The process of buying land in the Philippines is cumbersome and tedious. Aside from the fact that foreigners are not allowed to buy land, the system of land registration and classification should make any investor think twice. The farther you are from the capital the more caution one must take.
Serious land problems also exist in the NCR (National Capital Region).
There are 11 laws directly related to land registration and (9) nine others indirectly related to land disposition and administration. Aside from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Bureau of Lands, there are several agencies that have direct and indirect control over land.
The Philippines courts also have the authority to award land ownership.
Legal Procedures in transfer of title (land and
apartments)
1. Owner and Buyer agree on sale of a piece of land. Through
a lawyer, a Deed of Absolute Sale (DOAS) is created and notarized.
2. A Land Tax Declaration is secured from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)
and submitted to the city or municipal Assessor’s office.
3. Buyer pays real estate tax to the City Treasurer’s Office.
4. The Assessor’s office assesses the market value of the property.
5. Transfer taxes are paid by the buyer to the Assessor’s Office.
6. Capital Gains Tax and Documentary Stamp tax are paid to BIR Bureau of
Internal Revenue.
7. The Registry of Deeds (RD) cancels old title and issues a new one in the name
of the buyer.
8. The buyer, now the new owner, obtains a photocopy of the new title and
requests tax declaration from the Assessor’s office.
Ownership is evidenced by the Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) in the case of
single houses and raw land, and The Land Registration Act requires the owners of
property to register titles with the Registry of Deeds. The titles must be
registered in the same province as the property. However, the records are
inaccurate in such that overlapping might exist. There is a proliferation of
fake and double titles. The completion of survey of all the lands in the
country, mandated by the 1903 Public Land Law, is nowhere in sight.
The whole process of registering property may take around 33 days or longer just to complete eight procedures
