Squatters Rights

What Are Squatters Rights? State-by-State Guide to Squatters Rights

Each state has enacted laws to protect property owners from adverse possession. A squatter can gain legal ownership of real property in forty-three states by being on the property and treating it as heir own for a minimum of ten years while meeting the following conditions:

• • The possession must be open and notorious, i.e., occupied without subterfuge or misrepresentation to the public,
  • Exclusive, i.e., other parties cannot share the property,
  • Adverse or hostile claim to the true owner’s interest, and
  • Continuous and uninterrupted for the State’s statutory period.

Seven states require possession for seven years or less, while four others require more than 20 years. In Arkansas its 7 years.