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Citizen Kane (manager)     18 January 2013

Adverse possession

My sister occupied the first floor of the independent house owned by her mother in law  after marraige. Her husband used to stay alone on the first floor before marriage. She was not invited to stay on the first floor, but she and her husband stayed on the first floor as her inlaws were living on the money generated by her husband. The first floor is an independent floor wth its own entrance. There are only two floors to this house. Her mother in law and father in law stay on the ground floor. My sister has ocupied this place for more than 22 years now. It was a continous occupation. Now her in laws want her to leave. Can she claim adverse possession? Her husband is not willing to fight against his mother, but her children aged 22 and 20 have her support. They too have been living here continously since birth. Can my sister and children claim for adverse possession?



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 3 Replies

Srinivas (Director)     26 January 2013

Manoj,

 

Permissive possesion will not become adverse. If you want to show adverse possession, you must show you gained possession against the wishes of the true owner and continued to maintain possession adverse to the wishes of the true owner. 

Since the owners want you to move out, you can claim yourself to be the true owner and if the owner does not take any action for the next 12 years, then you will be able to claim adverse possesssion. If the true owner goes to court, you will lose..

 

Srinivas

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Citizen Kane (manager)     26 January 2013

Thank you Srinivas. The possession was not permissive. Her MIL asked her to look for another house after the wedding. But my sister and BIL insisted on staying there.  There were many times they were asked to get out. But they didnt. How do they prove that as there are no witnesses nor is this in writing.

Srinivas (Director)     27 January 2013

Burden off proof is on person claiming adverse possession. The standards for such a proof is also very HIGH.

In my opinion it is not sufficient to show MIL asked your sister to move out and you continued to stay. You need to show you denied title of the true owner and held possession in *exclusion*  of the true owner. From what you are saying it seems more like permissive possesion with disputes.

You will need to consult a lawyer to look into your specific situation and see what can be done. 

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