If you own a piece of land, then it may be possible for someone who’s staked a claim to it to acquire a valid title under adverse possession laws. The person who has claimed such rights to the property must have been utilizing it for a significant period of time. A person wishing to take adverse possession of a property must meet several other conditions as well.
The adverse possessor must have maintained continuous possession of the property. If there’s been a privity, or the existence of a legal relationship between the two individuals claiming a right to it, then the adverse possessor may be able to establish that there was continuity by taking successive adverse possessions of it.
There is one exception to this rule though. No matter how long a renter lives in a property, they never gain the right to take adverse possession of it.
A property’s possession must be both open and notorious for it to also be considered adverse. Anyone looking at it must be able to tell that it’s in the possession of a trespasser, or someone other than its true owner.
Possession of the property must also have occurred through hostile means. This means that the adverse possessor’s claim to it must infringe upon the true owner’s right to the same. If someone willfully gives a right to use it to another, then it’s not considered hostile.
The adverse possessor must attest that they actually possess another’s property and agree to use it for their exclusive use. They should take necessary steps to keep others from taking possession of it, just as an actual owner would. They have a right to accuse others of trespassing, provided that such claims are made in accordance with a jurisdiction’s statute of limitations.
In most jurisdictions, an individual is required to have utilized a property for as long as 20 years in other to be able to take adverse possession of it.
If someone is successful in taking adverse possession of your property and getting their name added to the deed, then this can greatly affect your ability to fully profit off of its sale as you’d otherwise be entitled to do. It can make a big difference in the outcome of your case when you’re represented by a Melbourne attorney who is both credible and well-respected within the central Florida legal community.
