Tax Dec Properties

Brief Background: Tax Dec Properties are real properties that do not have a Title registered with the Registry of Deeds. Some of the reasons why these properties aren't titled may be because:

a) The land may NOT be alienated–or sold–because it's a protected area by the government (i.e., land in Boracay).

b) The local City Assessor has not surveyed the land. And yes, there are parcels of land that remain un-surveyed up to today. Once surveyed by the City Assessor and once deemed to be alienable, the Registry of Deeds will issue an "Original Certificate of Title" (OCT) to the owner.

A military officer bought a "tax dec" agricultural property in Rizal in the 90s. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2007. The heirs, being diligent citizens, have paid the real property tax billing that was sent to them each year since their father's passing. The amount was around Php50,000 per year.

In 2021, the heirs finally thought about selling the property, so they visited it. They couldn't find the property, to their dismay, since the tax declaration they were holding didn't specify the exact location. So the heirs went to the City Assessor to check the cadastral map and asked for help with the local Barangay.

As it turns out, the property their father bought was just a part of a bigger parcel of land in Rizal owned by a prominent family–all of which were problematic. To make matters worse, the person who sold the property (who signed the deed of absolute sale) was the caretaker who ASSUMED that he owned the property because of the government's Agrarian Reform program.

So what happens now?

The heirs may continue their crusade to find that property and hopefully sell it at a price higher than all their expenses, or they could cut their losses and forget about the property.

Lessons:

1) STAY AWAY from Tax Dec properties.

2) If your family owns some, get them titled ASAP. It's a tedious process that entails money, so it's likely the patriarch would be hesitant in doing it. So, the burden would likely be on the heirs. Moreover, the longer it stays a Tax Dec property, the higher the likelihood for it to be land grabbed.

3) If you inherit properties, visit them and familiarize yourself with the documents proving ownership.

If you want to read more about Tax Dec properties, here's a link to a 2008 article: https://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/10/09/08/boracay-ruling-lesson-tax-declaration-not-sufficient-proof-land-ownership