Bel Air Village Association, Inc.
vs Virgilio Dionisio
G.R. L-383454 June 30, 1989
Facts:
The Transfer Certificate of Title
covering the subject parcel of land issued in the name of Virgilio Dionisio, the petitioner contains an annotation to the effect that the
lot owner becomes an automatic member of Bel-Air Village Association, the respondent, and must abide by such rules and regulations
laid down by the Association in the interest of the sanitation, security and
the general welfare of the community.
The petitioner questioned the collection of the
dues on the following grounds: the questioned
assessment is a property tax outside the corporate power of the
association; the association has no power to compel the petitioner to pay
the assessment for lack of privity of contract; the questioned assessment should
not be enforced for being unreasonable, arbitrary, oppressive, confiscatory and
discriminatory; the respondent association is exercising governmental powers
which should not be sanctioned.
Issue:
Whether or not the association can lawfully collect dues
Ruling:
The Supreme Court dismissed the
petition for lack of merit. It held that
the purchasers of a registered land are bound by the annotations found at the
back of the certificate of title covering the subject parcel of land. The
petitioner’s contention that he has no privity with the respondent association
is not persuasive. When the petitioner voluntarily bought the subject
parcel of land it was understood that he took the same free of all ecumbrances
except annotations at the back of the certificate of title, among them, that he
automatically becomes a member of the respondent association. One of the
obligations of a member is to pay certain amounts for the operation and
activities of the association.
The mode of payment as well as
the purposes for which the dues are intended clearly indicates that the dues
are not in the concept of a property tax as claimed by the petitioner. They are shares in the common expenses for
necessary services. A property tax is
assessed according to the value of the property but the basis of the sharing in
this case is the area of the lot. The
dues are fees which a member of the respondent association is required in
hiring security guards, cleaning and maintaining streets, street lights and
other community projects for the benefit of all residents within the Bel-Air
Village. These expenses are necessary,
valid and reasonable for the particular community involved.
The limitations upon the
ownership of the petitioner do not contravene provisions of laws, morals, good customs, public order or public
policy. The constitutional proscription
than no person can be compelled to be a member of an association against his
will applies only to governmental acts
and not to private transactions like the one in question.
The petitioner cannot legally
maintain that he is compelled to be a member of the association against his
will because the limitation is imposed upon his ownership of property. If he does not desire to comply with the annotation
or lien in question, he can at any time exercise his inviolable freedom of
disposing of the property and free himself from the burden of becoming a member
of the association.
Comments
Post a Comment