# Could I build a house in Antarctica? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 9, 2018, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273 "2018-03-09T00:53:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273/1 "2018-03-09T00:53:47Z")
Let’s say I’m an eccentric millionaire that wants to retire and spend the rest of my days in Antarctica. Would there be any legal obstacles to me doing so? ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273/2 "2018-03-09T01:21:54Z")
Possibly, i dont think you could personally own any land in antarctica to put your house on? ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273/3 "2018-03-09T01:25:15Z")
Under the Antarctic Treaty, Antarctica is protected as a scientific preserve. A 1991 protocol to the treaty prioritises the protection of the Antarctic environment as a wilderness, and sets up mechanisms to control development. I doubt that your home-builiding project would receive the necessary approvals. You could possibly do a deal whereby you get to live at a research station, in return for generous donations to fund the research. But I doubt that you could build your own house. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273/4 "2018-03-09T01:50:29Z")
Be sure to get Thing insurance. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273/5 "2018-03-09T02:23:49Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Under the Antarctic Treaty, Antarctica is protected as a scientific preserve. A 1991 protocol to the treaty prioritises the protection of the Antarctic environment as a wilderness, and sets up mechanisms to control development. I doubt that your home-builiding project would receive the necessary approvals. Right. In the parts of Antarctica that are claimed by some country, I’m sure that that country would prevent any private development. Even in the part that is not under claim, the signatories to the treaty would most likely block development. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273/6 "2018-03-09T03:24:15Z")
> [@Weisshund](#): > > Possibly, i dont think you could personally own any land in antarctica to put your house on? Hundreds of millions of the world’s population are essentially squatters. In some countries, squatters have established rights and are hard to legally evict, and if that is the case in a country that administers a section of Antarctica, squatters rightst to remain there might actually be protected by the laws of Chile, New Zealand, whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273/7 "2018-03-09T03:58:28Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > In some countries, squatters have established rights and are hard to legally evict, and if that is the case in a country that administers a section of Antarctica, squatters rightst to remain there might actually be protected by the laws of Chile, New Zealand, whatever. I’m certain none of the countries with Antarctic claims (Chile, Argentina, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Norway) would recognize squatter’s rights to government land (which Antarctica would be considered) without a permit and without a long period of occupancy. So that wouldn’t apply. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273/8 "2018-03-09T04:39:49Z")
There is a civilian Chilean town (Villa las Estrellas), with a year-round population of 80, and a school for their children… Tourists can go there, there is a hostel. Get a Chilean residence visa (or citizenship) and you can go an live there. I have no information about the residents’ houses, whether they own them or lease them. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273/9 "2018-03-09T08:16:15Z")
King George Island isn’t Antarctica proper, though. ---
**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273/10 "2018-03-09T10:59:17Z")
Related earlier thread: [Would Antarctica be a good place for my evil lair?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=288852) ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_lining](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Silver\_lining](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_lining)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273/11 "2018-03-09T15:39:10Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > Let’s say I’m an eccentric millionaire that wants to retire and spend the rest of my days in Antarctica. Would there be any legal obstacles to me doing so? Several Counties have claimed land, so presumably, you can make a deal with one of them and build there. You’d be much better off in Greenland. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273/12 "2018-03-09T16:17:26Z")
Note that there’s a large arc of [unclaimed territory](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Antarctic_Region.png) around Marie Byrd Land. If you “settle” there and any of the treaty signers try to oust you that would be viewed by the others as a violation since it would be an attempt to extend the claim. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273/13 "2018-03-09T16:36:14Z")
Legalities aside, the logistics of building a home in an environment as hostile as Antarctica’s have to be daunting at best. I did some research and came up with a very interesting article on that very subject: [\*\*In the Antarctic most structures are erected on concrete plinths built on rock. \*\*](http://www.ingenia.org.uk/Ingenia/Articles/334) > [@](#): > > The structures are formed from pre-fabricated panels. Although the insulation levels and other features are enhanced compared to the UK, these are not usually an extreme engineering challenge. Halley V is the British Antarctic Survey’s most southerly station and has been erected on the Brunt Ice Shelf at 750º South on the Weddell Sea. The original structures at Halley I were constructed for the 1956–1957 International Geophysical Year and were abandoned after 10 years when the station became buried 14 m below the surface. The entire article is worth the read. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273/14 "2018-03-09T17:41:57Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Note that there’s a large arc of [unclaimed territory](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Antarctic_Region.png) around Marie Byrd Land. > > If you “settle” there and any of the treaty signers try to oust you that would be viewed by the others as a violation since it would be an attempt to extend the claim. The US and Russia both have a position regarding the Antarctic treaty that they are making no claims, but reserve the right to do so. Marie Byrd Land is the potential US claim, which was actually in the works when the treaty was negotiated. This, and inaccessibility of the area, are reasons why it is by far the largest area of unclaimed land on the globe. You will note that the most accessible area, relatively speaking, has massively overlapping claims by Chile, Argentina and the UK. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273/15 "2018-03-09T20:42:38Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Note that there’s a large arc of [unclaimed territory](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Antarctic_Region.png) around Marie Byrd Land. > > If you “settle” there and any of the treaty signers try to oust you that would be viewed by the others as a violation since it would be an attempt to extend the claim. If you “settle” there, each of the treaty signers will regard it as a treaty violation. Antarctica is like the worst property you could imagine buying for your house: the conveyancing will never settle, you will never get a clear title, it’s all tied up with court orders (treaties) until settlement, the competing interests don’t recognize the court orders, you aren’t dealing with one government/owner, you’re dealing with three, none of them will approve anything, any of them may put a road through your house at anytime… it’s one of those vacant lots in town where the financing fell through and now nobody knows who owns it, but half a dozen people think they do, so it just stays vacant for the next 27 years. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273/16 "2018-03-11T06:36:12Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > If you “settle” there, each of the treaty signers will regard it as a treaty violation. > > Antarctica is like the worst property you could imagine buying for your house: the conveyancing will never settle, you will never get a clear title, it’s all tied up with court orders (treaties) until settlement, the competing interests don’t recognize the court orders, you aren’t dealing with one government/owner, you’re dealing with three, none of them will approve anything, any of them may put a road through your house at anytime… > > it’s one of those vacant lots in town where the financing fell through and now nobody knows who owns it, but half a dozen people think they do, so it just stays vacant for the next 27 years. He’s not asking about owning, buying or acquiring title to a site in Antarctica; he just proposes to build a house there and live in it. Legally, he has no right to do so, and there are several parties who would have a colorable justification for intervening to stop him. Whether they _would_ intervene is, I suppose, a practical question, but my guess is that they would. It is suggested above that he might build in Marie Byrd Land, and hope that (a) the US would not intervene, lest this be taken as a revival of its suspended claim to the territory, and so destablising, and (b) other states would not intervene, since if they did so the US would be strongly motivated to reassert its claim. But of course if the US _didn’t_ intervene, that might be taken as an abandonment of its claim, and the US wouldn’t want that. So the US would almost certainly intervene, either with the authority of the co-signatories, for the purposes of enforcing the Antarctic Treaty rather than asserting any exclusive claim, or as part of an intervention mounted jointly by two or more of the signatories. ---
**Author:** ![ssgenius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@ssgenius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ssgenius)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273/17 "2018-03-11T07:09:58Z")
[https://cpb-us-west-2-juc1ugur1qwqqqo4.stackpathdns.com/people.uwm.edu/dist/6/84/files/2016/07/Koch-Milwaukee-Journal-Sentinel-166ywws.pdf](https://cpb-us-west-2-juc1ugur1qwqqqo4.stackpathdns.com/people.uwm.edu/dist/6/84/files/2016/07/Koch-Milwaukee-Journal-Sentinel-166ywws.pdf) Read this article about a research team in antarctica. The girl making this report is an avid cross fitter and would run half marathons most weekends just to warm up and still she struggled there. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273/18 "2018-03-11T13:24:30Z")
It’s one thing to _object_ to settling in Marie Byrd Land. It’s another thing to _do_ something. I don’t think a state would consider taking action there because of the diplomatic mess it would cause. They’d figure eventually the half-frozen idiot would either die or leave. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273/19 "2018-03-11T15:04:28Z")
If you organize your expedition to Antarctica in a country that is a signatory to the [Antarctic Treaty System](http://www.ats.aq/e/ats.htm), or your last point of departure before getting to Antarctica is from such a country, then you need the permission of that government just to travel there (never mind settling there). Here’s [the UK government’s page on how to apply for a permit](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/visits-to-antarctica-how-to-apply-for-a-permit), for example. See [this StackExchange answer](https://travel.stackexchange.com/a/34824/31165) for more details. Here’s [a list of the 53 countries who are parties to the Antarctic Treaty.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctic_Treaty_System#Parties) If you’re based in one of these countries, or departing from one of them, my guess is that you’d be out of luck; that government would probably deny you a permit to live there absent some particularly compelling reason to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2018, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273/20 "2018-03-11T18:06:52Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Be sure to get Thing insurance. [![](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/superheroes/images/7/78/The_Thing.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160624072009) ](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/superheroes/images/7/78/The_Thing.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160624072009) Nobody would cover the property damage liabilities. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-build-a-house-in-antarctica/810273.md?page=2)