US property law
How long is squatters' rights in Louisiana (LA)?
Louisiana does not have adverse possession at all, in the common law sense every other state on this page uses. It has "acquisitive prescription", a civil-law concept under the Louisiana Civil Code, and it runs on 10 or 30 years depending on good faith.
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- Statutory period
- 10 or 30 years
- What's different here
- civil law "acquisitive prescription", not common law adverse possession
- Statute
- La. Civ. Code arts. 3473, 3486
Louisiana is the only US state with a civil-law legal system, inherited from its French and Spanish legal history rather than the English common law every other state uses. It does not use the term "adverse possession"; the equivalent concept is "acquisitive prescription", governed by Louisiana Civil Code articles 3473 and 3486.
Under acquisitive prescription, a possessor who has good faith and "just title", a facially valid title that turns out to have a defect, can acquire ownership after 10 years of possession. A possessor without good faith and just title needs 30 years instead. Both tracks still require possession as an owner would exercise it, continuously, for the full period.
This distinction is the single most important fact about Louisiana on this subject: searching for "adverse possession Louisiana" using the common law vocabulary of other states will not turn up Louisiana's own rule, because Louisiana genuinely does not use that framework. The underlying protection for an owner facing an unlawful occupant is the same as everywhere else, though: removal is a formal eviction matter, not something an owner accomplishes alone.
Where Louisiana 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 or 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
What are the squatting laws in Louisiana (LA)?
Louisiana's squatter law is acquisitive prescription under the Louisiana Civil Code (arts. 3473, 3486), not common law adverse possession: 10 years for a possessor with good faith and just title, 30 years for one without, possessing as an owner would, continuously, for the full period. 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.
Does Louisiana have adverse possession?
Not in the common law sense. Louisiana is the one US state with a civil-law system, and the equivalent concept is called acquisitive prescription, under Louisiana Civil Code articles 3473 and 3486.
How long is acquisitive prescription in Louisiana?
Ten years for a possessor with good faith and just title, a facially valid but ultimately defective title; thirty years for a possessor without either.
Why is Louisiana different from every other state on this list?
Louisiana inherited a civil-law legal system from its French and Spanish history, unlike the other forty-nine states, which all use English common law. Property concepts that look similar often have a different name and a different structure as a result.
Can a Louisiana property owner remove a squatter without going to court?
No. Self-help eviction is illegal in Louisiana once someone has established residency. Removal requires the formal eviction process, regardless of which acquisitive prescription period might eventually apply.
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.
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