Adverse Possession is a legal concept that allows an individual who has been in possession of land that technically is already under ownership to the original owner for a certain amount of time to potentially gain ownership of that land. This discrepancy between the physical boundary and the title boundary of a property often results in the land being contested which then often leads to adverse financial impact and acrimony amongst the neighbouring parties.
Whilst the legal stipulation exists that the person claiming adverse possession ought to have had exclusive and uninterrupted possession of the land for a minimum of 15 years (this alludes to possession in an open and peaceful manner without the original owner’s consent); many Adverse Possession claims are submitted without sufficient evidence and the conflict inevitably escalates. Colloquially, Adverse Possession have at times been referred to as “squatters law” in popular culture and the media.
MSG’s surveying evidence has frequently been employed to clearly define title boundaries in order to obtain or retain property ownership in the best interests of our clients. Our licensed surveyors have extensive experience in:
Establishing legal ownership of a property when title details are nebulous or simply lacking and there is a dispute between multiple claimants
Gathering and presenting legally recognised evidence to create detailed reports that are presented in court
Protecting our clients from false or fraudulent claims by providing a detailed and precise presentation of the supporting evidence
Our licensed surveyors will peruse subdivision proposals, plans of consolidation and title plans with due consideration to Adverse Possession elements such as;
– non-secret and non-forced possession
– open and exclusive possession
– intention to possess the land
– possession without the title holder’s permission
to ensure the best possible outcomes as per our clients’ wishes.