Updated for the post-tenant system of agricultural leasehold (not share tenancy), and aligned with the agrarian-reform framework under PD 27, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL), and subsequent amendments.

1) The legal frame you’re operating in

Share tenancy is abolished. What people still call “tenant” in everyday speech is, in law, an agricultural lessee. The relationship is a leasehold, not co-ownership of harvests.
Security of tenure is the core rule. A qualified agricultural lessee cannot be ejected or his leasehold disturbed, except for legally specified causes and only through the proper forum (Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board [DARAB] / Provincial Agrarian Reform Adjudicator [PARAD], or where applicable, the regular courts for issues outside agrarian jurisdiction).
Coverage. Leasehold exists on agricultural land devoted to crop production (rice, corn, sugar, coconut, high-value crops, etc.). Residential or purely industrial/commercial parcels are outside the regime.
Who is an agricultural lessee? The person who personally cultivates the landholding under a leasehold relation with the landholder/landowner and pays lease rental (not a share of harvest, as a rule). Personal cultivation can include the lessee’s immediate household helping.

Terminology used below:

Lessee/tenant – the farmer with leasehold rights.

Landholder/lessor – the owner or lawful possessor who lets the land to the lessee.

2) When the agricultural lessee dies

2.1. The leasehold does not automatically end

Death of the lessee does not extinguish the leasehold. Law and jurisprudence treat the lease as a protected agrarian status that transmits to qualified heirs, provided the land remains agricultural and under cultivation.

2.2. Who succeeds to the leasehold

A practical priority used in adjudication:

Surviving spouse who actually cultivates or is willing and able to personally cultivate;
In the spouse’s absence or disqualification, an adult direct descendant (usually the eldest who actually cultivates);
Any other heir who actually cultivates (or is ready, willing, and able to cultivate personally), including a child who had long tilled the land with the deceased;
If all heirs are minors, incapacitated, or non-cultivators, a temporary caretaker may be installed, but the leasehold vests in the qualified heir once able.

Key theme: Actual (or bona fide intended) personal cultivation controls. Paper heirship without cultivation is not enough.

2.3. What “actual cultivation” looks like

Regular presence on the farm, performance of farm tasks (land preparation to harvesting), supervision of hired help, and continuity of operations.
Evidence often used: barangay certifications, sworn neighbor attestations, receipts for farm inputs, marketing records, DAR field reports, geo-tagged photos, and historical tenancy/leasehold documents.

2.4. What the heirs must (and must not) do

Do: Notify the landholder in writing of the lessee’s death and the identity of the heir assuming cultivation; continue paying lawful lease rentals; keep records; and preserve the land’s agricultural use.
Do: If the landholder disputes heirship, file/defend before the PARAD (DARAB rules) for confirmation of succession to leasehold rights.
Don’t: Execute private waivers or “quitclaims” that surrender leasehold without DAR approval—these are commonly void or deemed contrary to public policy.

2.5. Can the landholder choose a different cultivator?

No. The landholder cannot unilaterally eject heirs or substitute cultivators. Only the qualified heir who personally cultivates steps into the leasehold. Changes require legal cause and proper proceedings.

2.6. What happens to pending cases and rentals

Cases: If there was a pending ejectment/rental case when the lessee died, the heirs are substituted as parties.
Rentals: Lawful rentals continue, computed under the leasehold rules (see §6). Late or non-payment without just cause can still be a ground for disturbance proceedings, but humanitarian and force-majeure defenses remain available.

3) Grounds that may still defeat succession (narrow and strictly proved)

No qualified heir is able or willing to personally cultivate;
The heir abandoned cultivation or converted the land to non-agricultural use without authority;
Lawful ejectment for statutory causes is proved (e.g., persistent non-payment of lawful rentals without just cause, serious damage to the landholding, or other causes recognized by agrarian law).
Valid land conversion or land acquisition and distribution (LAD) has legally altered rights (see §7).

Even in these scenarios, compensation/disturbance rules (and rights to improvements) apply.

4) The lessee’s house on the land (farm dwelling / homelot)

4.1. General protection

The lessee and family are entitled to a dwelling within or near the landholding that is reasonably necessary for farm operations.
The landholder must respect the lessee’s existing farm dwelling while the leasehold subsists.
Ejectment or relocation of the farm dwelling cannot be done extrajudicially; it requires legal cause, due process, and, where applicable, payment of disturbance compensation and/or improvements (see §§5–6).

4.2. If the lessee dies

The qualified heir who succeeds to cultivation inherits the right to use the farm dwelling.
If the heir is different from the person actually occupying the house, adjudicators resolve possession in favor of the actual cultivator-heir, with time given for non-cultivating occupants to relocate.

4.3. Homelots vs. farm dwellings

Farm dwelling: the house a lessee builds/uses on or adjacent to the landholding to support cultivation.
Homelot: sometimes used for plantation or CARP contexts where homelot allocations are provided to beneficiaries/workers. Not all lessees have separate titled homelots. Rights differ; don’t conflate them.

5) Compensation for the house and other improvements

5.1. Two distinct entitlements

Disturbance compensation – paid when a lessee is lawfully dispossessed or his peaceful cultivation is disturbed for reasons not due to his fault (e.g., authorized land use change/valid conversion, certain owner’s initiatives like change of crop or mechanization approved by law).
Compensation for improvements – payment for the value of improvements (including the house, farm buildings, wells, irrigation works, dikes, permanent plantings) introduced by the lessee that benefit the landholding.

A lessee may also be allowed to remove removable improvements within a reasonable time if removal will not materially injure the land or the improvements.

5.2. How are amounts determined?

A) Disturbance compensation (rule-of-thumb guidance used in adjudication):

In classic leasehold doctrine, when the landholder changes use/crop or lawfully terminates for a reason not attributable to the lessee, disturbance compensation has been pegged in practice to not less than five (5) times the average gross harvest (or its value) for the preceding five agricultural years on the affected area, after deducting items required by law (e.g., customary production shares where historically relevant, or standard production costs in leasehold valuation).
Where statutes, special laws, or DAR issuances fix a different formula (e.g., for specific crops or mechanization), adjudicators follow that controlling formula.

B) Compensation for improvements (including the house):

Fair and reasonable value at current prices (replacement-cost less depreciation, or market value), determined by:
- Agreement of parties (preferably in writing and submitted to DAR for confirmation), or
- Adjudication by the PARAD/DARAB, often aided by valuation evidence (engineer’s estimates, receipts, photos, sworn statements, barangay/DAR ocular inspection reports).

Practical tip: Present two valuations—a conservative (depreciated cost) and an upper-bound (replacement at current prices)—with photos and a bill of materials. Ocular inspection reports carry significant weight.

5.3. What if the landholder insists on demolition without paying?

Self-help demolition of a lessee’s farm dwelling is unlawful. The remedy is to file with the PARAD for injunction and damages, and, where applicable, criminal complaints for malicious mischief/coercion. Barangay conciliation may be required first unless an exception applies (e.g., urgent relief).

5.4. Taxes and who bears them

Real property tax on the land is for the owner/landholder.
Taxes and fees directly tied to improvements (e.g., building permits if newly constructed outside past tolerance) can be part of valuation evidence but are not typically itemized as separate payable items unless proven to enhance value.

6) Rentals, valuation, and “house value” interplay

Lease rental under leasehold is a fixed amount in money or produce, typically anchored on the average normal harvest less deductible production costs, then multiplied by a statutory ceiling rate.
The existence of a house does not increase the rent; it is an improvement borne by the lessee.
If the lessee (or successor-heir) is lawfully ejected, disturbance compensation and improvement compensation are computed separately from any rental arrears/offsets.
Offsetting: Adjudicators may offset lawful unpaid rentals against improvement compensation, but not against disturbance compensation where the law treats it as a statutory condition for dispossession.

7) Intersections with CARP/CARPER, PD 27, and land conversion

Land acquisition and distribution (LAD) can transform the lessee into a beneficiary with ownership (emancipation patent or certificate of land ownership award). In that event, the issue shifts from leasehold to owner–occupant rights; house compensation becomes moot because the beneficiary owns both land and improvements.
Valid land conversion (agricultural to non-agricultural use) requires DAR approval and compliance with conditions (including socialized relocation or compensation measures). Unauthorized conversion is void and cannot be used to justify ejectment or demolition.
Plantation contexts (sugar, banana, pineapple): workers’ homelot programs and estate housing may apply; these run in parallel with, but are distinct from, leasehold rights.

8) Procedure: asserting rights after the lessee’s death

Gather documents
- Proof of death (death certificate); proof of relationship (marriage/birth certificates); barangay certifications; receipts for farm inputs; photos; past leasehold agreements or tenancy recognitions; tax declarations; DAR field reports if any.
Notice to landholder
- Short written notice identifying the heir who will cultivate and commitment to pay rentals.
If disputed, file before PARAD
- Cause of action: Confirmation of succession to agricultural leasehold; injunction to restrain ejectment/demolition; fixing of rentals if contested; valuation of improvements if dispossession is imminent or sought.
Interim relief
- Seek Status Quo/Preliminary Mandatory Injunction to maintain cultivation and hold off demolition of the farm dwelling.
Evidence and hearing
- Expect an ocular inspection. Prepare valuation for the house and improvements; submit rental computation and harvest history.
Decision and enforcement
- If succession is confirmed, the heir continues as lessee. If lawful dispossession is authorized, disturbance compensation and improvement compensation must be paid first (or secured) before turnover; demolition follows only after compliance and with due process.

9) Frequently tested nuances (and how adjudicators tend to resolve them)

Multiple heirs all claiming cultivation: The one with continuous, on-the-ground tillage (or the one who had long been the real cultivator while the parent was alive) usually prevails; co-cultivation can be recognized but leasehold vests in a single principal lessee for clarity, with household help recognized.
Heir has another farm or job: Side incomes don’t disqualify; the test remains personal cultivation. Persistent absence that outsources all farm work to hired labor may defeat the claim.
Lessee’s house sits on a tiny portion later re-zoned for road-widening or irrigation easement: Government takings follow expropriation rules; the lessee is entitled to due process and compensation for improvements affected, independent of leasehold issues on the remaining farm.
Informal “sale” of leasehold rights: As a rule, void without compliance with agrarian law and approval; the successor must be a qualified cultivator.
Landowner builds a new house and claims the lessee’s house blocks it: Without an adjudicator’s order, no demolition. If relocation of the lessee’s house is allowed for a valid reason, relocation costs and improvement compensation are addressed in the award.

10) Practical checklists

For heirs asserting succession

Written notice to landholder within a reasonable time; keep proof of service.
Resume cultivation and log activities (photos, dates, inputs).
Pay/consign lawful rentals; if amount is disputed, consign to court/DAR to avoid default.
Prepare valuation packets: house photos, measurements, bill of materials, receipts, engineer’s estimate.
File with PARAD if the landholder obstructs access, with prayer for injunction.

For landholders seeking lawful dispossession/relocation

Check if there is a qualified heir; if yes, succession usually must be honored.
If invoking a statutory cause (e.g., approved conversion), be ready to pay disturbance compensation and improvements before ejectment.
Never demolish the farm dwelling without an order; pursue adjudication instead.

11) Remedies and penalties

Administrative/judicial remedies: Complaints before PARAD/DARAB (agrarian disputes), petitions to fix rentals, actions for valuation and disturbance compensation, injunctions, and contempt for violation of orders.
Criminal overlays: Depending on acts, possible liabilities for illegal demolition, coercion, malicious mischief, or harassment under the Revised Penal Code and special laws.
Costs and attorney’s fees: May be awarded in agrarian cases where bad faith is shown.

12) Quick answers

Does the lease end when the tenant dies? No. It passes to a qualified heir who personally cultivates.
Can the landowner pick a new tenant? No. Only the qualified heir succeeds; changes require legal cause and due process.
If the heir is recognized but the owner wants the house out, what happens? The house stays while the lease stays. Relocation or demolition requires order + compensation.
If lawful ejectment occurs, who pays for the house? The landholder must pay fair value of the lessee’s house/improvements (or allow removal) and, where applicable, disturbance compensation (often measured by multi-year average harvest formulas).
What forum? PARAD/DARAB for agrarian disputes; regular courts for non-agrarian civil or criminal issues.

13) Model notices (short forms)

A) Heir’s notice of succession to leasehold

[Date]

[Landholder Name and Address]

Re: Agricultural Leasehold over [Area/Location; Lot No.]

Dear [Mr./Ms. Landholder]:

Please be informed that [Name of Lessee], my [relationship], who had been the agricultural lessee of your landholding at [address/lot] cultivating [crop], passed away on [date].

I, [Heir’s Name], as [spouse/son/daughter] and the person who has been/shall be personally cultivating the land effective [date], hereby assume the leasehold and shall continue paying lawful rentals.

Kindly coordinate rentals and inspections with me at [contact]. Thank you.

Sincerely,
[Heir’s Name]
[Address / Contact]

B) Demand to cease demolition / request for dialogue

[Date]

We respectfully demand that you refrain from demolishing or relocating our farm dwelling at [site], which is appurtenant to our leasehold over [lot]. Any change requires legal process and compensation for improvements and disturbance, as applicable. We remain open to dialogue and DAR mediation.

[Signature]

14) Takeaways

Security of tenure survives the lessee’s death—it transmits to a qualified, personally cultivating heir.
The farm dwelling is protected; demolition or relocation requires cause, adjudication, and compensation.
Two payables are distinct: disturbance compensation (for lawful dispossession not due to the lessee’s fault) and improvement compensation (fair value of the house and other improvements).
Process matters: notify, document cultivation, pay/consign rentals, and use the DARAB system for disputes.

This article provides a practitioner-oriented overview. For a live case, align strategy with the latest DAR administrative orders, local valuation practices, and controlling jurisprudence in your region, and consider immediate protective relief if possession or the dwelling is threatened.