HOA can impose property construction restrictions

Can a homeowners' association restrict me to only build a two-story house?. Are these kinds of restriction allowed?

Yes, homeowners' associations (HOAs) and exclusive subdivisions often have restrictions on home construction, including height limits, architectural styles, and building materials. These rules are typically outlined in the deed of restrictions, subdivision rules, or master deed that you agreed to when purchasing the lot.

One of the most important features of Philippine Property law is the right to ownership which is protected by Republic Act (RA) 386, otherwise known as the "Civil Code of the Philippines." Articles 427 and 428 of the Civil Code of the Philippines define ownership as the independent and general right of a person to control a thing, particularly in terms of use, possession, enjoyment, disposition, and recovery, subject only to certain limitations established by law or agreements, viz.:

"Article 427. Ownership may be exercised over things or rights.

"Article 428. The owner has the right to enjoy and dispose of a thing, without other limitations than those established by law.

"The owner has also a right of action against the holder and possessor of the thing in order to recover it."

Relative thereto, Sections 10 and 18 of Republic Act (RA) 9904, otherwise known as the "Magna Carta for Homeowners and Homeowners' Association," provide for the rights and powers of the homeowners' associations (HoAs), to wit:

"Section 10. Rights and Powers of the Association. - An association shall have the following rights and shall exercise the following powers:

(j) Cause compliance with regard to height regulations, easements, use of homes, buildings, edifices, or structures that may be built within the subdivision, in accordance with the National Building Code, zoning laws, HLURB rules and regulations, existing local ordinances, and existing deeds of restriction;"

Clearly, our laws recognize the owner's right to control the property in line with these principles, subject to any limitations imposed by contracts, local ordinances, or zoning rules and regulations. Relative to validity of restrictions in deeds or contracts, Cezar Yatco Real Estate Services, Inc. vs. Bel-Air Village Association, Inc. GR 211780, 21 November 2018, with Honorable Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen as ponente, is instructive:

"The Deed Restrictions is a restrictive covenant that governs how lot owners can use or enjoy their properties. It was annotated on the land titles issued to the lot owners and it is not disputed that lot owners are bound by these annotations under Section 39 of Act 496, or the Land Registration Act, which provides:

"Section 39. Every applicant receiving a certificate of title in pursuance of a decree of registration, and every subsequent purchaser of registered land who takes a certificate of title for value in good faith, shall hold the same free of all encumbrance except those noted on said certificate, and any of the following incumbrances which may be subsisting, ..."

Thus, if there is indeed a validly instituted restriction on the number of stories or floors that can be built on the property that you purchased, then the same may be imposed or implemented by the HoA.

Corollary, as a buyer, you are duty-bound to comply with such restriction as it forms part of your contractual obligation when you purchased the subject property. Although, as owner of the property, you have rights to use and develop it, these rights are not absolute and must comply with laws, contracts, local ordinances, and zoning rules and regulations.

Source: Manila Times

Philippines is 4th happiest country in Southeast Asia

The Philippines slipped to 57th place out of 147 countries in the latest World Happiness Report (WHR), despite showing an improvement in its overall happiness score.

In the latest WHR released on Thursday, the Philippines’ level of happiness rose to 6.107 out of 10 in 2025 from 6.048 previously.

The level of happiness is based on the self-assessed life evaluations averaged for the 2022-2024 period.

Last year’s report showed the Philippines ranked 53rd out of 143 countries, marking its highest placement in four years.

The Philippines is the fourth happiest in the Southeast Asian region, behind Singapore (ranked 34th with a score of 6.565), Vietnam (ranked 46th with a score of 6.352), and Thailand (ranked 49th with a score of 6.222).

The report is published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford in partnership with Gallup and the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Nordic nations continued to be the happiest in the world, led by Finland for the eighth consecutive year, which scored 7.736 out of 10. Denmark ranked second, followed by Iceland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Costa Rica, Norway, Israel, Luxembourg and Mexico.

The US fell to its lowest-ever ranking of 24th.

At the bottom is Afghanistan, which was once again the unhappiest country in the world. Also at the bottom were Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Malawi, and Zimbabwe.

Experts analyzed data across six key factors: gross domestic product per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption.

“We previously found a global surge in benevolent acts during 2020, led by the helping of strangers, which continued through subsequent years. Last year, we found these acts to be prevalent in all generations, especially among Millennials and Gen Z. We suggested that this upsurge of benevolent acts might have led people to feel better about themselves and their neighbors,” the report said.

The WHR noted that acts of kindness remain 10% more frequent across all generations and in nearly all global regions compared with 2017–2019, even as trends gradually return to pre-pandemic levels.

“Global evidence on the perceived and actual return of lost wallets shows that people are much too pessimistic about the kindness of their communities compared to reality. Actual rates of wallet return are around twice as high as people expect,” the report said.

“Believing that others are willing to return your lost wallet is also shown to be a strong predictor of population happiness,” it added.

Over the past 15 years, inequality in happiness within countries has been increasing, while inequality in happiness between countries has remained relatively stable.

Despite this, WHR noted prosocial behavior, or altruism, declined in the Philippines. The decrease was largely associated with a decrease in donating money.

“The average change is -0.23 percentage points per year… the decrease was prevalently associated with a decrease in donating money,” it added.

“However, this increase masks two contrasting trends: on the one hand, an increase in the share of people helping others (0.56); on the other hand, a decrease in volunteering (-0.15).”

In terms of regional patterns of social connection, the WHR noted data from the Government Finance Statistics showed that while most young adults report having at least one social connection, a significant number are socially isolated.

Across 22 countries and regions, 17% of young adults report having no close relationships, including family and friends.

Japan stands out with over 30% of its young adult population experiencing social isolation. In contrast, countries like Nigeria, Egypt, and the Philippines report significantly lower rates, with less than 10% of young adults lacking close connections.

Other key findings were that 19% of young adults in 2023 across the world reported having no one they could count on for social support.

In addition, the study showed significant differences in meal-sharing rates exist worldwide, with meal-sharing having a profound impact on subjective well-being, comparable to the effects of income and unemployment.

Moreover, social connections are essential for the well-being of young adults, offering a protective buffer against the harmful effects of stress.

Deaths of despair are less common in countries where acts of kindness are more frequent.

In the US and parts of Europe, declining happiness and social trust have contributed to increasing political polarization and a rise in anti-system votes.

Sought for comment, Federation of Free Workers (FFW) Vice-President Julius H. Cainglet said the dip in altruistic behavior among Filipinos may be attributed to low wages.

“Workers, even if they are willing to give simply cannot give since they have nothing owing to the meager increase in wages over the past two years given by regional wage boards that have not been enough to cover the lost value of wages,” he said in a Viber chat.

The inability to meet their families’ basic needs has caused significant stress and anxiety among workers, he added.

“Having extra money would have helped by enabling workers and their families to engage in more social and recreational activities. Thus, increasing wages to living wage levels would greatly contribute to regaining the Country’s spot atop the prosocial behavior ratings and the happiness index,” he added.

WHR+25.pdf

Download PDF • 21.57MB

Source: Business World

Below-target growth likely in 1st half of 2025

Philippine economic growth is likely to fall short of the government’s target in the first two quarters, GlobalSource Partners said.

“Our assessments show that GDP (gross domestic product) may be expected to increase within a narrow band over the next two quarters — rising from just above 5.7% in first quarter to approximately 5.9% in second quarter,” GlobalSource country analysts Diwa C. Guinigundo and Wilhelmina C. Mañalac said in a report.

This would be below the Development Budget Coordination Committee’s (DBCC) 6-8% target band until 2028.

GlobalSource’s first-quarter growth forecast of 5.7% would be slower than the 5.8% print in the same period in 2024.

For the second quarter, GlobalSource’s 5.9% GDP growth projection would be slower than the 6.4% print in the same period in 2024.

“This modest upward trend is driven by resilient historical GDP performance, growth in the services sector, and short-term USD/PHP exchange rate effects,” GlobalSource said.

However, local and geopolitical risks may affect the growth outlook in the first half.

“If both domestic and geopolitical shocks occur in a big, adverse way, they could unsurprisingly alter the outcome of this initial analysis,” GlobalSource said.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan earlier this month said government growth targets may need to be revisited amid rising global economic uncertainty.

“It’s too early to change at this point but we need to be watchful and be flexible because of this uncertainty,” he said.

A DBCC meeting is scheduled to be held at the end of March.

Budget Secretary and DBCC Chair Amenah F. Pangandaman has said that the committee historically keeps its target unchanged during the first and second quarters of the year.

Earlier, Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said that “6-6.5% [growth] is doable for 2025.”

However, GlobalSource said the Philippine economy should grow faster than the DBCC’s 6-8% target.

“The economic scarring of the pandemic actually requires the Philippines to grow by much more than the targeted growth rates of 6-8% through the end of the Marcos administration. Persistent poverty and income inequality are additional imperatives to grow by much more,” it said.

During the MAP Economic Briefing and General Membership Meeting on March 12, Mr. Guinigundo said that Philippine GDP growth of 6-8% annually would bring the economy to around P60 trillion by 2036

“To overcome this setback, growth will have to be between 9% and 9.5% through 2028 to be able to return to the original growth path,” he said.

In 2024, the economy expanded by 5.6%, from the 5.5% print in 2023 amid subdued consumption and lower farm output. It fell short of the government’s revised 6-6.5% target.

“It’s easy to blame the onslaught of typhoons during the latter part of the year, which constrained economic expansion. Such weather disturbances could indeed explain part of the failure, but not the entire dynamics,” GlobalSource said.

The economy grew by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, slower than the 5.5% print in the same period in 2023 after a series of typhoons hurt agricultural output.

“Sufficient stock buffering, mangrove propagation, zonal building along the coasts could have also mitigated the effects of these supply shocks. Yes, food inflation likewise deterred economic growth because private consumption spending was generally restrained,” GlobalSource said.

NEDA Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Group Rosemarie G. Edillon attributed the weaker-than-expected GDP growth in 2024 to “extreme weather events, geopolitical tensions, and subdued global demand.”

Source: Business World