US property law
How long is squatters' rights in Washington State?
Ten years of ordinary possession, or seven if the possessor holds color of title and has paid the property taxes throughout, under Revised Code of Washington section 4.16.020.
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- Statutory period
- 7 or 10 years
- What's different here
- 7 years with title and taxes, 10 years otherwise
- Statute
- RCW § 4.16.020
Washington sets ten years as its ordinary adverse possession period: hostile, actual, open, notorious, exclusive and continuous possession under RCW 4.16.020. A possessor who holds color of title, a defective but facially valid deed, and who has also paid the property taxes during the period gets a materially faster route, seven years instead of ten.
That seven-year track is the fastest tax-and-title shortcut on this list after Texas's 5-year use-and-cultivate rule, and it rewards the same combination Alabama and Texas reward: paperwork plus tax payment. An occupant with neither stays on the full ten-year track.
Whichever period applies, an owner dealing with an unwanted occupant in Washington today removes them through the standard eviction process. The adverse possession clock only matters to a genuine, long-running ownership dispute, not to an ordinary removal.
Where Washington sits against the rest of United States, in years
Of 15 places in United States on these pages, 2 have a shorter clock and 12 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 7 or 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 squatters' rights in Washington State?
Ten years of ordinary adverse possession, or seven years if the possessor holds color of title and has paid the property taxes throughout that period. RCW § 4.16.020.
What shortens the period to 7 years in Washington?
Holding color of title, a defective but facially valid deed, combined with having paid the property taxes for the full period. Without both, the period is the standard ten years.
Can a Washington landlord remove a squatter without a court order?
No. Self-help eviction is illegal in Washington State once someone has established residency. Removal requires the formal eviction process through the courts.
Is Washington's rule the same as Texas or Alabama's tax-and-title shortcut?
The shape is the same, paperwork and tax payment for a shorter clock, but the numbers differ: Washington offers 7 years, Alabama offers 10, and Texas offers 3 or 5 depending on use.
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.
14 days before the first charge · Nothing is switched on until you say so