Adverse possession is the title awarded to someone who is living or residing on the land of someone else. This is the title that is provided to a person who overcomes the possession of the property of someone else. This can occur with or without the notice of the owner and can be intentional or unintentional too.
What is adverse possession?
Adverse possession has been provided as the solution to the abuses of IP laws and rights like excessive copyright, cybersquatting, patent trolling, etc.
This title is granted if the possessor meets certain requirements like no infringement on the living rights of the actual owner, and if they are in pervasive possession of the property or not. Adverse possession is also called squatter’s rights. But it is more related to an idea instead of the defined law.
How does adverse possession work?
When adverse possession is intentional, the squatter takes over the land of a person illegally. This trespasser comes to the land of the owner with ill intentions and takes over it. For instance, an owner is building a fortification to separate the yard from the neighbors, and while creating the fence, he has moved over the boundary towards the part of another yard and encroached on it. Moreover, if the adverse possessor, also called the disseisor, is successful in proving the claim of the property, they are not obliged to pay a fee to the owner.
The requirements for this kind of possession tend to vary from property to property, including the proof of tax payments that are made. The states have also determined a period that allows the owner to invalidate the claimant. For instance, if the time decided by the state is 20 years and the landlord is paying for work that is being done on the house like paint or repairs until the 19th year, then the claimant will face obstructions to prove that he owns the land. However, to avoid any interventions by the court or anyone, it is advisable for all owners to keep a written agreement for any ownership that they have on properties.
To prove the claim of the land, the claimant needs to prove the following points:
- Exclusive usage: The property is owned by the adverse possessor and by no one else.
- Hostile Takeover: This does not mean that the claimant should use violence or coerce the actual owner out of the house, it simply means that they should show legible proof that there are zero existing agreements between the owner, and there are no written records of lease, rent, or easement.
- Notorious possession: This infers that even the people surrounding this space are affirmative that the disseisor is taking possession of the property openly.
- Actual possession: The disseissor has been actively taking care of the property and maintaining the land, filing taxes, etc.
- Continuous usage: The disseisor has to prove that they are continuously using the property.
Homesteading
Adverse possession and homesteading are similar. The latter is government land which does not have a clearly defined owner or record for new owners about any use or improvements. Adverse possession also has the same procedure where the land can be freed up with an undefined title for some recreational or productive use. But adverse possession is also brimming with abuse and homesteading is not.
Other considerations
Adverse possession has been provided as the solution to the abuses of IP laws and rights like excessive copyright, cybersquatting, patent trolling, etc. as well Application of adverse possession ensures that the abusers put in more effort to use their trademarks, patents, etc. and they cannot take immediate and forceful possession and they do not have to wait for the real owner to step into their territory.
