European property law
Squatters' rights in Germany: adverse possession runs through the land register
Thirty years, and even then possession alone is not enough: the occupant has to be entered in the land register, or have the owner excluded by a court. Occupying a building against the owner's will is trespass.
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- Statutory period
- 30 years
- What's different here
- occupation alone never transfers land: the register decides
- Statute
- BGB §§ 900, 927
The German Civil Code has no general rule that turns long occupation of land into ownership. Section 900 BGB covers someone registered in the land register as owner without having acquired ownership: they become owner once the entry has stood for thirty years and they possessed the land as their own for that time. Section 927 BGB covers the rest: where land has been in someone else's possession as their own for thirty years, the owner can be excluded from their right, but only through a court procedure of public notice (Aufgebotsverfahren). A squatter who is not in the register never becomes owner by the passage of time alone.
Squatting is trespass (Hausfriedensbruch) under section 123 of the Criminal Code: entering another person's home, business premises or enclosed property unlawfully, or remaining there. It is prosecuted on the complaint of the person entitled, which in practice is the owner or the lawful occupier.
Removal goes through the civil courts. The owner sues for surrender of the property, obtains an enforceable eviction title, and a court bailiff carries it out, with police assistance where there is resistance. The title has to identify the people it is enforced against, which is a practical difficulty with occupiers who stay anonymous. Self-help is allowed only immediately after the owner is dispossessed (BGB § 859(3)); after that, the state's monopoly on force means the court route.
Where Germany sits against the rest of Europe, in years
Of 31 places in Europe on these pages, 27 have a shorter clock and 1 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 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 squatters' rights in Germany?
Thirty years, but only in two narrow cases: under BGB § 900 for someone wrongly entered as owner in the land register, and under § 927 where a court excludes the owner after thirty years of possession. Occupation alone, without either, does not transfer ownership of land.
Is squatting illegal in Germany?
Yes. Under German criminal law, entering or remaining in another person's home, business premises or enclosed property against their will is trespass under StGB § 123, prosecuted on the complaint of the person entitled.
Can an owner change the locks on squatters in Germany?
Only immediately after being dispossessed: BGB § 859(3) lets the possessor of land retake it by removing the intruder straight after the dispossession. Once that moment has passed, removal needs a court title enforced by a bailiff.
How are squatters removed in Germany?
Through a civil claim for surrender of the property, an enforceable eviction title and enforcement by a court bailiff, who may call on the police. The title must identify the occupants it is enforced against.
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.
14 days before the first charge · Nothing is switched on until you say so