Dear Attykalibre,
We are leasing on a monthly basis a land, for almost 20 years now. We were the one who built the house. It is located in Makati City. We learned from our neighbor that the house and lot are for sale for three million pesos. We expressed our willing to buy the property, but the land lord did not give any answer.
We discovered later the property was sold to another person. The landlord maintains that she has the legal right to sell the house without offering it first to us. Is she right
Monica
Dear Monica,
Presidential Decree (PD) 1517, precisely Section 6 adequately provides the essentials requisites in order that the provision of the law could be implemented to wit:
a. leased land must be situated in an urban zone;
b. Lessee should build his/her house on subject land; and
c. He/She must be renting the said property continuously for ten years.
In your case, all the requisites are present. For this reason, landowner does have the legal duty to give you the opportunity to buy it, if he plans to sell it, and you do have the right of first refusal in the case at hand.
We wish that we could answer your inquiries.
