Deed of Assignment

Also known as: Transfer of Rights Contract · Deed of Assignment and Transfer of Rights

Definition

A Deed of Assignment is a legal contract through which one party (the assignor) transfers their rights, interests, titles, and obligations over a property to another party (the assignee). In Philippine real estate, a Deed of Assignment is widely used during the pre-selling phase of condominiums and subdivisions to transfer ownership rights from the original buyer to a new buyer before the actual title is issued by the developer. (Wikipedia, DHSUD)

Identities

Source Type	Identity
Wikipedia	Assignment (law)
Wikidata	Q1420188
DBpedia	Assignment_(law)
ProductOntology	N/A
Wiktionary	assignment
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)	Assignment (Law) — Philippines
MeSH	N/A
NCBI Taxonomy	N/A
AGROVOC	N/A
Google Scholar	Deed of Assignment real estate contract transfer rights Philippines
ConceptNet	assignment
OpenCyc	N/A

Also Known As

Transfer of Rights Contract
Deed of Assignment and Transfer of Rights

Examples and Analogies

Pre-Selling Condo Transfer: A buyer wants to sell their pre-selling condo unit before turnover. Since the title has not been generated yet, they execute a Deed of Assignment with a new buyer, which is signed and approved by the developer, transferring all equity obligations.
Mortgage Assignment: A banking institution transfers a pool of housing loan mortgages to a secondary financial institution through a bulk Deed of Assignment.

Usage Scenarios

1. Formalizing Pasalo Deals

The buyer and seller of a “pasalo” property submit a signed Deed of Assignment to the developer’s office to officially update the buyer details in the developer’s records.

2. Transferring Inherited Rights

Heirs assign their rights over a pre-selling property to a single sibling to simplify the eventual title registration process.

Strategies

Always secure the developer’s written consent and signature on the Deed of Assignment; otherwise, the developer will not recognize the transfer and will issue the title to the original owner.
Ensure all payments and transfer fees required by the developer are settled concurrently with the execution of the Deed.

Security and Safety Measures

Ensure the Deed of Assignment is notarized to legally bind third parties.
Verify the account status directly with the developer to ensure there are no unpaid amortizations or penalties before signing the Deed.

Historical Context

The Deed of Assignment developed as a standard instrument under the Philippine Civil Code provisions on the assignment of credits and rights (Articles 1624 to 1635). It gained massive popularity with the growth of the pre-selling condominium market in Manila.

Challenges and Controversies

High Transfer Fees

Developers frequently charge high transfer fees (sometimes ranging from PHP 100,000 to PHP 300,000) to approve and process a Deed of Assignment, leading to dispute or informal, unrecorded transfers.

Double Assignment Fraud

Dishonest sellers sometimes assign the same pre-selling rights to multiple buyers through separate, unrecorded Deeds of Assignment.