"Possession Is Nine Points Of The Law": Your Rights If You Possess Land That You Don't Own

Believe it or not, squatters do have certain rights - in fact they are far more extensive than most people realize. Of course, if you possess land without the permission of the owner, you can be legally thrown off the property by the owner (this is known as "ejectment" in legalese). But under most circumstances you have a superior right to possess that land than anyone else in the world except the owner. If I move into a vacant house that is owned by Olga Owner, of course she can throw me out. But if Olga is on vacation in Germany and Steve Squatter comes in and throws me off the property, I can actually sue Steve for ejectment and win, as long as I sue before the statute of limitations runs out and as long as I can prove that I possessed the house before he did (occasional visitation is not enough to qualify as "possession").

Even if Steve proves that I do not own the house and that I live there without the consent of the owner, it will do Steve no good - I don't even have to share the house with him. And if I put up a "No Trespassing" sign and refuse entry to everyone in the world, the only one in the world who would have the right to act against me would be Olga.

It gets even better (or even worse if you're a landowner!). There is a time-honored concept called "adverse possession" that will allow me to eventually become the new owner of the land without payng a dime, so that I could eventually exclude even Olga. To put it simply, as I possess Olga's house, she has until the statute of limitation runs out to sue to have me ejected. The statute of limitations generally begins to run either as soon as she learns that I have possessed the land "adversely" to her - that is, in a manner that challenges her ownership rights.

If I just walk up to the house and move in, then the statute of limitations begins to run right then. If I come in as a legitimate tenant and refuse to move out once my lease expires, the statute of limitations begins to run when my lease expires. This statute of limitations varies from state to state, but is usually somewhere around 5 to 20 years. So if I live in a state with a five-year statute of limitations and Olga lives in Germany, she might not even find out about my adverse possession until it's too late.

Once the statute of limitations has run, then even Olga can no longer eject me - so for all intents and purposes I am the owner even though I don't have legal title or possession of a deed. If I ever want to sell or mortgage the place, I'll have to sue in court clear the title and get a deed - but under the above circumstances I'd likely win such a lawsuit. A caveat - this is a brief description, and this article is far too short to go into its many nuances.

DISCLAIMER: The following is intended for reference only and not as legal advice.

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