Adverse possession
In real estate common law, adverse possession is a means of acquiring
title to another's real property without compensation, by, as the name
suggests, holding the property in a manner that conflicts with the true
owner's rights.
Adverse possession requires the actual, visible, hostile, notorious,
exclusive, and continuous possession of the property for the statutory
period, and some jurisdictions further require the possession to be
made under a claim of title or a claim of right. In simple terms, this
means that those attempting to claim the property are occupying it exclusively
(keeping out others) and openly as if it were their own. Some jurisdictions
permit accidental adverse possession as might occur with a surveying
error. Generally, the openly hostile possession must be continuous (although
not necessarily constant) without challenge or permission from the lawful
owner, for a fixed statutory period in order to acquire title. Where
the property is of a type ordinarily only occupied during certain times
(such as a summer cottage), the adverse possessor may only need to be
in exclusive, open, hostile possession during those successive useful
periods. Fundamentally, adverse possession is an application of traditional
statute of limitations. Once the cause of action for trespass arises,
the landowner has a certain number of years to bring an action. Once
that time has passed, the trespasser can no longer be evicted from the
property, since the trespass action is time-barred.
Once the statute of limitations has expired for evicting the trespassers,
and assuming the legal owner has done nothing to halt the process, the
successful adverse possessors acquire equitable title to the land, to
the extent it was actually possessed (e.g., just the part they occupied,
not necessarily everything on the legal owner's deed). At that point
they no longer need to continuously, exclusively or openly occupy any
part of the land because they now own it. However, to become the legal
owners of record (helpful to have a deed for future transactions), they
may bring an action in land court to "quiet title" of record
in their names on some or all of the former owner's property.
Adverse possession does not typically work against property owned by
a government agency. It also fails to give any rights if the land is
registered under a Torrens title registration system.
Contents
* 1 Squatter's rights
* 2 Adverse easements
* 3 Non-common law jurisdictions
Squatter's rights
Adverse possession is sometime called "squatters' rights".
If the squatter abandons the property for a period, or if the rightful
owner effectively removes the squatter's access even temporarily during
the statutory time period, the "clock" usually begins running
again. However, one squatter may pass along continuous possession to
another squatter, known as "tacking", until the adverse possession
period is complete. A lawful owner may also restart the "clock"
by giving temporary permission for the occupation of the property, thus
defeating the necessary "continuous and hostile" element.
Evidence that a "squatter" paid rent to the owner would defeat
adverse possession for that period.
Adverse possession is in some ways similar to homesteading. Like the
adverse possessor, the homesteader may gain title to property by using
the land and fulfilling certain other conditions. In homesteading, however,
the possession of the property is not hostile; the land is either considered
to have no legal owner or it is owned by the government. The government
allows the homesteader to use the land with the expectation that the
homesteader who fulfills the requirements necessary for the homestead
will gain title to the property.
The homestead principle and squatter's rights embody the most basic
concept of property and ownership, which can be summed up by the adage
"possession is nine-tenths of the law", in other words, "the
person who uses the property owns it". The homestead principle
and squatter's rights pre-date formal property laws and to a large degree
modern property law is a formalization and expansion of these simple
ideas.
The homestead principle is the idea that if no one is using or possessing
property, the first person to claim it and use it consistently over
a period of time owns the property. Squatter's rights embodies the idea
that if one property owner neglects property and fails to use it, and
a second person starts to tend and use the property, then after a certain
period of time the first person's claim to the property is lost and
ownership transfers to the second person, who is actually using the
property.
The legal principle of homesteading, then, is a formalization of the
fundamental homestead principle in the same way that the right of adverse
possession is a formalization of the fundamental and pre-existing principle
of squatter's rights.
The essential ideas behind the homestead principle and squatter's rights
hold generally for any type of item or property of which ownership can
be asserted by simple use or possession. In modern law, homesteading
and the right of adverse possession refer exclusively to real property.
In the realm of personal property, the same impulse is summarized by
the adage "finders keepers" and formalized by laws and conventions
about abandoned property. In the realm of so-called intellectual property,
until just a few hundred years ago all rights in a literary or artistic
work remained in the hands of the person who physically possessed the
work. The creator of a work who wished to retain control of the work
was required to maintain physical control of the work in the manner
of a trade secret. As the idea of intellectual property developed, more
and more rights are reserved for the creator or copyright holder, regardless
of whether or not this person maintains physical control of the work
or copies of it. Fewer and fewer rights are retained by physical possessor(s)
of the work. Some rights do remain, however, and are codified in the
notion of fair use and the doctrine of first sale.
Adverse easements
Adverse possession only grants rights in the adversely possessed property
which are 'taken' by the adverse possesser. For example, an adverse
possesser may only take an easement, rather than the entire fee title
to the property. In this manner, it is possible to adversely possess
an easement, under the legal doctrine of prescription. This must also
be done openly but need not be exclusive, and must outlast the same
required statutory eviction period. It is common practice in cities
such as New York, where builders often leave sidewalk space or plazas
in front of their buildings to meet zoning requirements, to close public
areas they own periodically in order to prevent the creation of a permanent
easement and compromise their exclusive property rights.
Furthermore, if a property owner interferes with an easement upon his
property in a manner that satisfies the requirements for adverse prescription
(e.g., locking the gates to a commonly used area, and nobody does anything
about it), they will successfully extinguish the easement. This is another
reason to quiet title after a successful adverse possession or adverse
prescription; it clarifies the record of who should take action to preserve
the adverse title or easement while evidence is still fresh.
For example, given a deeded easement to use someone else's driveway
to reach a garage, if a fence or permanently locked gate prevents the
use, and nothing is done to remove or circumvent the obstacle, and the
statutory period expires, then the easement ceases to have any legal
force, even though it remains in the deed.
Non-common law jurisdictions
Some non-common law jurisdictions have laws similar to adverse possession.
For example, Louisiana has a legal doctrine called acquisitive prescription.
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The Gulf Coast Area has a mild climate with an average annual temperature
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The average temperature in July is 81.8 degrees. The average annual
precipitation is 67 inches, and the growing season is 292 days.
Education
Education is a fundamental block in building a bright future. The Gulf
Coast Area opened a brand new high school during 1999 in Gulf Shores
(ph. 251.968.4747). The area has two elementary schools; they are Gulf
Shores Elementary (ph. 251.968.7375) and Orange Beach Elementary (ph.
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Healthcare
The nearest hospital is South Baldwin Regional Medical Center (ph. 800.580.3627)
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services (ph. 251.952.3400). Numerous medical professionals practice
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Airports
Corporate and Private air service is available in Gulf Shores from the
Jack Edwards Municipal Airport, with a full Instrument Landing System
and the longest paved runway being 7000 feet. The closest commercial
air service is available in Pensacola, roughly 30 miles away, at the
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Other commercial airports are located in Mobile (ph. 251.633.0313) and
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Shopping
The area offers many shops ranging from casual apparel and beachwear
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Parks and Recreation
The nearest state park is the Gulf State Park (ph. 251.948.7275). The
6,000-acre park area offers campsites, picnic areas, 18-hole golf course,
825 foot fishing pier, 144 room hotel and convention center. Other parks
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For detailed information about Alabama income tax, contact the Alabama
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In most instances, local governments in Alabama do not levy city, town,
or county income taxes.
Property Taxes
Property (Ad Valorem) taxes are taxes on real business and/or personal
property. “Ad Valorem” means “according to value”.
For details, call the Revenue Commissioner’s office (ph. 251.943.5061,
ext. 2840).
