Adverse Possession of Land By Squatters

By Dr George Ogunjimi

What Is Adverse Possession?

The term “adverse possession” refers to a legal principle that grants title to someone who resides on or is in possession of another person’s land. The property’s title is granted to the possessor as long as certain conditions are met including whether they infringe on the rights of the actual owner and whether they are in continuous possession of the property. Adverse possession is sometimes called squatter’s rights, although squatter’s rights are a colloquial reference to the idea rather than a recorded law.

It is a legal doctrine that allows a person to acquire ownership rights to land by occupying and using the land continuously for a specified period without the owner’s consent. The period of adverse possession in Nigeria and the UK is 12 years.

After a period of time (12 years for private persons) without interference or action taken by the true owner of the property, the squatter may take over ownership as the true owner is then barred by statute to bring a claim of ownership against the squatter. THE LAW WILL NOT ASSIST A PERSON WHO SLEEPS ON HIS RIGHTS.

In Nigeria, the rules for adverse possession are different under customary law. It is not as simple as the running of time with the acquiescence of the true owner, there are other conditions that must be met, for instance, the adverse possessor must have taken possession of the land under the mistaken belief that he had title to it.

Case laws in Nigeria: see Akinola V. Oluwo (1962), Hamada Hunare v. Yaya Nana & Anor (1996), Alhaji S A Kazeem & Anor V. Madam Wenimo Mosaku & Ors.(2001).

In England and Wales, the Limitation Act 1980 remains the overriding principle for unregistered land but in most cases for registered land. The exception is where the period of possession was f the registered land began no later than 12 October 1991.

Under the Act the ‘true’ owner’s possession of the land is statute barred provided the squatter can prove 12 years adverse possession to the owner’s exclusion.

The Land Registration Act 2002 however provides significant protection against adverse possession for owners of registered land. But a squatter can still claim title to registered land if he can prove one of the three exceptions set out in the Ac.

1. The adversely possessed land is adjacent to land owned by the squatter; and

2. The exact boundary line between the two pieces of land is undetermined; and

3. For at least 10 years before the application the squatter (or the predecessor In title) reasonably believed that the adversely possessed land belonged to them; and

4. The adversely possessed land was registered more than one year before the date of the application.

See Thorpe v Frank (2019)

Dr George Ogunjimi is Principal, Juris Republic Legal Practitioners