US property law
How long is squatters' rights in Maine?
Twenty years, under Title 14 of the Maine Revised Statutes, section 801, one of the longer periods in the country and, like most of the twenty-plus-year states, with no shortcut for tax payment.
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- Statutory period
- 20 years
- What's different here
- a flat 20-year rule
- Statute
- 14 Me. Rev. Stat. § 801
Maine sets a twenty-year period for adverse possession: hostile, actual, open, notorious, exclusive and continuous possession for the full two decades, with no tiered or shortened track for a possessor who pays the property taxes or holds a defective deed.
Twenty years puts Maine close to Alabama's bare-possession track and just short of Ohio and Pennsylvania's twenty-one years, in the longer half of states on this list. Maine also carries municipal ordinances that touch short-term and vacation rentals in some coastal towns, which is a separate topic from adverse possession but is often searched alongside it because both fall under "Maine property law" broadly.
The twenty-year figure only ever matters to a genuine ownership dispute running that entire length of time. A Maine owner facing an occupant who moved in without permission removes them through the ordinary eviction process, which runs on its own timeline entirely separate from the adverse possession statute.
Where Maine sits against the rest of United States, in years
Of 15 places in United States on these pages, 11 have a shorter clock and 3 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 20 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 squatters' rights in Maine?
Twenty years of continuous, hostile, open, notorious and exclusive possession, under 14 Me. Rev. Stat. § 801.
Does Maine require tax payment for an adverse possession claim?
No. Maine's twenty-year period does not depend on the possessor having paid the property taxes, unlike California or Indiana.
Can a Maine property owner remove a squatter without a court order?
No. Self-help eviction is illegal in Maine once someone has established residency. Removal requires the formal eviction process through the courts.
Is Maine's period close to any other state's?
It sits just below Ohio and Pennsylvania's twenty-one years and close to Alabama's twenty-year bare-possession track, in the longer half of the periods on this page.
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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