The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday said a notice to cancel a contract to sell real estate must be notarized under Republic Act 6552 or the Maceda Law.
In a decision penned by Associate Justice Antonio T. Kho Jr., the SC’s Second Division said the law’s purpose is to protect real estate buyers on installment payments against one-sided contract conditions.
The High Tribunal noted that notarization makes private documents public and allows sellers to cancel the contract on their own, even without agreement from the other parties.
Under the Revised Rules on Evidence, a proper notarial act occurs when a person appears before a notary public and confirms signing a document voluntarily, according to the SC.
While a seller may cancel a contract to sell on its own without going to court, it must still comply with the law that requires: a 60-day grace period for the buyer to settle overdue installments, counted from the date the installment became due, a notarized notice of cancellation from the seller, and cancellation only after 30 days from the buyer’s receipt of the notarized notice.
