I'm Giancarlo Enrico S. Pozon, a Wushu instructor, investor and Barrister... That's right, Barrister; I graduated from law school and took the Bar Exams, now I'm waiting for the results. I created this blog to make Philippine Law easy to understand for the average person. It's all about free legal advice. There are many law blogs. But the problem is that many of them are written for lawyers and law students. They use words that can't be understood by ordinary people.
Many lawyers, judges and law students consider themselves as superior to most human beings because of their knowledge of the law. It bothers me since the law is supposed to serve society. Since the law is meant to serve society as a whole, it is important that is must be understood by everybody.
This does not mean that we should all become lawyers. It means that although law is a highly specialized profession, the first duty of everybody in this profession is to make the law understandable to all; that's why all these articles are free legal advice.
Like I said, this blog is about law -but it's for the ordinary people, not the lawyers. It's for the ordinary folk so they will know what is good and bad for them, and that making them aware of the law will help us all improve society as a whole. This is free legal advice for everybody!
For those of you who have read my post on the Recto and Maceda Laws and are wondering why the Maceda Law can't be used by developers, there's a decided case from the Supreme Court on the interpretation of Sec. 3 of the Maceda Law.
The case is Lagandaon vs. CA, 290 SCRA 330. I quote from the case itself:
The policy of the Maceda Law, as embodied in its title, is "to provide protection to buyers of real estate on installment payments," and as provided in Section 3 thereof, the declared policy is "to protect buyers of real estate on installment payments against onerous and oppressive conditions." Therefore, one who buys the property from the developer and who steps into the shoes of the seller under the Contract to Sell cannot claim any right or protection under the law. And thus, if the Maceda Law has any relevance at all, it is to protect the buyer, not the developer-seller or his successor-in-interest. Furthermore, Section 3(b) of the Law does not grant the developer any legal ground to cancel the contracts to sell; rather, it prescribes the responsibility of the seller in case the "contract[s are] cancelled.
So there you have it; a pronouncement straight from the Supreme Court's mouth about the protection the Maceda Law gives to buyers.
18 comments:
Dear Atty. Pozon,
I am currently paying installments on a lot in Binangonan. Last year, I requested for a recomputation and was granted one, so i continued paying my dues. However, last December 2010, my mom was hospitalized due to severe kidney failure, which needless to say, drained our finances. As a result, I am now 5 months delayed in my lot payments.
I still want to continue paying for my lot but the developer refused to give me a recomputation. I cannot afford to pay my 5-month arrears in lump sum, so what other options do I have?
Hello Mvallar,
I'm suspecting that your developer isn't really interested in finishing the lot. How long have you been paying for this lot? If you paid less than 2 years, you have 60 days' grace period to make good on your payments. Furthermore, after the grace period's expiry you still have 30 days from the receipt of a notarial demand to pay. If you paid 2 years or more in installments, you get a grace period of 1 month per year of installments. If the developer wants to cancel the contract, you're entitled to 50% reimbursement of installments, and if you paid for more than 5 years, you get an additional 5% per year but only up to 90% reimbursement. Hope this helps.
Dear atty. pozon,
Good thing you have this blog site for like us who cant fully understand law and its term unless discussed, anyway we bought a house and lot and already paid 35,000 out of 55,000 said equity until last oct we recieve a letter that they need to add another 20,00 for the equity since they recomputed it wrong.. we decided to pull out our money and not to continue paying for it..what are our rights in this situation because they are claiming that e cannot refund any amount from them..
thank you and and you're opinion can really help us..
monette of laspinas city
Hello Monette, sorry for the late reply. I'm in 4th year law now kasi. Anyway, how long did you pay your installments? If you paid your installments for at least 2 years, you can ask for a refund, if less than 2 years, the only thing you can ask for is a grace period. Please see this article:
http://philcritic.clickbankphilippines.com/2010/09/recto-and-maceda-laws.html
Dear Atty,
I was about to withdraw my investment on a townhouse here in Cebu because the developer wasn't able to deliver the project as expected. And still no development on the project as of now. The developer agreed to return my investment because they accepted their lapses.. However, when i received the cheque for the reimbursement, the total amount was deducted by the commision of the broker and the reservation fee.. Do they have the right to deduct that? on the first place they didnt deliver the project on time so i demand my right for the full reimbursement on my investment. Am i right with this matter?
Hi Atty,
gusto ko sanang mag consult sayo regarding dun sa binili kong condo if i can apply the MACEDA LAW.
I bought a pre-selling residential condo unit in Mandaluyong last 2008. I've been paying with no default for the past 37 months (3 years and 1 month) and now i decided to cancel it, so i talked to the developer's staff sabi nila sa email ko ganito.
"please be informed that under the Contract to Buy & Sell which you signed with us, withdrawal for any reason whatsoever shall entitle the Company to cancel said Contract. Furthermore, Contract to Buy & Sell provides that upon its cancellation, the Company shall be entitled to forfeit all your payments as liquidated damages."
So sinasabi nila dyan na ma foforfeit yung binayad ko for the past three years. Pero according to Maceda Law may rights ang DEFAULTING BUYER
sabi dito sa REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6552 REALTY INSTALLMENT BUYER PROTECTION ACT
Sec. 7. Any stipulation in any contract hereafter entered into contrary to the provisions of Sections 3, 4, 5 and 6, shall be null and void.
so does it mean na yung pinirmahan kong kontrata sa kanila ay null and void because there is Maceda Law? And meron din kasing mga other clients sila na naka claim na ng 50% refund of what they have paid using Maceda Law. But i just want to ask for you help and insight sana regarding this if i can apply my case using Maceda Law para ma entitled ako sa refund of at least 50%. Kasi medyo heartless ang developer na Empire East of Megaworld, kung hindi mo alam na may batas pa lang ganito, hindi nila ibibigay ang karapatan ng buyers nila. Thanks! hope you can give me advise on this. Thank you
Hi Atty, want to get your opinion on our situation. May I ask if what is our rights if the devloper failed to comply with the agreement (2007)that they have to finish their project subdvsion within 2 yrs (now 5 years already with snail pace improvement) we paid the property almost 100% according to the signed contract. We want to pull out the money that we pay for the developer. What part of Maceda Law shall we apply on this? tnx..
Hello Atty,we bought 2 lots at Mt. House, Baguio City, BI Centennial as Developer under Mr Ed De Guzman. We pay this property starting 2007 for two yrs term zero interest as pre-selling. BI Centennial promised (us) their buyer to finish their project(Mt House)within 2 yrs so we could construct the house with the prescribe design. But until today 2012, we receive their letter informing us that we could now construct the house but with our dismay when we visit the place (2nd week of April 2012) the development was almost 40% finish yet. With frustrations, we decided to pull out our money. Can you tell us what part of "Maceda Law" we can make as reference with our claim against this developer? Tnx..,waiting for your reply.
Hello Attorney, bumili kami ng condo unit sa Parañaque last October 2009 thru in house financing. Then this July 2012 we decided na i-cancel na lang yung pagbili ng unit kasi hindi na namin kaya bayaran yung monthly installment namin sa kanila dahil masyadong mabigat. They approved yung cancellation namin sa pabili ng unit kaso wala daw refund kami makukuha. We ask the customer service ang sagot hindi daw applicable yung Maceda Law dahil tinirhan na daw namin yung unit. We only have 5 days to sign the papers na agree kami dun...what can we do about this? Sayang naman kasi yung hinulog namin sobrang malaki na tapos mawawala lang ng ganun. Thanks
Atty ako din po yung sumulat sa imyo dahdag ko lng po wala pa po akong na pirmahan na contract sa developer ko the only documents na na pirmahan ko is reservation lang po and now im asking for refund and sabi nila forfieted na daw and pag tinatanung ko bakit accoeding daw po sa maceda law and sa polulicy nila and sa pinirmahan ko e wala namn po ako na pirmahan only reservation lng po since wala kasi ako dirp sa bansa kaya di ako nakapirma
Greetings Atty. Pozon,
Kindly asking, does Maceda Law still apply if the developer has not issued a contact to sell yet?
My case po is that I invested in a condo unit and parking last February 2012 and have been paying for around 7mos already amounting to more or less P100k as of this date. Due to some financial difficulties & change in priorities I am contemplating if in case I decide to stop with the investment, will I be able to refund my money? how much? The developer told me that I won’t be able to refund anything despite the fact that there is still no contract to sell yet….
Just want to know my stand so that I would come up with the best decision. Some people around me told me that I can even pursue my situation thru the “small claims law”..is that possible and if in case I pursue such action, will it be worth it?
hope you can give me some tips on my situation. thank you Sir for sharing your time and expertise. thank you
good day po atty,
After po na makarecieve ako ng notice of cancellation na cancelled na ang rights ko na mabili ang bahay gawa ng di na po ito nababayaran nagfile agad ako ng request to refund under the maceda law.. pero po ang respond nila Hindi raw po Sakop ng Maceda ang Pag ibig Fund.. Totoo po ba ito? wala na po ba kaming rights na makarefund sa naihulog namin?
Good day po..
Meron lang po sana akong itanong. My contractor also na owner of the house and lot i bought in installment way, deposit is 1M and paying 75k monthly thru a 24 bank check issued, walang paltos so far but until now ayaw kaming palipatin kc we have to pay in cash all the addition features added during the construction we requested. It is not written in the contract that payment in cash and also he condition na hindi maturn over sa amin ito unless bayad ang additionals. We signed a contract to construct and contract to sell, now ang worst scenario ay doon po nya pinapatulog ang mga taugan nya sa construction while building other houses, while stop temporarily yung amin but continue po payment namin..ano po ba dapat gawin namin...total paid is more than 20% oy thetotal amount of the house and lot...
Dear Sir,
I have a situation wherein we are Company E in the following situation.
Company A (a real estate developer) borrowed money from Bank B using Property C, which is a 30 hectare residential classified lot as collateral, through mortgage and promissory note, but was foreclosed by Bank B due to non-payment of interests. Company A filed several cases against Bank B regarding Property C.
Cases by Company A filed were:
a. nullity of mortgage, extrajudicial foreclosure with prayer for injunctive relief;
b. nullity of mortgage, extrajudicial foreclosure and sale, damages, and attorney's fees with prayer for injunctive relief, petition for certiriorai and mandamus.
Case filed by Bank B is petition for issuance of writ of possession.
Whereas to avoid further litigation and to buy peace, Company A and Bank B agreed to settle amicably through a compromise agreement. Wherein Company A will pay Bank B a down payment, a certain amount monthly for the span of three (3) years and a lump sum for the balance on the last payment
Company A sold it’s interest and rights to Company D (also a real estate developer). Thus, Company D pays the monthly amortization to Bank B in behalf of Company A. Unfortunately, Company D failed to pay its monthly amortization on its third (3rd) year. Bank B sent several demand letters to Company D, because Company D failed to pay its monthly amortization several times. With the last demand letter given, because Company D past due installments were equivalent to more than three months amortization that triggered Bank B to demand the remaining balance to be settled as per to provisions of the compromise agreement.
Since, Company D failed to settle in full all the remaining balance. Bank B canceled the compromise agreement. The day after Bank B canceled the compromise agreement, Company D filed an affidavit of adverse claim and attached said affidavit to the title of Property C stating that Company D is covered by the Maceda Law. Bank B filed a petition for cancellation of adverse claim annotated on the title of Property C. Bank B sold Property C through public bidding.
The winning bidder is Company E (ordinary company). Company E substituted Bank B in the ongoing case for petition for cancellation of adverse claim annotated on the title of Property C. Is Company D (also a developer) qualified to avail of the benefits of Maceda Law such as the notarial cancellation and 50% refund? Is Property C which comprises 30 hectares covered by the Maceda Law? Isn’t the Maceda Law supposed to protect us from unscrupulous real estate developers? How come Company D (a real estate developer) is using the Maceda Law to protect its interests? Do you know of any previous decisions from the supreme court and court of appeals that is similar to our case?
Thank you very much and more power.
Hello. I am seeking for help. I was new to real estate investing. I decided to invest in a residential condominium in Manila. I already paid a reservation fee and continuously paying until this august when I received the contract to sell. I wanted to ask if it's odd that I only received it after almost 1 year of paying the dues. I didn't sign the contract and didn't know If I could at least get back some of the money
I decided to backed out and was only given two options. The maceda law which would not apply to me and to sell it but continuously pay the dues and said that since they will help and register it to brokerage firm. The firm will sell it a higher price and keep it as a fee in helping me sell the unit and I would only get the amount that I have paid to them
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