EASEMENT

OF
DRAINAGE
OF
ARTICLES 674-676
BUILDINGS

DRAINAGE OF
BUILDINGS
Regulates the use on ones property so rain
water falling thereon may not cause damage
to another property. (4 Manresa 810)
Art. 89 of the Chile Code provides that there
is no legal easement of receiving rain water.
The provisions of that Article is merely a
limitation on the freedom of a person to
dispose of rain water in any manner he
pleases.

DRAINAGE OF
BUILDINGS
Falling water is res
nullius and therefore
has no owner; every
owner of a house or
building has a right
to dispose of it in
any manner as not
to
prejudice
the
neighbors.

DRAINAGE OF
Although this article
B U I L D I N G S uses the phrase
land
of
his
neighbor
the
prohibition
applies
with more reason to
the
constructions
erected on the land.
Hence, water from
ones roof should not
b made to fall on the
terraces, balconies
or roof of adjoining
owner.

DRAINAGE OF BUILDINGS

It is not actually a servitude

-it merely regulates the use of ones
property by imposing on him the
obligation to collect its rain water so
as not to cause damage to his
neighbors, even if he be a co-owner
of the latter

DRAINAGE OF BUILDINGS
Purugganan vs. Paredes, 69 SCRA 69 1976
-the distances prescribed in the decree of
registration should not correspond to the
width and length of the roof of the
defendants house but to the distance of
the rain water falling inside the land of the
plaintiff because the encumbrance is not
the roof itself but the rain water falling
inside the property of the plaintiff.

ART.
674
EASEMENT OF
DRAINAGE OF
BUILDINGS

 Art. 674.
The owner of a building shall be obliged to
construct its roof or covering in such
manner that the rain water shall fall on his
own land or on a street or public place, and
not on the land of his neighbor, even
though the adjacent land may belong to
two or more persons, one of whom is the
owner of the roof. Even if it should fall on
his own land, the owner shall be obliged to
collect the water in such a way as not to
cause damage to the adjacent land or
tenement.

R E ST RI C TI O N S T O T H E EA SE M EN T
O F D RA I N A G E O F B U I L DI N G S

A person should let rain water

FALL on his own land, and not on
the adjacent land, even if he be a
co-owner of the latter.
Rain water must be COLLECTED
(Art. 674), instead of just being
allowed to drift to the adjacent or
lower land.

 Last sentence of article 674, is an

exception to the rule in Article 637
(which requires lower tenements to
receive the water flowing naturally
from higher tenements)

 The owner of the building owns the

water coming from it, as well as the
rain water falling upon his land, and
he should give it an outlet which
shall not injure his neighbor.

 Rain water is not used in a

restrictive, but in an illustrative
sense; hence the provisions under
Sec. 6 can be extended to include
situations with the same end as that
mentioned in the law.

DRAINAGE OF
BUILDINGS
The owner of the roof should see
to it that rain water falling on his
roof shall descend on his own
land, or on a public street. --- NOT
ON THE LAND OF HIS NEIGHBOR.
If he collects rain water, he
should do it in such a way as not
to damage or injure the adjacent
tenements.

C A B A C U N G A N V.
CORRALES
L - 6 6 2 9 , S E P T. 3 0 ,
FACTS:
1954
The complaint alleges that in January, 1950,
defendants, being owners of a lot contiguous to
the land here in question, constructed a building
on said lot with balcony and windows less than
three meters distant from said land and with roof
that drains rain water into it in violation of Article
670 and 674, respectively, of the New Civil Code.

C A B A C U N G A N V.
CORRALES
L - 6 6 2 9 , S E P T. 3 0 ,
1954
FACTS:
Plaintiffs, therefore, pray that the said balcony
and windows be ordered closed and the roofs
constructed in such a way that rain water would
not fall on plaintiffs' land.

C A B A C U N G A N V.
CORRALES
L - 6 6 2 9 , S E P T. 3 0 ,
FACTS:
1954
Taking the view that, with the acquisition by
defendants of a share in the land in question,
the easement of light, view and drainage was
extinguished "by merger in the same person of
the ownership of dominant and servant estates"
pursuant to Article 631 of the New Civil Code,
the lower court ruled out this cause of action.

C A B A C U N G A N V.
CORRALES
L - 6 6 2 9 , S E P T. 3 0 ,
FACTS:
1954
This view is patently erroneous. As defendants
have not become sole owners of the servient
estate, for they have acquired only a part
interest therein, it cannot be said that in this
case ownership of the dominant and servient
estates has been merged in the same person
for the purposes of the article cited.

C A B A C U N G A N V.
CORRALES
L - 6 6 2 9 , S E P T. 3 0 ,
FACTS:
1954
Thus, commenting on the corresponding article
of the Spanish Civil Code (Art. 546), Manresa
observes that under that article the easement is
not extinguished by the acquisition of a share in
property held in common.

C A B A C U N G A N V.
CORRALES
L - 6 6 2 9 , S E P T. 3 0 ,
ISSUE:
1954
Whether or not the acquisition by defendants of
a share in the land in question, the easement of
light, view and drainage was extinguished "by
merger in the same person of the ownership of
dominant and servant estates" pursuant to Article
631 of the New Civil Code.

C A B A C U N G A N V.
CORRALES
L - 6 6 2 9 , S E P T. 3 0 ,
HELD:
1954
No. As to the matter of drainage, Article 674 of
the New Civil Code specifically provides "that the
owner of a building shall be obliged to construct its
roof or covering in such a manner that the rain
water shall fall on his own land or on a street or
public

place,

and

not

on

neighbor,even though the

the

land

of

his

adjacent land may

belong to two or more persons, one of whom is the

owner of the proof."

P U R U G G A N A N V. P A R E D E S &
BARRERAS
L-2818, Jan. 21, 1976
FACTS:
When the lot of Emilio Purugganan was registered under
the Torrens system, there was an express recognition in
the Decree of Registration that Purugganans lot was
subject to an easement of drainage over a portion of said
lot, 8 1/2 meters long, and one meter wide so that the rain
water coming from the roof of a building to be constructed
on the adjoining lot would fall into the land of Purugganan.

P U R U G G A N A N V. P A R E D E S &
BARRERAS
L-2818, Jan. 21, 1976
FACTS:
The easement was thus in favor of the adjoining
lot belonging to Felisa Paredes. Later, Paredes
constructed a building with a roof protruding over
the lot of Purugganan. This was over the objection
of Purugganan.

P U R U G G A N A N V. P A R E D E S &
BARRERAS
L-2818, Jan. 21, 1976
ISSUE:

Did Paredes have a right to construct a

building

with

Purugganans

roof

lot

in

protruding
the

over

dimensions

mentioned in the Decree of Registration?

P U R U G G A N A N V. P A R E D E S &
BARRERAS
L-2818, Jan. 21, 1976
HELD:
No,

Paredes had no such right to

construct a

protruding roof. The encumbrance is not the roof itself

(hence the roof of Paredes should not protrude over the
adjoining lot) but the falling of the rain water inside
Purugganans land. The distances prescribed in the
Decree therefore did not refer to the protrusion of the
width and length of the roof, but to the distance of the
rain water falling on the adjacent lot. The roof of Paredes
must therefore be reconstructed.

P U R U G G A N A N V. P A R E D E S &
BARRERAS
L-2818, Jan. 21, 1976
The dominant owner, who has in his
favor

an

easement

of

drainage

constituted on a specified area of the

servient estate for the draining water, is
not allowed to construct a building with
a roof protruding over the stipulated
area subject of the easement.

ART.
675

EASEMENT TO
R E C E I V E FA L L I N G
W AT E R S

 Art. 675.
The owner of a tenement or a piece
of land, subject to the easement of
receiving water falling from roofs,
may build in such manner as to
receive the water upon his own
roof or give it another outlet in
accordance with local ordinances
or customs, and in such a way as
not to cause any nuisance or
damage whatever to the dominant
estate.

PROVIDING AN OUTLET IN
ONES PROPERTY TO ALLOW
PASSAGE OF WATER FALLING
FROM ROOFS
For places where buildings are
on mountainous areas, and the
roofings of these buildings are of
different

heights,

the

lower

areas may be receiving in their

roofs rain water coming or falling
from neighboring roofs.

PROVIDING AN OUTLET IN
ONES PROPERTY TO ALLOW
PASSAGE OF WATER FALLING
FROM ROOFS
The

servient

owner

should

provide an outlet for the passage

of this falling water to a public
street, or in accordance with the
regulations of local ordinances or
customs to prevent damage to
the dominant state.

RULE WHEN A TENEMENT OR LAND IS

SUBJECT TO THE EASEMENT OF
R E C E I V I N G WAT E R FA L L I N G F R O M R O O F S

The easement (compulsory upon

payment of indemnity) referred to in
Art. 676 may be complied with by
following Art. 675.

EASEMENT TO RECEIVE
FA L L I N G W AT E R S
Is not a
easement

legal

or

compulsory

-is a voluntary easement to receive rain

water falling from the roof of an adjoining
building.

ART.
676

EASEMENT GIVING OUTLET

T O R A I N WAT E R W H E R E T H E

H O U SE IS SU R R O U N D E D BY

OTHER HOUSES

 Art. 676.
Whenever the yard or court of a house is
surrounded by other houses, and it is not
possible to give an outlet through the
house itself to the rain water collected
thereon, the establishment of an easement
of drainage can be demanded, giving an
outlet to the water at the point of the
contiguous lands or tenements where its
egress may be easiest, and establishing a
conduit for the drainage in such manner as
to cause the least damage to the servient
estate,

after

payment

of

the

proper

EASEMENT GIVING OUTLET

T O R A I N WAT E R W H E R E
H O U S E I S S U R R O U N D E D BY
OTHER HOUSES

The legal easement may be demanded subject

to the following conditions:
1. There must be no adequate outlet to the rain water
because the yard or court of a house is surrounded
by other houses.
2. The outlet to the water must be at the point where
egress is easiest, and establishing a conduit for
drainage; and
3. There must be payment of proper indemnity

E S TA B L I S H M E N T O F A N
EASEMENT OF DRAINAGE
WHEN THERE IS NONE
If there is no outlet for the drainage
of rain water collected in a yard or
court of a house surrounded by
other houses, the owner can
demand
the
establishment
of
drainage from the neighboring
estates.

E S TA B L I S H M E N T O F A N
EASEMENT OF DRAINAGE
WHEN THERE IS NONE
This is similar to easement of right
of way. The dominant owner is
obliged to pay proper indemnity for
the damage caused.
The outlet must be at the point of
shortest or easiest exit of the rain
water.

CONDITIONS
Because of enclosure, there is no
adequate outlet for the rain water (or
similar things).
The outlet must be at the point of
easiest egress (going out).
Least possible damage.
Payment of proper indemnity.