European property law
Squatters' rights in Lithuania: can a squatter ever own the property?
Ten years of possession, under article 4.68 of the Civil Code, but only by someone who acquired and held the property in good faith and lawfully. Property registered in another person's name cannot be acquired this way.
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- Statutory period
- 10 years
- What's different here
- never runs against property registered in another person's name
- Statute
- Civil Code, art. 4.68
Lithuania's Civil Code allows acquisitive prescription over immovable property after ten years, and over movables after three. The possessor must not be the owner, must have acquired the property in good faith and held it lawfully, openly, continuously and as their own for the whole period, and the owner must have been legally able to assert their rights throughout.
The rule excludes property belonging to the state or a municipality and property registered in a public register in the name of another person. It also excludes property taken secretly or by force. Between them, those conditions leave a squatter no route to ownership: most homes are registered, and occupying one without right is neither good faith nor lawful possession.
Intruding into another person's residential house, apartment or other residential premises against the will of the owner is an offence under article 165 of the Criminal Code, prosecuted on the victim's complaint or at the prosecutor's request. Article 294 makes self-willed conduct, exercising a right while disregarding the procedure set by law and causing major damage, an offence too, which is the risk for an owner who removes occupants without a court.
Where Lithuania 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 Lithuania?
Ten years for immovable property and three for movables, under Civil Code art. 4.68, with good faith and lawful, open, continuous possession as owner for the whole period.
Can a squatter gain ownership in Lithuania?
No. The possessor must have acquired the property in good faith and held it lawfully, property taken secretly or by force is excluded, and property registered in another person's name cannot be acquired by prescription at all.
Is squatting in Lithuania a crime?
Intruding into another person's home against the owner's will is an offence under article 165 of the Criminal Code. Removing occupants yourself in disregard of legal procedure can itself be the offence of self-willed conduct under article 294.
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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