Rockbadchild
Veteran Member
I just found out this is a thing in most Canadian province as well ....
Well that brings up a good question - who paid the property taxes all those years? In Michigan the law says that the people had to aggressively use or occupy the property AND also pay the taxes. That doesnt mean a judge will render in favor of what the law says though. It seems more and more that judges take it on themselves to interpret what the law means. This is insaneI 100% hate this idea. If it were up to me, squatters rights would be declared unconstitutional. Essentially, it is government taking without compensation (5th Amendment violation). Just because the government isn't keeping the property doesn't change the fact that the government is taking it from the owner and giving it to someone else. This should not be confused with taking due to unpaid taxes (though they should still be required to pay the remaining market value to the owner).
In Indiana, at least, to get adverse possession you have to prove you paid all the taxes and special assessments you reasonably believed were due on the property. There are a ton of other requirements too. Simply building a fence over the line is not generally sufficient. However the period is 10 years not 20.Who paid taxes on the property for those 20yrs, and would the "new" owner be liable for those? And the "previous" owner reimbersed?
Well that brings up a good question - who paid the property taxes all those years? In Michigan the law says that the people had to aggressively use or occupy the property AND also pay the taxes. That doesnt mean a judge will render in favor of what the law says though. It seems more and more that judges take it on themselves to interpret what the law means. This is insane
I 100% hate this idea. If it were up to me, squatters rights would be declared unconstitutional. Essentially, it is government taking without compensation (5th Amendment violation). Just because the government isn't keeping the property doesn't change the fact that the government is taking it from the owner and giving it to someone else. This should not be confused with taking due to unpaid taxes (though they should still be required to pay the remaining market value to the owner).
And a prison term for arson, manslaughter, polluting the wetlands, etc.Imagine you inherit a land parcel at the beach only to find somebody built a house on it 20 yrs ago...and it's not really yours now.
There might be a fire.