European property law
Squatters' rights in Estonia: how the land register decides
Ten years for a person wrongly entered in the land register as owner, or thirty years of possession where the land is unregistered, its owner cannot be seen from the register, or the registered owner died before the possession began.
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- Statutory period
- 10 or 30 years
- What's different here
- 30 years only where the register names no evident owner
- Statute
- Law of Property Act, §§ 123 and 124
Estonia's Law of Property Act has two routes to ownership of land by prescription, and both run through the land register. Under section 123, a person entered in the register as owner without a legal basis becomes owner after ten years of continuous possession as owner. Under section 124, a person who has possessed land for thirty years may ask to be entered as owner, but only where the land is not in the register, its owner is not evident from it, or the owner died before the possession began, and no entry needing the owner's consent was made during those thirty years.
For a registered property with a living, identifiable owner, neither route is open to a squatter: they are not the registered owner, and the thirty-year rule does not apply while the register shows who owns the land.
Illegal entry into a building or premises against the will of its possessor, or failing to leave when the possessor demands it, is an offence under section 266 of the Penal Code, with a heavier penalty where the premises are used for habitation. Estonian law also protects possession as such, including possession with no legal basis, against arbitrary interference, so an owner is expected to recover property through the courts and a bailiff rather than by force.
Where Estonia sits against the rest of Europe, in years
Of 31 places in Europe on these pages, 3 have a shorter clock and 10 a longer one or none at all.
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 10 or 30 yearsA 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.
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
How long is adverse possession in Estonia?
Ten years for someone wrongly registered as owner (Law of Property Act § 123), or thirty years of possession where the land register shows no identifiable living owner (§ 124).
Can a squatter become the owner of a registered property in Estonia?
Not while the land register shows a living, identifiable owner. The ten-year rule needs the possessor to be registered as owner, and the thirty-year rule applies only to land the register does not assign to anyone evident.
Is squatting in Estonia a crime?
Illegal entry into a building or premises against the possessor's will, or refusing to leave when asked, is an offence under Penal Code § 266, treated more seriously where the premises are someone's home.
Elsewhere in Europe
The same question, on a different clock. Every place sets its own period and its own shortcuts.
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.
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