Possession of real property is given a large extent of legal protection. Even a party who has unlawful possession of the real property has the right to exclude anyone else from the possession except for the true owner. If possessed for a certain period of time, the person in possession can potentially become the owner through a process of adverse possession. Adverse possession law implements a statute of limitations that precludes all others from contesting the title of the possession. Adverse possession is also referred to as “legal squatting”, it is enforceable in many Countries such as UK, Scotland, Netherlands, Spain, Canada, Australia, as well as the United States. 

Adverse possession has been enforced since the 1400’s in Europe and was implemented in the United States during the 1600’s. Adverse possession initially became common when there was unused land which was considered a waste of space. If an individual can benefit from that land and can benefit the land itself, according to adverse possession law, it should be theirs. The average land owner may have no idea regarding adverse possession law until they are directly affected by it, which results in excessive financial spending in order to defend their property/rights. More of these cases are becoming common now that the economy is stumbling and there is a growth in unemployment.

There are two forms of adverse possession, under color of title, and without color of title. Under a color title generally refers to when the possessor’s ownership claim is in regards to a written document under the county public records. Without color means there are no recorded documents allegedly creating ownership. Under color of title, in order to claim adverse possession, the document allegedly creating title does not have to be valid. On the other hand, the possessor must have accepted the instrument in the honest belief that it transferred ownership. 

Possession means that the property has actually been consumed or confined. When dealing with a large property, and only a piece of it has been cleared or enclosed, the entire property can be regarded as possessed if the use is established for the area. The possessor must make adverse possession visible under color of title by clear and convincing evidence, not merely by the greater weight of evidence, as is the usual standard in civil lawsuits.

Adverse possession without color of title is not by a recorded conveyance. The statute requires more than mere possession. The possessor must also pay the property taxes and installments of all special improvement liens levied against the property by the state, county and city. The additional requirement of tax payments not only portrays the possessor claims ownership, but places the current owner on notice that property taxes are being paid by someone else. 

That gives the record owner an opportunity to investigate and take action. In conclusion, adverse possession law under goes a lot of debate regarding its morality, it is often referred to as “stealing”. In this case, I guess if you snooze, you lose, because there are a lot of people who attempt to acquire property through this process. It is a cycle, happened when land was taken from the Native Indians, and now there is an attempt for the same process to be directed towards the higher class, who intentionally gate their property, if they are knowledgeable of this method of acquiring property.

Now that we know adverse possession is the informal taking of a property owner’s land once the statutory period is complete, we can take a look at methods to how to make that statutory period go by faster. To review, adverse possession consists of continuous possession of a piece of land, making sure there is evident benefit to the land and to the possessor, him or herself. 

The possessor also needs to indirectly notify the current owner regarding the “taking over” of the piece of his or her land, which is required in certain states. The current possessor may sell his interest in the adverse possession to someone of blood or contractual relations. This transfer is known as tacking under common law, the benefit of this is that the amount of years the property was possessed by the initial possessor, gets added onto the second possessors amount of years possessed.

For example, Pavel has currently had possession of Dr. Do Little’s land for about ten years. In the state they are located, in this case, New Jersey, the statute of limitations is thirty years. Pavel decides to sell the possession he has over Do Little’s land to Valerie, who is of blood relation. 

If Pavel sold Valerie the possessive interest he bared exactly on the beginning of the tenth year, Valeri would begin his possession over the land with a ten year jump start. This means he would only need to possess Do Little’s land for another twenty years before he can be conveyed the title of ownership through adverse possession, or he can go file a quiet title on the piece of land. 

Through the common law process of tacking, not only could the initial possessor continue his adverse possession, but so could the second possessor. Together they can continue to combine the number of years the adverse possession continued. If the initial possessor sold all his interest in the piece of property possessed, the second possessor continues with the year the previous possessor left off. 

In order for adverse possession to be successful in this scenario, there should be no down time with the possession when the transfer is made. Meaning, when Pavel sold his interest to Valeri, Valeri must act upon his possession immediately and continue its improvements. If there is any time lapse between the two while transferring the adverse possession, the amount of years Pavel put in, will go to waste.

Common law clearly defines and illustrates the procedure of adverse possession and tacking. Tacking can be looked at as a strategic way of acquiring property or it can be referred to as a conspiracy in order to acquire it. Either way, the common law states specifics to how it should be done, that is the way you can label it strategic. However, if it is not done accordingly, it could be looked at as a conspiracy. There are many laws which are seen as immoral, tacking being one of them, but there are always two sides to a story.

Property owners have been given various forms of protection in order to protect their interests. Whether legal or illegal, one is allowed to enjoy the privacy of their home, and are given the right to enjoy their property as long as it does not negatively impact neighbors. A party in unlawful possession of a property has the right to exclude anyone from the premises, except for the actual property owner. 

If the unlawful possession is held long enough, depending on the state, between seven and thirty years, the unlawful possessor can acquire the property through adverse possession. Adverse possession operates as a statute of limitations which leaves no room for debate regarding the acquisition of the property.

With adverse possession law, you are acquiring property without the consent of the owner. In some states, you are required to indirectly flag your territory on the property so that the actual owner is notified to some extent. Majority of the time, the property owner would not see the threat until adverse possession goes into effect. The definition of possession itself is the occupation of land evidenced by visible acts such as enclosure, cultivation, construction of improvements, or the occupation of existing improvements. 

This comes to show, in order to acquire property through adverse possession law, you must make improvements on the land and display a benefit. Showing the benefits will display that the property was a waste of space prior, and now it is being properly consumed. An example of adverse possession, if I noticed my neighbor cutting 4 feet onto my lawn and he began to grow plants or crops there, this is the beginning of the end. 

If this continued and it was visible to me, when the required number of years pass, it’ll be evident I did not cater to that piece of my property beneficially like my neighbor did. Therefore we would go through a case in which, if evidence is clear regarding the benefit to the land and the individual after the possession took place, he will be granted that 4 feet of my land.

There are a few requirements in order to acquire property through adverse possession law. The possession needs to be actual, as if the possessor is the owner of that land. Your possession needs to be open and notorious, meaning there is a visibility requirement, not of the possessor on the property, but of his continuous work on the property. Exclusive possession is also a prerequisite for adverse possession, the interest the possessor maintains of the property cannot be shared, nor can it be of public use. Your possession must be hostile, without the consent of he actual owner. 

If the possession becomes permissive, adverse possession cannot be enforced, property may be acquired through acquiescence in this manner. When under cover of claim or right, the possessor either has mistaken documents which come to show the specified area of possession was believed to be his, or consuming the piece of property at issue for a statutory period. 

The possession must be continuous and interrupted, this portrays the essence of keeping the possession and its improvements consistent in order to show clear evidence. In order to complete the process of adverse possession, there is a statutory period in which the possessor must hold the piece of property in order for the process to be final.

All in all, some refer to adverse possession as a gain, and some refer to it as theft. Since adverse possession goes against pieces of the ten commandments, a lot of people tend to believe it is immoral. Could you refer to it as theft? Or would you refer to it as making use of land which is going to waste?

After all, land is finite, and finite things are in demand regardless of whose the actual owner. In the given economy, we can predict to see more adverse possession cases and we can also determine that it will become more specified and people will begin to be more aware of this method of acquiring property.