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Through adverse possession, a trespasser can gain ownership of just a few feet of property or hundreds of acres. It can't happen overnight. Over time, however, and depending on the laws in your state, a trespasser can come onto your land, occupy it, and eventually gain legal ownership.
The trespasser doesn't need to intend to take the land by adverse possession, either. Sometimes it happens through an honest mistake—for example, a neighbor might have relied upon a faulty property description in a deed when building a fence on your property.
Questions about legal ownership of property can arise in various situations, such as in the sale of a house. For example, a title insurance company could refuse to issue insurance when a property is sold because the neighbor's garage is found to be standing squarely on the property.
If questions about ownership of land arise in this type of situation, and the people involved cannot work something out, then the issue might end up in court. The property owner can sue the trespasser (for example, the neighbor whose garage is encroaching), or the trespasser might bring a lawsuit to "quiet title"—a request for the court to settle who owns what.
When courts look at adverse possession claims, they apply a four-factor test. To qualify as adverse possession, the trespasser's occupation of the land must be:
This article discusses each of these elements. See your state's law on adverse possession for details on the rules applying to your (or the other person's) property. In addition to the legal requirements discussed below, some states also require the trespasser to have paid the local property taxes on the land during a specified time period.
The word "hostile" doesn't mean that the trespasser rides in on a horse with six-shooters blazing. Instead, courts follow one of three legal definitions of "hostile" when it comes to adverse possession.
Simple occupation. This rule (followed by most states today) defines "hostile" as the mere occupation of the land. The trespasser doesn't have to know that the land belongs to someone else.
Awareness of trespassing. This rule requires that the trespasser be cognizant that using the property amounts to trespassing (meaning the trespasser has no legal right to be there).
Good faith mistake. A few states follow this rule, which requires the trespasser to have made an innocent good faith mistake in occupying the property in the first place, such as by relying on an invalid or incorrect deed.
The second prong of the test that courts apply requires that the trespasser actually possess the property (be physically present there) and treat it as an owner would. This can be established by documenting the trespasser's efforts to maintain and make improvements to the property, such as planting and watering a garden, or building a shed.
"Open and notorious" means that it must be obvious to anyone—including a property owner who makes a reasonable effort to investigate—that a trespasser is on the land. Examples would be a neighbor who puts a fence up slightly on the next-door property or who pours a concrete driveway two feet over the boundary line.
The trespasser must possess the land exclusively (that means the trespasser cannot share possession with strangers or the owner) and without interruption for a certain period of time. (That means the trespasser cannot give up use of the property, return to it later, and try to count the time that the property was abandoned as part of the "continuous" possession time period.) The time period that's required varies by state. It's often between seven and 20 years.
If you are a landowner, keep an eye on your property. If you suspect that someone has a possible adverse possession claim, check property tax records to see if this person (or anyone else) has made tax payments on the property. To prevent a trespasser from gaining property ownership, you can take the following steps:
To learn more about adverse possession, how to prevent it, and other issues involving your land, get Neighbor Law: Fences, Trees, Boundaries & Noise (Nolo).
Some states require the trespasser to have paid taxes on the property for the designated time period. Some states require that the trespasser have some kind of document that would indicate ownership of the property (such as a deed or title) even if the document is legally invalid. See your state law on adverse possession for details.
And if you suspect that someone is trespassing on your land, be sure to consult with a lawyer.