European property law
Squatters' rights in the Netherlands: kraken, adverse possession and eviction
Ten years for a possessor in good faith, twenty for anyone else, because the owner's right to reclaim the property expires after twenty years. Squatting itself, known as kraken, has been a criminal offence since 1 October 2010.
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- Statutory period
- 10 or 20 years
- What's different here
- squatting an empty building is a crime since 2010
- Statute
- BW art. 3:99 and 3:105
The Dutch Civil Code has two routes to ownership by possession. Article 3:99 is acquisitive prescription: ten years of uninterrupted possession in good faith. Article 3:105 is the route for everyone else: a possessor becomes owner when the owner's legal claim to recover the property is time-barred, even if the possession was not in good faith, and under article 3:306 that claim expires after twenty years. A squatter who knows the building is someone else's is not in good faith, so for them the relevant number is twenty.
The Squatting and Vacancy Act (Wet kraken en leegstand) added article 138a to the Criminal Code on 1 October 2010. Unlawfully entering or remaining in a dwelling or building whose use by the rightful user has ended is punishable by up to one year in prison or a fine, and up to two years where threats are used. Since 1 July 2022 the Act on enforcing the squatting ban (Wet handhaving kraakverbod) has the public prosecutor ask an investigating judge for an eviction authorisation, and the judge decides within three days.
An owner may not remove squatters personally, even though they are there unlawfully. The routes are criminal, through a report to the police and the prosecutor under article 138a, or civil, through summary proceedings in which a judge weighs the owner's interest against the occupants' and a bailiff enforces the order.
Where Netherlands 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 or 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 the Netherlands?
Ten years of uninterrupted possession in good faith under BW art. 3:99, or twenty years for a possessor not in good faith, because under art. 3:105 and 3:306 the owner's claim to recover the property expires after twenty years.
Is squatting illegal in the Netherlands?
Yes. Since 1 October 2010, article 138a of the Criminal Code makes it an offence to unlawfully enter or remain in a dwelling or building whose use by the rightful user has ended, with up to one year in prison, or two where threats are used.
How fast can squatters be evicted in the Netherlands?
Under the Act on enforcing the squatting ban, in force since 1 July 2022, the prosecutor asks an investigating judge for an eviction authorisation and the judge decides within three days. The occupants can challenge the authorisation before a court. A civil route through summary proceedings also exists.
Can an owner change the locks on squatters in the Netherlands?
No. Removing squatters yourself, including by changing the locks or putting their belongings outside, is not permitted; the owner has to go through the criminal or the civil procedure.
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