Canadian property law
Squatters' rights in Quebec: 10 years of possession and a judgment
Quebec is a civil law province, so the question is acquisitive prescription rather than adverse possession. Ten years of possession as owner, under article 2918 of the Civil Code, and ownership is then recognised by a court.
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- Statutory period
- 10 years
- What's different here
- civil law prescription that can defeat a registered title
- Statute
- Civil Code of Québec, arts. 922, 2910, 2917, 2918
The Civil Code of Québec defines acquisitive prescription as a way of acquiring ownership through the effect of possession (article 2910), and sets the general period at ten years (article 2917). For an immovable, article 2918 adds that a person who has possessed it as owner for ten years may acquire ownership of it only upon a judicial application.
The possession itself has to be peaceful, continuous, public and unequivocal (article 922). In practice that means using the property as an owner would, for the whole period, in a way the people with an interest in it could see, and without anyone challenging it or asking for it back. Occupation with the owner's permission, such as under a lease, is not possession as owner.
Registration does not stop prescription in Quebec the way Land Titles does in several other provinces. In Ostiguy v. Allie (2017), the Supreme Court of Canada held that rights validly acquired by prescription can prevail over rights registered in the land register, and that the possessor did not need to have brought a judicial application beforehand for those rights to count against the registered owner.
Where Quebec sits against the rest of Canada, in years
Of 13 places in Canada on these pages, 0 have a shorter clock and 8 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 are squatters' rights in Quebec?
Ten years of possession as owner that is peaceful, continuous, public and unequivocal. Articles 2917 and 2918 of the Civil Code of Québec, with the qualities of possession in article 922.
Does acquisitive prescription in Quebec make someone owner automatically?
Article 2918 says the possessor of an immovable acquires ownership only upon a judicial application. The Supreme Court has treated that judgment as recognising a right the ten years already created, which is why a registered title can lose to it.
Is adverse possession in Quebec the same as in Ontario?
No. Ontario applies a common law rule limited by its Land Titles Act. Quebec applies civil law acquisitive prescription, and registering a title in the Quebec land register does not by itself stop it.
How does a Quebec owner remove someone living in their property?
Removing an occupant who will not leave goes through a court judgment, which a bailiff (huissier) then executes. Where the occupant has a residential lease, the Tribunal administratif du logement has jurisdiction over the lease.
Elsewhere in Canada
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