Land Area Discrepancy Deed of Sale vs TCT Philippines


LAND‐AREA DISCREPANCY BETWEEN THE DEED OF SALE AND THE TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE (TCT)

A Comprehensive Philippine Legal Primer (Updated to 7 July 2025)

Scope of this article – This write-up explains why the land size stated in a notarised Deed of Absolute Sale (or any conveyance) can differ from the area printed on the buyer’s Transfer Certificate of Title, what the discrepancy means for ownership, taxes and subsequent dealings, and which remedies are available under Philippine law. The discussion synthesises statutes, administrative issuances, and leading Supreme Court decisions, but is not a substitute for personalised legal advice.


1. Setting the Stage: Documents that “describe” land

Document Purpose Nature & Weight
Approved Survey Plan (e.g., PSU/PCS/PSD) Technical “picture”: metes-and-bounds, bearings, distances, computed area. Prepared by a licensed Geodetic Engineer, approved by DENR-LMB or Regional Offices. Primary description. In a Torrens title, the plan number & technical description are reproduced verbatim.
Original Certificate of Title (OCT) / Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) Conclusive evidence of ownership and of the land’s technical description as of the date of issuance. Indefeasible upon issuance and lapse of the one-year contestability period, but its area may still be corrected (Sec. 108, PD 1529) if purely clerical or by re-survey if substantive.
Deed of Sale / Exchange / Donation, etc. Contract of conveyance showing parties’ intent, purchase price, and stated area (often from tax declaration or owner’s memory). Evidence of intent; does not create or extinguish real rights until registered (Art. 708, Civil Code; Sec. 53, PD 1529).
Tax Declaration Basis for real-property tax. Weak evidence; cannot defeat a Torrens title.

When the Deed and the TCT disagree, the TCT enjoys a presumption of regularity—but that presumption is rebuttable if the land was never actually surveyed to the size stated, or if newer surveys prove error or overlap.


2. Common Causes of Discrepancies

  1. Historical Survey Errors

    • Pre-war plans used magnetic bearings with no convergence angle.
    • Old chains-and-compass surveys inflate/deflate distances when converted to metric.
  2. Bureau of Lands / DENR Approval Anomalies

    • Multiple plans covering overlapping polygons approved years apart (“lapsing titles”).
    • Parcel split by road/right-of-way but original title never amended.
  3. Clerical or Typographical Mistakes at the Registry of Deeds (ROD)

    • Mis-encoding of lot number (Lot 2 becomes Lot 12) or area (1,234 m² becomes 12,340 m²).
    • Marginal annotations inadvertently omitted when issuing a new owner’s duplicate.
  4. Deliberate Under- or Over-statement in the Deed

    • Parties agree on a lump-sum price, so they copy the area from an outdated tax declaration.
    • Tax minimisation: lowering area to reduce Documentary-Stamp Tax (DST) and Capital-Gains Tax (CGT).
  5. Subsequent Physical Changes

    • Natural accretion/erosion along riverbanks (Art. 457-461, Civil Code).
    • Government expropriation, road-widening, or cadastral adjustments.

3. Legal Consequences

Scenario Key Rule Result
Sale by specified boundaries (“bounded by Lot 5, creek, and highway”) Doctrine of Boundary Prevails Over Area Buyer gets the land within those boundaries even if area differs.
Sale by area only (“1-hectare portion to be taken from Lot 1”) The vendor must deliver a full 10,000 m²; shortage > 1/10 may allow rescission or proportionate price reduction (Art. 1542, Civil Code).
TCT shows bigger area than on the ground Title remains valid but is subject to re-survey or reformation to reflect actual metes-and-bounds; excess area is not automatically owned.
TCT shows smaller area Owner may petition for expansion of area upon approved re-survey, provided no third-party rights are prejudiced.
Discrepancy discovered during BIR clearance CGT/DST are computed on higher of the zonal value or consideration multiplied by TCT area. Parties may pay on the larger area or request BIR’s Clearance on Partial Transfer with justification.

4. Remedies & Procedures

4.1 Non-adversarial (Administrative) – Section 108, Property Registration Decree (PD 1529)

Purpose: Correct “clerical or typographical mistakes” or errors not prejudicial to innocent third persons.

  1. File a Petition for Correction before the Regional Trial Court (sitting as Land Registration Court) if change affects substantial rights (increase/decrease of area).

    • Include LRA-verified survey (DENR-approved Relocation/Verification Plan) and Director of Lands/Vice-Page concurrence.
    • Notice to adjoining lot owners and occupants.
  2. Minor clerical errors (wrong survey plan number, obvious digit mistake) may be processed administratively at the Register of Deeds under LRA Circular No. 35-2007 and No. 19-2011.

4.2 Reformation of Instrument – Articles 1359-1369, Civil Code

When the Deed of Sale, not the title, fails to express the parties’ true agreement.

  • Action must be filed within 10 years (written contracts).
  • Court judgment reforming the Deed becomes the basis for a new registration or annotation.

4.3 Judicial Confirmation / Reconveyance

If another title overlaps or excess area encroaches on public land, parties may:

  • File an action for quieting of title or reconveyance (4-year period from discovery of fraud; max 10 years from issuance of title if both parties hold titles).
  • Government may sue for cancellation if land is forest/timber/mineral or part of the public domain.

4.4 BIR and LGU Tax Adjustments

  • Submit corrected survey and owner’s affidavit to the Assessor’s Office to amend the Tax Declaration.
  • Present BIR-approved CAR; pay any deficiency CGT/DST or apply for refund if area is reduced.

5. Leading Supreme Court Doctrines

Case G.R. No. / Date Doctrine
Heirs of Malate v. Gamboa G.R. 153793, 01 Apr 2014 Boundaries control over area; Torrens title conclusive only upon the portion actually surveyed.
Duran v. IAC 27 Jun 1988 Re-survey that increases the technical area requires Sec. 108 petition; cannot enlarge title via mere proclamation.
Spouses Abellera v. Spouses Tecson G.R. 160016, 15 Jan 2014 Overlap between two titles: later registrant in good faith can still be protected, but earlier registrant with notice may be ousted.
Republic v. CA & Spouses Tolentino 06 Mar 1992 Excess area beyond that described in the decree remains part of the public domain.
Brown v. CA 29 Jun 1994 Reformation proper where deed’s stated area omits 9,000 m² through mutual mistake.
Republic v. Guerrero G.R. 130141, 09 Jul 2003 Administrative correction (LRA Circular) limited to clerical errors; substantive changes need court order.

(Citations abbreviated for readability; consult SCRAs/PhilJuris for full texts.)


6. Practical Checklist for Buyers, Sellers & Practitioners

Stage Action Items
Due Diligence 🔹 Secure recent relocation survey; compare with TCT & Tax Dec. 🔹 Verify if lot is inside a cadastral/CLUP zoning. 🔹 Require seller’s geodetic engineer Lot Data Computation (LDC) with tie-point readings.
Contract Drafting 🔹 State both area & boundaries, plus a “built-in reformation clause” (parties agree to execute confirmatory deeds if survey shows variance ≤ ±2%). 🔹 Allocate who shoulders extra taxes if area turns out larger.
Pre-Transfer Taxes 🔹 Compute DST/CGT on larger of (a) stated consideration, (b) zonal value × bigger of TCT or surveyed area. 🔹 If discrepancy unresolved, pay on area in title; annotate that payment covers only such area.
Registration at ROD 🔹 Attach BIR CAR, DENR-approved plan, and Affidavit of Non-Tenancy if agricultural. 🔹 If area differs, request simultaneous Sec. 108 correction or enter deed as “partial transfer” pending correction.
Post-Transfer 🔹 Amend Tax Declaration. 🔹 Update homeowner association or estate developer records. 🔹 Keep copies of plan & petition for future secondary sales.

7. Frequently-Asked Questions

  1. Is a sale void if the TCT later turns out to be 500 m² smaller than in the Deed? No. It may give rise to proportional price adjustment or partial rescission (Art. 1542), but ownership passes once the deed is registered.

  2. Can we just “amend” the Deed of Sale to match the TCT without court? Only if the correction is purely clerical and BIR has not yet stamped the deed. Otherwise, execute a Deed of Correction nunc pro tunc and annotate it on the title.

  3. Will PAG-IBIG / bank financing be affected? Lenders usually require the as-built survey to tally with the title within ±5 %. Larger variances delay loan release until correction or offset Mortgage Undertaking.

  4. What if only one boundary line is longer on the ground but overall area is nearly identical? File a Relocation Survey and sworn Sketch Showing Overlap; if realignment is minor, ROD may annotate without changing stated area.

  5. Does the Indefeasibility Principle prevent the State from correcting? No. The Torrens system protects owners in good faith, but the State retains police power to correct gross or fraudulent errors, especially on public domain land.


8. Key Statutes & Regulations (Philippines)

Reference Salient Provisions
Act 496 (1902) Land Registration Act Introduced Torrens system.
PD 1529 (1978) Property Registration Decree Sec. 108: amendments/corrections; Sec. 53: registration as operative act.
Republic Act 6732 (1989) Administrative reconstitution of land titles.
DENR AO 2007-29 & 2010-13 Rules on approval of subdivision & consolidation plans.
LRA Circular 35-2007 & 19-2011 Administrative correction of clerical errors.
BIR RR 13-99, RR 12-2018 CGT/DST base on zonal value/fair market value.
Civil Code of the Philippines Arts. 1359-1369 (Reformation); Arts. 1540-1543 (Sale with deficiency).

9. Strategic Take-Aways

  • Measure twice, sign once – Commission a geodetic engineer before signing a deed, not after.
  • Write built-in contingencies – Allow automatic reformation and tax-sharing for discovered variances.
  • Use Section 108 pro-actively – A glitch in the mother title compounds with every subsequent transfer.
  • Remember tax ripple effects – Incorrect area impacts DST/CGT today, real-property tax tomorrow, and estate taxes years later.
  • Consult professionals early – Surveyors, lawyers, and if agricultural, DAR or the HLURB (now DHSUD) for subdivision approval.

Disclaimer

This article presents a consolidated overview as of 7 July 2025. Philippine land law is statute- and case-driven; new jurisprudence or administrative circulars may overtake some points. Always verify current rules and seek tailored legal counsel for specific transactions.


Disclaimer: This content is not legal advice and may involve AI assistance. Information may be inaccurate.