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Adverse Possession

Thomas Strong, P.L.S.


Course Outline

This course covers the commonly misunderstood concept of adverse possession. There is a detailed overview of how land can be acquired by the doctrine of adverse possession, including prescriptive easements.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

Intended Audience

This course is intended for Land Surveyors.


Benefit to Attendees

Attendee of this course will become familiar with the concept of adverse possession and other unwritten land conveyances. The attendee will also be able to advise his clients regarding ways they can prevent adverse possession claims against them.


Course Introduction

People have the right to keep unwanted intruders off their property. They do this all the time, sometimes with fences or with signs, sometimes just by asking trespassers to please stay away. In cases of serious, repeated annoyance or threatened harm, landowners can call the police. They will usually warn the person to stay away and, if necessary, make an arrest. Trespass is a minor criminal offense, and someone convicted of criminal trespass can be fined and jailed.

Another kind of trespass is more permanent: using another's property as an owner would use it. If someone drives across a neighbor's land every day, it is a trespass unless the owner has granted permission or the driver has a legal right, called an easement, to use that part of the neighbor's property The other neighbor who just put up a fence two feet over the boundary line is trespassing, as is the one whose garage has been in the wrong place on the neighbor's property for several years.

These trespassers can also be asked to leave or warned away. But there's a chance that any of them may in fact have a legal claim to the property.

Adverse possession is a principle of real estate law whereby somebody who possesses the land of another for an extended period of time may be able to claim legal title to that land. A typical definition requires that the person claiming ownership through adverse possession must show that its possession is actual, open, notorious, exclusive, hostile, under cover of claim or right, and continuous and uninterrupted for the statutory period. These terms have special legal meanings as legal "terms of art", meaning that their definition for purposes of adverse possession law may be different from a definition you would find in a standard dictionary.

Please note that adverse possession laws can vary significantly between jurisdictions. Statute, and the law, definitions of terms now usually govern adverse possession, and the applicable statute of limitations can vary significantly between jurisdictions.

Course Content

The link to the course content is as follows:

Adverse Possession (PDF file 49 KB)

You need to open or download the above document to study this course.

Course Summary

Land Surveyors often overlook the possibility of adverse possession in their daily work. This oversight can be a dangerous way to practice, since adverse possession may be in effect on any given boundary line at any time. The surveyor needs to be on guard if he is to protect himself from unnecessary liability with respect to unwritten title conveyances.

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.


DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.