Property law
Squatters' rights: what the law actually gives a squatter
"Squatters' rights" is not a right to move into somewhere you do not own. It is the narrow, hard-to-meet legal exception, adverse possession, under which a squatter's occupation can eventually become ownership if it meets five demanding tests for years on end. Here is how an occupation unfolds, how long the clock runs in each US state, each European country and each Canadian province, and what an owner can never do about it alone.
14 days before the first charge · Nothing is switched on until you say so
- Shortest clock anywhere here
- 3 years
- Texas
- Longest clock anywhere here
- 60 years
- New Jersey
- Places where it can never happen
- 7
How it unfolds
From the day someone moves in to the day a claim is possible
The same three stages in most places. The exact rule, and whether the last stage exists at all, is on each place's own page.
- Day oneMoving inCaught in the act, it is usually a matter for the police: a trespass, not a tenancy.
- Weeks to yearsSettled inOnce someone lives there, removing them usually takes a court order, the same route as for a tenant.
- After the full periodA claim becomes possibleOnly if every test held, without a break, for the whole period. Where the law allows no such claim, this stage never comes.
Not yours to do, once they have moved inChanging the locks, cutting the water or power, or removing belongings yourself. It is illegal in every US state and most places on these pages forbid it too. Each page says how removal works there.
Place by place
How long the clock runs, in every place this covers
Each bar is how long an occupation has to last before it can become ownership. Where there are two routes, usually one with a title or paid taxes and one without, the solid part is the shorter and the open part the longer.
- Shortest route to a claim
- Longest route
- Not possible
Europe
an owner who changes the locks can be charged with self-help
a living, registered owner's land cannot be taken this way
non-violent occupation became a crime in november 2025
protects a good-faith buyer with a registered title, never a squatter
needs a legal basis and good faith, and crime bars it outright
never runs against property registered in another person's name
good faith only, and confirmed by a court since 2021
one 10-year period, and never for someone who knows it is not theirs
squatting in a home is a crime in england and wales since 2012
state and church land takes double, 20 or 40 years
occupying another person's flat is itself a crime, § 208
state land is closed to possession claims, bar a 2003 carve-out
occupying a home carries 2 to 7 years in prison since 2025
squatting an empty building is a crime since 2010
only someone holding a registered title (lagfart) can claim it
good faith is presumed, so 10 years is the default since 2021
30 years only where the register names no evident owner
squatting a home carries up to 3 years in prison since 2023
an owner who ejects an occupant can be ordered to let them back
fast-track criminal trials for okupas since april 2025
owners may retake a squat themselves, within limits, since 2026
forcibly holding a building against its owner is a crime since 1971
a court must rule on a squatted flat within 5 working days
knowing the land is not yours blocks it, since a 2023 ruling
possession gained by crime or dishonest conduct never counts
bad faith rules it out, and using land against the owner is an offence
even a bad-faith occupier can acquire after 30 years
occupation alone never transfers land: the register decides
no specific squatting law, and police cannot compel departure
proven bad faith defeats the claim however long it lasts
registered land has been immune to adverse possession since 1946
United States
tiered by title, tax payment and use
only if the taxes were paid throughout
7 years with title and taxes, 10 years otherwise
taxes must be paid throughout, like California
a straightforward 10-year rule
plus a 30-day rule unique to occupancy in NYC
a flat 10-year rule
10 years with title and taxes, 20 years bare
civil law "acquisitive prescription", not common law adverse possession
a flat period with no tax-payment shortcut
a flat 15-year rule
a flat 20-year rule
one of the longest periods in the country
matches Ohio for one of the longest periods
the longest and most owner-favorable period in the country
Canada
crown land claims need possession before 1977 and close in 2029
titled private land is still open to a 10-year claim
little private land, as most homes stand on leased land
the 10 years must be complete before land entered Land Titles
civil law prescription that can defeat a registered title
a 20-year deeds system rule, with no land titles to stop it
registering a parcel freezes most claims, with a 20% exception
abolished in December 2022, with a court remedy for encroachments
abolished in 1975, with older rights preserved
possession never defeats land under the Real Property Act
the Land Titles Act bars possession against the registered owner
no possession claim once the first title issues from the Crown
abolished retroactively to January 1, 1887
The legal test
Five things have to all be true, at once, for years
The common law test, as US courts state it, has five parts. A squatter who meets four of them and not the fifth has not met it at all.
- 1HostileWithout the owner's permission. A guest, a tenant or anyone let in is not possessing hostilely, whatever happens afterward.
- 2ActualPhysically present and using the property the way an owner would: living in it, maintaining it, treating it as their own.
- 3Open and notoriousObvious to anyone who looks, including the owner. Hiding the occupation defeats the claim outright, which is exactly why phrogging is not this.
- 4ExclusiveNot shared with the owner, the public, or anyone else claiming the same space at the same time.
- 5ContinuousUnbroken for the entire statutory period the state sets, from 5 years to 60. One real gap and the clock starts over.
Civil law countries, most of Europe and Quebec, ask for a close cousin of this test: possession that is peaceful, public, continuous and unequivocal, held as an owner would hold it.
In the United States, if you find someone on your property
What an owner can do, and what an owner can never do
This is the part that matters day to day. The long clock rarely runs out; this comes up the moment someone is on a property without permission.
What you can do
- Call the police while someone is still in the act of moving in, before they have settled or established residency.
- File for the formal eviction or unlawful detainer process once someone has settled in, the same route used for a holdover tenant.
- Keep a dated record of notices, messages and photos from the moment you learn of the occupation, since a court asks for exactly that.
What you can never do
- Change the locks, even on a property you own outright and a person with no lease at all.
- Shut off the water, power or gas to force someone out.
- Remove their belongings or physically remove them yourself, however clearly they do not belong there.
This is called self-help eviction, and it is illegal in every state once someone has established residency. It exposes the owner to liability, on top of not working.
Before it is ever a court case
The record a court asks for, kept as you go
Wherever your property stands, removing an occupant usually comes down to showing who had the right to be there, and since when. Dardaris files every lease, message and document for a building by date, so that record already exists on the day you need it.
- Every lease, with who signed it and when
- Every message with a tenant, on the thread it was sent in
- Every document, filed against the building it concerns
Frequently asked questions
What are squatters' rights?
The phrase refers to adverse possession, the legal doctrine under which someone occupying property without permission can eventually claim ownership, if their possession is hostile, actual, open and notorious, exclusive and continuous for a period set by state law, which ranges from 5 to 60 years. Squatting itself is trespassing; adverse possession is the narrow exception that exists in every state in some form.
Is squatting legal?
No. Occupying property without the owner's permission or a lease is typically trespassing, a crime in every state. What is legal, and separate from the squatting itself, is the possibility that occupation meeting strict conditions for long enough can eventually support a claim to ownership under adverse possession.
Can I just remove a squatter from my property myself?
No, not once they have established residency. Changing the locks, shutting off utilities, removing belongings or any other form of "self-help eviction" is illegal in every state once someone has settled in, even a squatter with no lease at all. They are entitled to the same formal eviction process as a tenant. Call the police only while someone is still in the act of moving in, before they have established residency.
What is the difference between a squatter and a holdover tenant?
A holdover tenant had a legitimate lease that expired and did not leave. A squatter never had permission to be there at all. Both are removed through the same formal eviction process rather than by the owner acting alone, and neither situation gives immediate ownership; only meeting the full adverse possession test over years does.
How long does adverse possession take?
It depends entirely on where the property is. In the US it runs from 3 years in Texas, with a title and taxes paid, to 60 years for uncultivated land in New Jersey, and most states sit between 10 and 21. Most European countries set 10 to 30 years, usually shorter for someone holding a title in good faith. Several Canadian provinces have abolished it for registered land altogether. The chart on this page has the exact figure for each place.
Do squatters' rights exist in Europe and Canada?
In most places, yes, under another name. Civil law countries call it acquisitive prescription and usually ask for 10 to 30 years of peaceful, public, continuous possession as an owner. Several countries have made occupying a home a crime in its own right, and in Canada adverse possession is set province by province, with British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Yukon no longer allowing it against registered land.
What is "phrogging", and is it the same as squatting?
No. Phrogging is someone secretly living inside a home someone else actively occupies, hidden in an attic, basement or spare room. It is burglary and criminal trespass, not squatting, and it carries no path to any ownership claim. See the phrogging page for the warning signs and what to do.
This is general information, not legal advice.Laws change, and a county or a city can add its own wrinkle on top of the state rule, the way New York City does. Confirm the current rule for your address before acting on it, and talk to a local attorney before relying on any of it in a real dispute.
Know who is actually in your property, before it becomes a court case.
Hand over one building and see every lease checked against what is actually happening on the ground.
14 days before the first charge · Nothing is switched on until you say so