What is Adverse Possession in Real Estate?

Adverse possession is a legal doctrine that allows a person to claim ownership of land that belongs to another person if they have occupied and used it continuously for a statutory period while meeting specific legal requirements. The requirements for adverse possession, often remembered by the acronym OCEAN or COHAN, typically include: the possession must be Open and notorious (visible and obvious, not hidden), Continuous and uninterrupted for the statutory period (which varies by state from 5 to 20 years), Exclusive (not shared with the true owner), Adverse and hostile (without the owner's permission and against their interests), and Notorious (such that the owner could reasonably discover it). Some states also require the adverse possessor to have paid property taxes during the statutory period or to have a "color of title" (a defective deed or other document that appears to give them title).

Adverse possession serves the policy goal of encouraging productive use of land and penalizing property owners who neglect their property for extended periods. The adverse possessor must file a quiet title action in court to formally obtain legal title. Adverse possession cannot be claimed against government-owned property.

If any of the required elements are missing or if the possession is interrupted during the statutory period, the claim fails. Mere use of property with the owner's permission (a license) never ripens into adverse possession.