European property law
Squatters' rights in Latvia: what prescription requires
Ten years under Section 1024 of the Civil Law, and the conditions before that number do most of the work: a legal basis for the possession, good faith for the whole period, and no criminal origin.
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- Statutory period
- 10 years
- What's different here
- needs a legal basis and good faith, and crime bars it outright
- Statute
- Civil Law, Sections 998 to 1024
Latvia's Civil Law of 1937 lists six conditions for acquiring property by prescription (ieilgums) in Section 999: property that can be acquired this way, a legal basis, good faith, uninterrupted possession, the prescribed period, and an owner who was legally able to exercise their rights. For immovable property the period is ten years, after which Section 1024 gives the possessor the right and the duty to have the acquisition entered in the Land Register.
The legal basis must be one that could in itself have conferred ownership, such as a sale or an inheritance that failed for some particular reason (Section 1006), and good faith must last the entire period (Section 1015). Section 1003 excludes property obtained by criminal means altogether, and Section 1008 excludes those holding property on pledge, loan or bailment. A squatter who simply moves in has no legal basis and no good faith, so the ten years never begin.
The Criminal Law makes unlawful entry into a dwelling against the will of the person living there an offence (Section 143). It also makes arbitrariness (patvarība), acting in circumvention of the procedure set by law where the act is disputed and causes substantial harm, an offence under Section 279, which is the risk for an owner who removes occupants without going through the courts.
Where Latvia 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 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 Latvia?
Ten years of possession of immovable property, meeting all the conditions in Sections 998 to 1022 of the Civil Law. Section 1024 sets the ten years for immovables.
Can a squatter gain ownership in Latvia?
No. Prescription needs a legal basis capable of conferring ownership and good faith for the whole period, and property obtained by criminal means cannot be acquired this way at all. Squatting in Latvia meets none of those conditions.
Can I remove squatters myself in Latvia?
Acting in circumvention of the procedure set by law, where the act is disputed and causes substantial harm, is the offence of arbitrariness under Section 279 of the Criminal Law. Removal goes through the courts.
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