European property law
Squatters' rights in Hungary: 15 years of elbirtoklás, and a fast route for a squatted flat
Fifteen years of uninterrupted possession as if owner. Possession obtained through a crime, or by force or deceit, never counts, and a flat occupied without right can be ordered vacated within days.
14 days before the first charge · Nothing is switched on until you say so
- Statutory period
- 15 years
- What's different here
- a court must rule on a squatted flat within 5 working days
- Statute
- Ptk. (Act V of 2013), 5:44 §
Under the Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.), a person who possesses real property as their own, without interruption, for fifteen years acquires ownership by elbirtoklás. For movable property the period is ten years. There is a shorter, five-year route for a buyer who took possession from the owner under a written contract and paid the price, but whose ownership was never registered.
Elbirtoklás is excluded where the possessor obtained the property through a criminal offence or by violent or deceitful means. Unlawfully entering or staying in another person's home against their will is the offence of violating a private home under section 221 of the Criminal Code.
For a flat occupied without a valid right to use it, Hungarian enforcement law provides a non-contentious court procedure: the court must decide on the application within five working days, and a court bailiff carries out the eviction. After a 2023 Constitutional Court ruling an appeal now suspends enforcement, but the appeal court deals with it out of turn. The owner does not carry out the removal personally.
Where Hungary sits against the rest of Europe, in years
Of 31 places in Europe on these pages, 22 have a shorter clock and 8 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 15 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 Hungary?
Fifteen years of uninterrupted possession as if owner for real property, and ten years for movable property, under the Civil Code (Ptk.). A five-year route exists for a buyer who paid under a written contract but was never registered as owner.
Can a squatter acquire property by elbirtoklás?
Not where possession was obtained through a crime, by force or by deceit. Those are excluded from elbirtoklás, however long the occupation lasts.
How fast can a squatted flat be cleared in Hungary?
Under the non-contentious procedure for a flat occupied without right, the court has to rule within five working days of the application, and the eviction is carried out by a court bailiff. Since September 2023 an appeal suspends it, though it is heard out of turn.
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