You buy a piece of property. The seller gives you a deed. All is good with the world. Forty years later, you are in court. And, the court says, “you don’t own this property anymore.” Why? You did not do enough to protect your investment, and someone else owns your property. Welcome to the world of adverse possession.
Adverse possession is a legal concept. It allows one person to literally take another person’s land. The only requirements are that the thief take possession of the property:
(a) Openly
(b) Hostilely
(c) Exclusively
(d) Continuously for a period of time
In Tennessee, it is not necessary the thief to erect a fence. It may be enough if the thief just uses the property. In one case, the thief placed a house trailer, built a storage shed, installed a culvert and driveway, mowed the area and kept horses on the property. The court said that was enough.
The owner’s problem – he had not been on the property in years. And, when he discovered the squatters, he did nothing to stop it.
The period of time required ranges from seven (7) years to thirty (30) years depending on the facts and circumstances.
THE MORAL OF THIS STORY: If someone is using your land without your permission, don’t ignore it – you may discover that it is not your land any more.
Other moral, if you own land and cannot find the time to visit it every seven years, you need to sell the land.
For more on adverse possession, see Roy G. Butler v. David a Still, No. M2009-01729-COA-R3-CV (Aug. 24, 2010).
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