The Condominium Act (Republic Act No. 4726) is the 1966 law that makes condominium ownership legally possible in the Philippines — it lets you own a specific unit outright while co-owning the land and common areas with every other unit owner in the project. Before this law existed, Philippine property law had no clean way to give one person a title to, say, the 14th floor of a building while everyone else owned the lobby, elevators, and land together. RA 4726 solved that by creating the condominium as a distinct form of property interest, and it still governs the master deed, the condominium corporation, and the 60/40 foreign ownership rule that every condo buyer in the country runs into today (Republic Act No. 4726, ChanRobles Virtual Law Library).
Decision Snapshot
- What it is: RA 4726 (the Condominium Act, 1966) legally defines a “condominium” as separate ownership of a unit plus undivided co-ownership of the land and common areas, and sets the rules for creating, selling, and managing a condominium project.
- Where to check the paperwork: A project’s Master Deed and Declaration of Restrictions are recorded at the Register of Deeds where the property sits; your own unit’s Condominium Certificate of Title (CCT) is verified the same way, or through the LRA eSerbisyo portal.
- The key qualifying detail: Buying a unit does not just make you an owner — it automatically makes you a member (usually a shareholder) of the condominium corporation that holds and manages the common areas, whether you attend a single meeting or not.
- The main rule: Under Section 5, a condominium corporation must keep at least 60% of its capital stock in Filipino hands; foreign buyers, individually or combined, cannot take the corporation’s foreign ownership past 40% — the same cap that applies to condo ownership generally.
- An important caveat: A pending bill, the Condominium Redevelopment Act (House Bill 2286), would ease the near-unanimous owner consent RA 4726 currently requires to redevelop or dissolve an aging condominium corporation. It passed the House in November 2025 and remained pending in the Senate as of early 2026 — it is not yet law.
- Next step: Before you buy, ask for (and actually read) the Master Deed, Declaration of Restrictions, and condominium corporation by-laws — not just the unit’s floor plan and price list.
What the Condominium Act Actually Does
Republic Act No. 4726, “An Act to Define Condominium, Establish Requirements for its Creation, and Govern its Incidents,” was signed into law in 1966. Its core contribution is a legal definition: a condominium is “an interest in real property consisting of separate interest in a unit in a residential, industrial or commercial building and an undivided interest in common, directly or indirectly, in the land on which it is located and in other common areas of the building” (RA 4726, Sec. 2, Supreme Court E-Library). Everything else in the law — the master deed, the corporation, the 60/40 rule, the registration process — exists to make that split ownership workable and enforceable.
This matters because Philippine property law, before 1966, was built around the Civil Code’s rules on land and buildings as indivisible wholes. RA 4726 carved out an exception specifically for multi-unit buildings, and Presidential Decree No. 957 (1976) and later DHSUD regulations layered consumer-protection and developer-licensing rules on top of it. RA 4726 remains the foundational statute; it has been amended once in a targeted way, by Republic Act No. 7899 in 1995, which adjusted how a condominium corporation may sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of common areas.
Your Unit vs. the Common Areas: What You Own and What You Share
RA 4726 draws a hard line between two categories of property inside a condominium project, and understanding which side of that line something falls on explains most disputes that come up later.
A unit is “a part of the condominium project intended for any type of independent use or ownership, including one or more rooms or spaces located in one or more floors (or part or parts of floors) in a building” (RA 4726, Sec. 3[a]). This is what your Condominium Certificate of Title (CCT) actually describes, and it is yours to use, lease, mortgage, or sell, subject to the project’s restrictions.
Common areas are, by exclusion, everything in the project that is not a separately titled unit — the land itself, structural elements, hallways, elevators, roof, and shared facilities. You do not own a specific square meter of the lobby; you own an undivided percentage interest in the whole of the common areas, expressed in the Master Deed as your unit’s “participation” or share. That percentage is also, in most projects, the basis for computing your monthly association dues and your voting weight in corporation matters.
The Master Deed and Declaration of Restrictions: The Project’s Founding Documents
Before a developer can sell a single unit, RA 4726 requires the project’s owner to execute and record an enabling or master deed with the Register of Deeds. Section 4 requires the master deed to describe the land and building, the units and their boundaries, the common areas and facilities, and — critically — each unit’s percentage interest in the common areas, along with the consent of existing owners and any lienholders (RA 4726, Sec. 4, as amended by RA 7899). A closely related document, the Declaration of Restrictions, sets out use limitations, easements, and the voting and management rules that bind every future owner, whether or not they personally signed anything.
The registration sequence matters in practice. Under Land Registration Authority rules, the master deed and declaration of restrictions are recorded with the Register of Deeds to constitute the condominium project — that step does not require prior housing-regulator certification. But before the developer can register the actual conveyance of an individual unit to a buyer, it must hold a valid Certificate of Registration and License to Sell from the housing regulator (formerly HLURB, now under DHSUD). In short: the project can be legally created before units are cleared for sale, but no individual sale should be registered without that separate license.
For a buyer, this means the Master Deed and Declaration of Restrictions — not the glossy brochure — are the documents that actually define what you are buying: your exact participation percentage, what counts as a common area versus a limited common area (like an assigned parking slot), and what the project restricts you from doing with your own unit.
The Condominium Corporation: What You Automatically Join When You Buy
Most Philippine condominium projects place ownership and management of the common areas in a separate condominium corporation, organized under the (now Revised) Corporation Code. Section 10 of RA 4726 limits that corporation’s purpose strictly to holding title to the common areas and managing the project — it cannot engage in unrelated business. What buyers frequently miss is that membership in this corporation is not optional or something you apply for: under the corporation’s articles and RA 4726’s framework, acquiring title to a unit automatically makes you a member (typically a shareholder, with your shareholding tied to your unit’s participation percentage) of the condominium corporation, with both a vote in its affairs and a legal obligation to pay dues and assessments that fund it.
A condominium corporation is a distinct legal creature from the more familiar “homeowners association” you might see in a subdivision. It is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Corporation Code, not (at least not automatically) with DHSUD under Republic Act No. 9904, the Magna Carta for Homeowners and Homeowners’ Associations. In practice, many condominium corporations additionally register as homeowners associations with DHSUD to gain access to DHSUD’s dispute-resolution mechanisms and clearer statutory collection powers, but RA 4726 itself does not make that a precondition for the corporation to exist and function (Respicio & Co., Do Condominium Associations Need to Register with DHSUD?).
Who Regulates What: A Quick Reference
| Agency | Role in condominium matters |
|---|---|
| Register of Deeds (under the LRA) | Records the Master Deed, Declaration of Restrictions, and issues the CCT for each unit |
| DHSUD (formerly HLURB) | Issues the developer’s Certificate of Registration and License to Sell; regulates pre-selling and project compliance |
| Securities and Exchange Commission | Registers the condominium corporation itself as a stock or non-stock corporation and oversees its corporate compliance |
| Human Settlements Adjudication Commission (HSAC) | Adjudicates disputes involving subdivision and condominium projects and homeowners’ association cases, as HLURB’s successor adjudicatory body under RA 11201 |
Clearing Up Similar-Sounding Terms
Buyers researching this topic often run into several documents and entities that sound related but do very different jobs. Here is how they compare:
| Term | What it actually is |
|---|---|
| Master Deed / Declaration of Restrictions | The project’s founding documents, recorded once at the Register of Deeds; define units, common areas, participation shares, and use restrictions for the whole project |
| Condominium Certificate of Title (CCT) | Your individual unit’s title, issued after your specific purchase is registered — analogous to a TCT for land, but for a condo unit |
| Condominium corporation by-laws | The internal rules of the corporation you automatically join — meetings, dues computation, penalties, house rules enforcement |
| Condominium corporation | The SEC-registered entity that legally owns and manages the common areas on behalf of all unit owners |
| Homeowners association (RA 9904) | A separate DHSUD-registration track many condominium corporations also pursue voluntarily, mainly for added dispute-resolution and collection tools |
The 60/40 Foreign Ownership Rule
Section 5 of RA 4726 is the source of the foreign-ownership limit every foreign condo buyer in the Philippines eventually asks about: “no condominium unit therein shall be conveyed or transferred to persons other than Filipino citizens, or corporations at least sixty percent of the capital stock of which belong to Filipino citizens, except in cases of hereditary succession” (RA 4726, Sec. 5). In practice, this is applied project-wide rather than unit-by-unit: as long as the condominium corporation’s stock stays at least 60% Filipino-owned overall, individual units can be sold to foreign buyers up to the point where foreign ownership across the whole project reaches 40%. Developers and condominium corporations are responsible for tracking and enforcing this ratio, and most reputable projects will confirm remaining foreign-ownership allocation before accepting a foreign buyer’s reservation.
A 2026 Legal Change to Watch: The Condominium Redevelopment Act
RA 4726, as it currently stands, requires unanimous or near-unanimous owner consent to dissolve a condominium corporation or substantially redevelop an aging project — a threshold that has made it practically impossible to redevelop older, structurally aging condominiums even when most owners want to. A bill addressing this, House Bill No. 2286 (the “Condominium Redevelopment Act,” a refiling of the 19th Congress’s HB 10173), passed the House of Representatives on third reading in November 2025 and remained pending at the committee level in the Senate as of January 2026 (BusinessWorld, Proposed Condo Law Seen to Unlock Value in Aging Developments).
Key changes the bill would introduce include lowering the dissolution/redevelopment vote threshold to two-thirds of owners for projects 30–50 years old and to a simple majority for projects over 50 years old (down from the current near-unanimous requirement); clarifying that unit areas on a CCT are approximate; expanding emergency entry rights for management bodies; and allowing dues to reflect actual use. None of this is law yet — it still needs Senate passage, reconciliation with the House version, and presidential signature, so treat any online summary describing these thresholds as current with caution and check the bill’s live status before relying on it for a specific transaction.
Worked Example: Reading a Master Deed Before You Buy (Hypothetical)
The scenario below is illustrative only — not a real transaction, and not legal advice.
- Setup: A buyer is considering a 40-square-meter unit in a 200-unit condominium project and asks the developer’s agent for the Master Deed and Declaration of Restrictions, not just the reservation agreement.
- What the Master Deed shows: The buyer’s unit carries a participation interest of 0.42% in the common areas — a figure derived from its floor area relative to the project’s total saleable area, and the same figure the condominium corporation will use to compute the buyer’s share of monthly dues and voting weight.
- What the Declaration of Restrictions shows: Short-term leasing (under 30 days) is prohibited without condominium corporation approval, and no unit may be used for commercial purposes — a restriction the buyer had not seen mentioned in the sales brochure.
- Foreign ownership check: Because the buyer is a foreign national, the agent confirms the project’s foreign-ownership allocation still has room under the 40% cap before proceeding with the reservation.
- Result: The buyer proceeds, but adjusts their investment plan — the short-term rental restriction rules out an Airbnb-style strategy for this particular unit, information they would not have had without reading the Declaration of Restrictions directly.
What to Verify Before You Rely on This
- Request the actual Master Deed and Declaration of Restrictions from the developer or Register of Deeds — not a summary — and confirm your unit’s exact participation percentage.
- Ask for the condominium corporation’s by-laws and current audited financials or dues statement before buying a resale unit.
- Confirm the developer’s current DHSUD Certificate of Registration and License to Sell for pre-selling projects, separate from the master deed’s registration.
- For foreign buyers, confirm the project’s remaining foreign-ownership allocation directly with the developer or condominium corporation before reserving.
- Check whether the condominium corporation is also DHSUD-registered as a homeowners association, which can affect which body handles a future dispute.
- Track the status of House Bill 2286 if you are buying into an older project where redevelopment or dissolution is a realistic scenario within your ownership horizon.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Condominium Act of the Philippines?
Republic Act No. 4726, signed in 1966, is the law that legally defines a condominium as separate ownership of a unit combined with undivided co-ownership of the land and common areas. It sets out the master deed, condominium corporation, and foreign-ownership rules that still govern condo projects today.
Do I automatically become a member of the condominium corporation when I buy a unit?
Yes. Under the framework RA 4726 establishes, acquiring title to a unit automatically makes you a member of the condominium corporation that manages the project’s common areas, with a corresponding obligation to pay dues and assessments.
What is the difference between a Master Deed and a Declaration of Restrictions?
The Master Deed describes the physical project — units, common areas, and each unit’s percentage interest. The Declaration of Restrictions sets the use limitations, easements, and governance rules that bind all owners. Both are recorded with the Register of Deeds and are often executed together, but they serve different functions.
Can foreigners own a condominium unit in the Philippines?
Yes, subject to Section 5’s limit: the condominium corporation must remain at least 60% Filipino-owned, which in practice caps total foreign ownership across a project at 40%. This is generally tracked project-wide, not unit by unit.
Is a condominium corporation the same as a homeowners association?
No. A condominium corporation is registered with the SEC under the Corporation Code and is created specifically to hold and manage a condo project’s common areas under RA 4726. Many condominium corporations additionally register as homeowners associations with DHSUD under RA 9904 for added dispute-resolution access, but this is a separate, largely voluntary registration layer.
What government body handles condominium disputes?
The Human Settlements Adjudication Commission (HSAC), created under RA 11201 as the successor to HLURB’s adjudicatory functions, handles disputes involving subdivision and condominium projects and homeowners’ association cases.
Has the Condominium Act been amended?
Yes, once substantively: Republic Act No. 7899 (1995) amended Section 16 to set clearer rules for how a condominium corporation may sell, lease, or dispose of common areas, generally requiring an affirmative majority vote of registered owners. A further amendment bill, House Bill 2286, is pending in the Senate as of early 2026.
Where can I verify a project’s Master Deed or my unit’s CCT?
At the Register of Deeds with jurisdiction over the property, or through the LRA eSerbisyo portal for a Certified True Copy, the same channel used to verify land titles.
What to Do Next
If you’re evaluating a condo purchase, ask for the Master Deed, Declaration of Restrictions, and condominium corporation by-laws before you commit — these documents, not the sales brochure, define your actual ownership share, your voting weight, and what you can and cannot do with your unit. For a resale unit, add a request for the corporation’s current dues statement and any pending special assessments. If you’re a foreign buyer, confirm the project’s remaining foreign-ownership room directly rather than assuming availability, and if you’re weighing a purchase in an older project, keep an eye on House Bill 2286’s progress in the Senate, since it would materially change how easily that project could be redeveloped or dissolved in the future.
Figures and legal provisions in this article reflect published statutory text and government/legislative sources as of August 29, 2026. RA 4726, RA 7899, RA 9904, and related DHSUD/HSAC regulations can change by legislation, amendment, or agency issuance, and House Bill 2286 was still pending in the Senate at time of writing and may be revised or fail to pass. Always confirm current rules with the Register of Deeds, DHSUD, SEC, or a licensed Philippine real estate lawyer before relying on this guide for an actual transaction.
