# "Statute of Limitations" for real estate ownership **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 4, 2013, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/statute-of-limitations-for-real-estate-ownership/675444 "2013-12-04T06:46:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/statute-of-limitations-for-real-estate-ownership/675444/21 "2013-12-04T22:55:41Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Or are they accepting “paid property tax” as one indicator of occupancy, so if the title holder paid taxes, there are competing “occupancy” claims and the squatter’s claim is not exclusive enough? I think it’s essentially this. The law says that property owners must pay property tax. It’s really hard to argue that you thought something was yours if you weren’t fulfilling your obligations as an owner. Of course, this isn’t going to settle every dispute - maybe no one paid property tax, or maybe there’s an argument about whether the plat maps on file with the assessor are correct. You can quickly get beyond my knowledge of the law. ---
**Author:** ![rightsaidfred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@rightsaidfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rightsaidfred)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/statute-of-limitations-for-real-estate-ownership/675444/22 "2016-06-07T02:31:37Z")
what are the laws for a rural renter who has always paid rent…for 12 years… the land was recently sold to another person. He has to go to meetings every few months to fight to keep me there, but the city doesn’t want a second home on the property, even though it is extremely far from his home. Is there any way to stay? > [@md2000](#): > > Also, Alberta - (a write-up from last year) This one mentions the Torrens system, and the limit is 10 years. > > [http://www.millerthomson.com/en/publications/newsletters/real-estate-report/2012-archives/august-15-2012/adverse-possession-whats-yours-is-mine](http://www.millerthomson.com/en/publications/newsletters/real-estate-report/2012-archives/august-15-2012/adverse-possession-whats-yours-is-mine) > As an aside, I heard of a case in a small town where the small mortage loan company went belly up during particularly bad times. This was the 1960’s, records were mainly paper, and I guess because the town was so down on its luck, nobody took a great deal of interest in the situation (or maybe the managers destroyed a lot of documentation on the way out.) A friend of mine says one of the homeowners approached him (since he used to work in a bank) and asked what he should do, there was nobody to pay the mortgage to. He told him to wait 10 years, then claim squatters’ rights. Nobody came after him for payments, so apparently this worked - after 10 years he had clear title. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2016, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/statute-of-limitations-for-real-estate-ownership/675444/23 "2016-06-07T04:00:55Z")
> [@rightsaidfred](#): > > what are the laws for a rural renter who has always paid rent…for 12 years… > the land was recently sold to another person. > He has to go to meetings every few months to fight to keep me there, but the city doesn’t want a second home on the property, even though it is extremely far from his home. > Is there any way to stay? Since this is evidently about an actual legal case, let’s move it to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator PS. Please note the original thread is from 2013. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/statute-of-limitations-for-real-estate-ownership/675444/24 "2016-06-07T15:45:10Z")
> [@rightsaidfred](#): > > what are the laws for a rural renter who has always paid rent…for 12 years… > the land was recently sold to another person. > He has to go to meetings every few months to fight to keep me there, but the city doesn’t want a second home on the property, even though it is extremely far from his home. > Is there any way to stay? If I understand correctly, I find your situation very weird. I don’t know of any bylaw situation that could say “you no longer have the right to have a building on that property” and require it to be removed, when it was previously legal. Or is this a case of the locality suddenly deciding to enforce long-standing rules after 12 years? But then, “the land of the free” has some very weird and authoritarian rules compared to Canada. (For example I have NEVER heard of a bylaw in Canada that forbids unrelated people from sharing a house, something that’s not unusual in some states.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/statute-of-limitations-for-real-estate-ownership/675444.md?page=1)