Adverse Claim on a Land Title in the Philippines: What Buyers Should Do Before Purchasing

An adverse claim is a third party’s registered, sworn statement that they hold an interest in a property adverse to the person named on the title — and contrary to popular belief, it does not automatically disappear after 30 days. The Supreme Court settled that question decades ago: once annotated on a Certified True Copy, an adverse claim stays binding until it is formally cancelled, either by the claimant’s own sworn withdrawal or by court order (Sajonas v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 102377, Supreme Court E-Library). For a buyer, that means an adverse claim you spot on a title — even one registered months or years ago — cannot be waved away as “expired.” It has to be investigated and resolved before you sign anything beyond a small, refundable reservation fee.

Decision Snapshot

• What it is: A sworn, written statement registered on a title by someone who claims an interest in the property adverse to the registered owner — a formal red flag that the ownership or a right over the property is disputed (PD 1529, Sec. 70, Supreme Court E-Library).
• Where to check: The memorandum of encumbrances on a current Certified True Copy of the title from the Registry of Deeds, or through the LRA eSerbisyo portal.
• The key qualifying detail: The statute’s “30 days” is not an expiry date. The Supreme Court has ruled the claim stays effective until cancelled by the claimant’s own sworn withdrawal or by a court order — an old-looking entry is not necessarily a dead one.
• The main rule: Anyone asserting an adverse interest — including an unpaid seller, an heir, or even a buyer who has fully paid but whose deed is not yet registered — can annotate an adverse claim by filing a sworn statement with the Registry of Deeds (PD 1529, Sec. 70, Supreme Court E-Library).
• An important caveat: A literal reading of Section 70 makes it sound like adverse claims lapse automatically after 30 days. The Supreme Court has expressly rejected that reading — treat any adverse claim as live until you see an actual cancellation annotated on the title.
• Next step: If a current CTC shows an adverse claim, identify the claimant, get the underlying dispute in writing, and involve a real estate lawyer before releasing further payment — do not rely on the seller’s assurance that “it already lapsed.”

What an Adverse Claim Actually Is

Under the Property Registration Decree, “whoever claims any part or interest in registered land adverse to the registered owner, arising subsequent to the date of the original registration,” may register that claim by filing a sworn written statement with the Register of Deeds (PD 1529, Sec. 70, Supreme Court E-Library). It is a self-help remedy: a claimant does not need to already have a court case filed to register one — the annotation itself is meant to warn the world that someone disputes the registered owner’s clean title while the underlying dispute gets sorted out.

Common real-world triggers for an adverse claim on a Philippine property include an unpaid or double-sold buyer protecting a purchase that has not yet been registered, an heir asserting a share of inherited property before an extrajudicial settlement is finalized, a co-owner disputing a sale made without their consent, or a creditor asserting a claim against the registered owner’s interest. Because the claim is filed unilaterally — the Register of Deeds does not adjudicate whether it is valid, only whether it is in the correct form — an adverse claim can be filed by someone with a strong legal position or by someone using the annotation to pressure a deal. That is exactly why a buyer who finds one has to investigate the substance of the dispute, not just the fact that an entry exists.

How an Adverse Claim Is Registered: Step by Step

The law is specific about what the claimant’s sworn statement must contain and how it gets onto the title:

1. Prepare a sworn written statement setting out the claimant’s alleged right or interest, how and from whom it was acquired, the certificate of title number, the registered owner’s name, and a description of the land.
2. Sign and swear to the statement before a notary public, and state the claimant’s residence and an address where notices may be served — the law requires this on the face of the statement (PD 1529, Sec. 70, Supreme Court E-Library).
3. File the statement with the Register of Deeds that keeps the certificate of title for the property, together with the applicable entry fee.
4. The Register of Deeds annotates it as a memorandum on the certificate of title, noting the date and hour of filing — from that moment, the adverse claim is binding as notice to anyone dealing with the property.
5. The Register of Deeds notifies the registered owner of the annotation, giving the owner the opportunity to contest it if they believe the claim is baseless.

The entry fee for annotating an adverse claim (grouped under attachments, levies, and similar involuntary entries) was set at ₱15.00 per parcel under LRA Circular No. 61, issued in 1993. That figure is the statutory base rate and has almost certainly been adjusted upward since through later LRA fee circulars and added legal research or IT service charges, similar to how other Registry of Deeds registration fees have been revised over time — treat it as a reference point, not a current quote, and confirm the actual amount at the Registry of Deeds before filing.

The 30-Day Rule: What the Law Says vs. What the Supreme Court Actually Ruled

Section 70 reads, in part, that “the adverse claim shall be effective for a period of thirty days from the date of registration,” after which “the annotation of adverse claim may be cancelled upon filing of a verified petition” (PD 1529, Sec. 70, Supreme Court E-Library). Read in isolation, that sentence looks like the claim simply expires on day 31. Many sellers — and more than a few buyers — read it exactly that way.

The Supreme Court rejected that reading in Sajonas v. Court of Appeals. The Sajonas spouses had registered an adverse claim to protect a condominium unit they were buying on installment; a creditor of the seller later tried to levy on the same unit, arguing the Sajonas’ adverse claim had already lapsed after 30 days and could be ignored. The Court disagreed, holding that the 30-day period is a window during which the claim is unquestionably effective and a court can be asked for a speedy hearing on its validity — not an automatic cutoff. Reading the provision otherwise, the Court noted, would make the very next clause — requiring a verified petition before an adverse claim can be cancelled — pointless. An adverse claim therefore remains annotated and effective beyond 30 days unless the claimant voluntarily withdraws it or a court cancels it after a hearing (Sajonas v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 102377, Supreme Court E-Library).

For a buyer, the practical consequence is blunt: you cannot look at the registration date on an adverse claim, count 30 days, and conclude it is safe to proceed. An adverse claim from three years ago that was never formally cancelled is, as far as the Torrens system is concerned, exactly as effective today as it was the day it was filed.

How an Adverse Claim Gets Cancelled

There are two routes off the title, and a buyer should ask which one actually happened before treating an old adverse claim as resolved:

• Voluntary withdrawal by the claimant. Before the 30-day period lapses, the claimant may withdraw the adverse claim simply by filing a sworn petition to that effect with the Register of Deeds (PD 1529, Sec. 70, Supreme Court E-Library). This is the fastest route, but it requires the claimant’s cooperation — a buyer or seller cannot force a withdrawal on their own.
• Court-ordered cancellation. Any party in interest — typically the registered owner or the person trying to sell or mortgage the property — may file a verified petition with the Regional Trial Court that has jurisdiction over the property (the successor of the old Courts of First Instance named in the 1978 decree). The court is required to give the petition a speedy hearing on the validity of the claim and then either cancels or upholds it (PD 1529, Sec. 70, Supreme Court E-Library).

Either way, cancellation is only real once the Register of Deeds annotates it on the title itself. A court order or a claimant’s private assurance that “we settled it already” is not the same thing as a cancellation entry on a fresh Certified True Copy — the same principle covered in more general terms in how to verify a clean property title.

Adverse Claim vs. Lis Pendens vs. an Ordinary Lien

Buyers often lump every red annotation together, but these three work differently and get resolved differently:

An adverse claim is arguably the trickiest of the three precisely because it can be filed unilaterally, without a pending lawsuit — which means the underlying dispute might be genuine, might be a nuisance filing meant to pressure a settlement, or might already be moot but simply never formally lifted. The annotation alone does not tell you which.

Can a Buyer Register Their Own Adverse Claim?

Yes — and this is the flip side of the topic buyers often miss. Because Section 70 lets “whoever claims any part or interest in registered land adverse to the registered owner” file one, a buyer who has already paid for a property but whose deed has not yet been registered can annotate an adverse claim on the seller’s title to protect that unregistered interest. This is exactly what happened in the Sajonas case: the buyers used an adverse claim to flag their purchase before the deed itself could be registered, and it held up against a later creditor’s levy. A buyer who has paid substantially under a contract to sell that is nearing full payment, and who is worried the seller might try to sell or mortgage the same property again before the transfer is registered, has a real, lawful tool available — not just leverage in a negotiation.

Worked Example: The “It Already Lapsed” Trap

The scenario below is hypothetical and illustrative only — not a real transaction, and not legal advice.

• Setup: A buyer is finalizing a purchase of a house and lot. A fresh Certified True Copy shows an adverse claim registered by the seller’s estranged business partner two years earlier, asserting a share in the property.
• Seller’s pitch: The seller says not to worry — “that’s an adverse claim, it’s only good for 30 days, it expired two years ago.” No cancellation entry appears anywhere on the title.
• Why that’s wrong: Under Sajonas, the claim remains effective precisely because no cancellation — neither a sworn withdrawal nor a court order — was ever annotated. The two years that passed change nothing on their own.
• What the buyer does instead: Before paying beyond a small reservation amount, the buyer asks the seller to either produce the business partner’s sworn withdrawal or a court order cancelling the claim, or to resolve the underlying dispute and have the resolution annotated on the title.
• Result: Only once a fresh CTC actually shows the adverse claim entry cancelled does the buyer proceed to release full payment — turning a claim the seller dismissed as “expired” into a condition that had to be affirmatively cleared first.

What to Verify Before You Rely on This

• Pull a current Certified True Copy from the Registry of Deeds or LRA eSerbisyo — never assume an adverse claim you were told about verbally is the only one, or that it has been cancelled without seeing the entry.
• Check for an actual cancellation annotation, not just a verbal assurance or a private settlement document the parties are holding onto.
• Identify the claimant and the underlying dispute — an adverse claim from a documented, active lawsuit is a different risk level than one that looks abandoned but was never formally lifted.
• Do not count 30 days and assume safety — confirm with the Registry of Deeds or a lawyer whether the claim has actually been cancelled, regardless of how old it looks.
• Ask whether you, as the buyer, may need to register your own adverse claim if there will be a gap between full payment and registration of your deed.
• Involve a real estate lawyer before releasing funds beyond a small, refundable reservation fee whenever an adverse claim appears on a title you’re buying.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does an adverse claim automatically expire after 30 days?

No. While Section 70 of PD 1529 mentions a 30-day period, the Supreme Court has ruled that an adverse claim remains effective until it is cancelled — either by the claimant’s own sworn withdrawal or by a court order after a hearing. An old registration date does not mean the claim has lapsed.

Who can file an adverse claim on a property?

Anyone who claims an interest in the property adverse to the registered owner — this can include an unpaid or double-crossed buyer, an heir, a co-owner, or a creditor — by filing a sworn written statement with the Registry of Deeds that keeps the title.

How do I find out if a property has an adverse claim on it?

Request a current Certified True Copy of the title from the Registry of Deeds with jurisdiction over the property, or through the LRA eSerbisyo portal, and read the memorandum of encumbrances — an adverse claim, if any, will be entered there along with the claimant’s details.

What’s the difference between an adverse claim and a notice of lis pendens?

An adverse claim is a party’s own sworn assertion of an interest and does not require a pending court case to register. A notice of lis pendens specifically flags that the property is the subject of active litigation over title or possession, and it stays on the title for as long as that case is pending.

Can a seller just ignore an adverse claim and sell the property anyway?

A sale can technically proceed, but the buyer takes the property subject to whatever the adverse claim asserts, since the annotation is binding notice to anyone dealing with the title. A responsible buyer treats an unresolved adverse claim as a reason to pause, not a technicality to override.

How is an adverse claim finally removed from a title?

Either the claimant files a sworn petition with the Registry of Deeds voluntarily withdrawing it, or a party in interest files a verified petition with the Regional Trial Court, which holds a hearing on the claim’s validity and orders it cancelled if warranted.

Can a buyer register an adverse claim to protect their own purchase?

Yes. A buyer who has paid for a property but whose own deed has not yet been registered can file an adverse claim to place other parties on notice of that unregistered interest — a tool the Supreme Court itself upheld in the case that clarified the 30-day rule.

Is an adverse claim the same as a mortgage or a lien?

No. A mortgage or lien secures a specific debt and is released once that debt is paid and the lender or creditor executes a cancellation. An adverse claim asserts a disputed interest or right and is resolved by withdrawal or court order rather than by payment.

What to Do Next

If a Certified True Copy shows an adverse claim on a title you’re considering, do not rely on how old the entry looks or what the seller says about it having “expired.” Identify the claimant, ask for the sworn withdrawal or court order that would actually cancel it, and confirm the cancellation is annotated on a fresh CTC before releasing anything beyond a small, refundable reservation fee. If you are the one paying for a property ahead of your own deed being registered, ask a real estate lawyer whether registering your own adverse claim is the right way to protect your position in the meantime.

Figures and procedures in this article reflect PD 1529, the Sajonas v. Court of Appeals ruling, and published LRA fee circulars as of September 12, 2026. Entry fees, court practices, and local Registry of Deeds procedures can change or vary. Always confirm current fees and procedures with the relevant Registry of Deeds, the LRA, or a licensed Philippine real estate lawyer before relying on this guide for an actual transaction.