US property law
How long is squatters' rights in Indiana?
Ten years, under Indiana Code section 34-11-2-11, and, like California, Indiana requires the possessor to have paid every property tax assessed against the property during that period.
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- Statutory period
- 10 years
- What's different here
- taxes must be paid throughout, like California
- Statute
- Ind. Code § 34-11-2-11
Indiana's period is a standard ten years of hostile, actual, open, notorious, exclusive and continuous possession, but it carries the same tax-payment condition California attaches to its shorter five-year rule: the possessor must have paid all property taxes assessed on the parcel throughout the statutory period.
That condition makes Indiana's rule self-defeating in the same way California's is: an owner who continues receiving and paying the tax bill in their own name is, in the ordinary case, already defeating any claim, because the occupant cannot also be shown to have paid it.
Everything else about the test is the ordinary common law standard: the possession has to be hostile, meaning without the owner's permission; actual, meaning physically present and used the way an owner would use it; open and notorious, meaning obvious rather than hidden; and exclusive, meaning not shared with the owner or the public.
Where Indiana sits against the rest of United States, in years
Of 15 places in United States on these pages, 3 have a shorter clock and 6 a longer one or none at all.
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.
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 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
What are the squatting laws in Indiana?
Indiana's squatter law comes down to Ind. Code § 34-11-2-11: 10 years of continuous, hostile, open and exclusive possession before a squatter can claim ownership. What sets Indiana apart: taxes must be paid throughout, like California. Squatting itself is trespassing, and a squatter who has settled in is still removed through the courts, never by changing the locks or cutting the utilities.
How long is squatters' rights in Indiana?
Ten years of continuous, hostile, open, notorious and exclusive possession, and the possessor must have paid every property tax assessed against the property throughout that period. Ind. Code § 34-11-2-11.
What happens if a squatter in Indiana never paid the property taxes?
The claim fails regardless of how long the occupation lasted. Tax payment for the full ten years is a required element in Indiana, not an optional strengthening of the claim.
Which other states require tax payment like Indiana?
California requires it for its full five-year period. Alabama and Washington offer a shorter period in exchange for tax payment alongside color of title, while their longer periods do not require it.
Can an Indiana landlord remove a squatter without a court order?
No. Self-help eviction is illegal in Indiana once someone has established residency. Removal requires the formal eviction process through the courts.
Elsewhere in United States
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