Many property owners are surprised to learn that a trespasser may gain ownership of land by simply using it with no documented challenge for 21 years. Fortunately, landowners can avoid this threat with some good, basic practices.
On September 2, 2020 WeConservePA, supported by attorney Ryan Hamilton and legal intern Emily Rollins of Fair Shake ELS, published a legal guide to Adverse Possession in Pennsylvania in order to help property owners understand the concepts behind this legal theory and provide practical advice for avoiding disputes. An excerpt from the Guide is reproduced, below:
“In Pennsylvania, a claim of adverse possession gives a trespasser legal title to property if they can prove actual, continuous, exclusive, visible, notorious, distinct, and hostile possession of property for (in most cases) 21 years. One motivating factor behind the continued legality of adverse possession is that it ensures land does not lay dormant: it incentivizes property owners to timely assert their ownership rights and, if they fail to do so, allocates real property to those who put it to use. Land, buildings, and even rooms within buildings can be obtained through adverse possession. Property owned by the federal and state government is immune to adverse possession, but property owned by political subdivisions is not, unless the land is “devoted to public use” or held in furtherance of a governmental function. While adverse possession claims pose a risk for any conservation organization or trail group who owns property (whether in fee simple or by easement), there are practical approaches to avoiding disputes: First, understand your property boundaries. While descriptions in deeds and easement agreements provide a starting point, this is best accomplished with assistance from a professional surveyor who can stake out visible boundary markers on your property. Second, if the property interest is a trail or conservation easement, understand what activities are inconsistent with the purposes of the easement or effectively encroach on that easement. Finally, regularly monitor the property and assert your property rights to avoid encroachment. Regular monitoring will inform you of potential or actual encroachment and provide an opportunity to take appropriate action to avoid an adverse possession dispute, whether that means granting permission for use in writing or ejecting the trespasser from the property.”
For free access to the full guide, please search ConservationTools.Org or visit this link.
