Buying Property as Co-Owners: Spouses, Partners and Friends
A couple who are not married buy a house and lot in Quezon City, pay for it together, and register the title in one name for convenience with the bank, and when the relationship ends years later, only one of them can show a document saying the house is theirs.
Buying property with someone else is common in the Philippines, between spouses, partners, siblings, friends, and investors. The law has a different rule for each, and a title with the wrong names or the wrong understanding behind it is a standard source of disputes. This guide covers how ownership works for each type of buyer, what the title should say, what each co-owner can and cannot do, how to protect yourself with a written agreement, and what goes wrong.
Four Common Setups
The rules differ depending on who is buying, so the first step is to know which setup applies.
- Spouses. Property acquired during marriage is governed by the couple's property regime.
- Unmarried couples. Property relations follow Article 147 or Article 148 of the Family Code, depending on whether the couple is legally free to marry.
- Relatives, such as siblings. They co-own under the Civil Code provisions on co-ownership.
- Friends and investors. They co-own under the same Civil Code provisions, and the rules work best when a written agreement fills in the details.
Spouses: Absolute Community or Conjugal Partnership
For marriages celebrated after August 3, 1988 without a marriage settlement saying otherwise, the property regime is the absolute community of property. For marriages before that date, the regime is generally the conjugal partnership of gains. A prenuptial agreement can provide for a different regime.
Property acquired during the marriage is generally presumed to belong to the community or the partnership, whatever name appears on the title. A title that reads in one spouse's name does not make the property that spouse's alone.
The practical consequence is that the sale or mortgage of such property generally needs the consent of both spouses. A deed signed by one spouse alone is open to challenge, which is why careful buyers and banks ask for the spouse's signature even when the title shows only one name.
Unmarried Couples: Article 147 and Article 148
Article 147 applies to a man and a woman who are legally capable of marrying each other and live together as spouses without being married. Property they acquire through their work or industry during the cohabitation is owned by them in equal shares, and their wages and salaries are treated as owned equally. Neither can dispose of the property without the other's consent.
Article 148 applies where the couple cannot marry each other, for example when one is married to someone else. In that case, only property acquired through the actual joint contribution of money, property, or industry is co-owned, in proportion to each person's contribution. Contributions are presumed equal unless proven otherwise.
In a decision promulgated on February 5, 2026, the Supreme Court held that same-sex partners fall under Article 148, because they cannot marry each other under the Family Code. It reversed the lower courts and recognized a partner as a 50 percent co-owner of a house and lot registered in the other partner's name. The finding rested on the proof of actual contribution, including a written acknowledgment that she had paid about half of the costs. The lesson reaches every couple: under Article 148, evidence of what each person paid is what decides the shares.
Keep proof of who paid what, such as bank transfers, receipts, and signed acknowledgments. A registered title in one name does not by itself defeat a co-ownership claim, but proving the claim without records is slow and uncertain.
Relatives, Friends, and Investors: Civil Code Co-Ownership
Where two or more people own a property together and no marriage or cohabitation regime governs, the Civil Code rules on co-ownership apply. The rules that matter most are:
- Each co-owner owns an ideal share of the whole. No co-owner owns a specific room or a specific portion until the property is partitioned.
- Shares are presumed equal unless the co-owners agreed or proved otherwise, and costs and benefits are shared in proportion.
- Each co-owner may sell or mortgage his own share, but not the whole property, and the buyer steps into the co-owner's position.
- Alterations need everyone's consent. Matters of administration are decided by the majority of the interests.
- Any co-owner may demand partition at any time. An agreement to keep the property undivided binds for no longer than a period the law allows, generally ten years.
- Co-owners have a right of legal redemption. When a share is sold to a stranger, the other co-owners may redeem it, generally within 30 days of written notice of the sale.
The right of redemption is why the notice matters. A co-owner who sells a share without telling the others leaves the 30 days open, and the buyer's title is uncertain until the others have been told.
What the Title Should Say
The title is a public record, and what it says carries weight with banks, buyers, and the Registry of Deeds. For co-owners, the title should show:
- Every co-owner by full name. Any person left off the title is a person the title does not protect.
- Each co-owner's civil status and spouse's name, for example "married to" a named spouse, which tells readers that a spouse's consent may be needed.
- The share of each, such as one-half each, when the co-owners are not spouses.
Putting one name on the title for convenience, for the bank or for speed, is the most common mistake. It leaves the other co-owner dependent on the first one's goodwill and on whatever evidence survives. If one name must go on the title for a legitimate reason, sign a written declaration of trust or a co-ownership agreement at the same time.
Financing and Taxes
Banks generally require every co-owner to be a borrower or a mortgagor, and each borrower may be liable for the whole loan, not only a share. Before you sign, ask whether you are liable jointly or severally, and what happens to the others if one co-owner stops paying.
Adding someone to a title later is itself a transfer, and it can be a sale or a donation with its own taxes. Do not assume that it can be fixed by changing names after the purchase, because it may cost taxes that the original deed would have avoided.
Foreign ownership adds a limit. Land in the Philippines cannot be owned by foreigners, and a Filipino spouse's title does not give a foreign spouse an ownership right in the land. Condominium units may have foreign owners within the percentage the law allows. Get advice before structuring a purchase that involves a non-Filipino.
The Co-Ownership Agreement
A written, notarized agreement is the single most useful protection for co-owners who are not married. It should cover:
- Shares and contributions. What each person has paid and will pay, and how their shares are set.
- Payment duties. Who pays the loan, the real property tax, association dues, and repairs, and what happens if someone falls behind.
- Use of the property. Who lives there, who may lease it, and how rental income is divided.
- Decisions. Which decisions need everyone and which need a majority.
- Exit. How a co-owner may leave, how the property is valued, and whether the others have a right of first refusal.
- Death or incapacity. What happens to a share when a co-owner dies, and the rules of inheritance that then apply.
- Disputes. A mediation step before anyone goes to court.
Consider annotating the agreement on the title, or at least keeping the notarized original with each co-owner, so a later buyer or heir cannot say they did not know.
What Goes Wrong
- One name on the title. The unnamed co-owner has to prove a share instead of reading it from the title.
- No record of who paid. Under Article 148, the shares depend on proof.
- A sale by one co-owner or one spouse. The buyer holds a share, not the whole, or a deed that can be challenged.
- A forgotten spouse. A deed signed without the spouse's consent can be set aside.
- Ignoring the redemption right. A share sold without written notice to the other co-owners can be redeemed.
- Unequal contributions with equal shares. Without an agreement, the person who paid more has a claim that takes years to settle.
- No plan for death. A co-owner's share passes to heirs, who may be strangers to the other owners.
For Buyers Before Signing
Decide who is buying and under which rule. Name every co-owner and every share on the deed and the title, and keep proof of each person's payments.
Sign a co-ownership agreement before the first payment, and read the loan documents for joint and several liability.
Confirm the details with a lawyer for anything material. Property relations depend on the facts of each couple or group, and the law and its interpretation by the Supreme Court develop over time.
A title shows who owns the property, and a co-ownership agreement shows how. You can explore property listings across the Philippines, with terms and records visible before you enquire, at The Grid Property Ventures, the Philippines' smartest real estate platform.
