fa)our

the legal presumption that he possesses

with a )ust titleand

he C4+ be oblied to sho# or pro)e it$ %&&'a(

Article 542.+he possession of real property*

presumes that of themovables therein,

so lon as it is not sho#n or pro)ed that they should be

e!cluded$ %&&*(

8/13/2019 Possession Property Law

2/3

Article 543.

7ach one of theparticipantsof a thin possessed in

common

shall be deemed to ha)e exclusively possessed

the part #hich may be allotted to him upon the di)ision

thereof,

for the entire period durin #hich the co-possession lasted$

+nterruptionin the possession of the #hole 8 a part of a

thin possessed in commonshall be to thepre)udice of allthe possessors$

o#e)er, in case of civil interruption, the 8ules of Court

shall apply$ %&0a(

Article 544.

A possessor in good faithis entitled to the fruits recei)ed

beforethe possession is leally interrupted$

Naturalandindustrial fruitsare considered recei)edfrom the time they aregatheredorsevered$

Civil fruitsare deemed to accrue dailyand

belongto the possessor in ood faith in that proportion$

Article 545.

f at the time the good faith ceases,

there should be any n"tur"lor in#ustri"l fruits,

the possessor shall ha)e a riht:to a part of the expenses of cultivation, and

to a part of the net harvest,

both in proportion to the time of the possession$

+he c$"r%esshall be di)ided on thesame basisby the t#o

possessors$

+he o!ner of t$e t$in% may, should he so desire, i)e the

possessor in ood faith

the ri%$ttofinish the cultivationand

gathering of the growing fruits,

as an 7+; for his part of the e!penses of

culti)ation and the net proceeds.

the ossessor in %oo# f"it$#ho for any reason #hate)er

should refuse to accept this concession, shall losethe riht

to be indemnified in any other manner$ %&2a(

Article 546.

&ecess"r' e(ensesshall be refunded to e)er' ossessor.

but only thepossessor in good faithmay retainthe thin

+

8/13/2019 Possession Property Law

3/3

Article 549.

+he possessor in bad faith

shall reimbursethe fruits recei)ed

and those #hich the leitimate possessor could ha)e

recei)ed, and

shall have a right onlyto the e!penses mentioned in

pararaph 1 of "rticle 546and in "rticle 443$

+he e!penses incurred in i+ro)e+ents for ure lu(ur'or +ere le"sureshall + be refunded to the possessor

in bad faith,

/+ he may removethe ob"ects for #hich such e!penses

ha)e been incurred,

$/O0+!E! that the thing suffers no in)urythereby,

and that the lawful possessor does not prefer to retainthem

by payin the )alue they may ha)e at the time he enters

into possession$ %&&a(

Article 550.

+he costs of litigationo)er the property shall be borne by

every possessor$ %Exclude prevailing party1possessor. 2ecause thelitigation is necessary to maintain his possession.(

Article 551.

mpro)ements caused by nature or time

shall al#ays inure to the benefit

of the person #ho has succeeded in reco)erin possession$%natural accession. 2ecause the former possessor benefited from his former

possession$(

Article 552.

4possessor in good faithshall + be liable for the

deterioration or loss of the thing possessed,

e!cept in cases

in #hich it isprovedthat he has acted #ith fraudulentintent or nelience, after the "udicial summons$

4 possessor in bad faithshall be liable for deterioration or

loss in every case, e)en if caused by a fortuitous e)ent$

Article 553.

ne #ho reco)ers possession shall + be oblied to pay

for improvements which have ceased to exist

at the time he ta=es possession of the thin$ %&'(%but he is still liable to pay for necessary e!penses since they are not

impro)ements(

Article 554.4present possessor#ho sho#s

his possession at some pre)ious time,

ispresumedto ha)e held possession also durin the

intermediate period,

in the absence of proof to the contrary$ %&*(%presumption of continuous and uninterrupted possession($

Article 555.

4 possessor may