Property Law
Adverse Possession
A legal doctrine under which a person who has openly and continuously occupied another's property for a long statutory period, without the owner's permission, can claim ownership.
Adverse possession requires the occupation to be open, continuous, hostile (without the owner's permission), and uninterrupted for the statutory period — mere casual or permissive use doesn't qualify, and the burden of proving all these elements rests heavily on the person claiming it.
It is a controversial doctrine, and courts scrutinise such claims closely given how significantly they can affect a rightful owner's title.
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