Some trespassers may not have to wait a full five years to claim adverse possession against your property.
Iowa Code § 560.2 allows squatters to pursue a color of title claim one year after they perform valuable improvements on the real estate they occupy. Similarly, if you didn’t pay your property taxes for two consecutive years and the civil trespasser pays the dues for you, the courts will allow the squatter to claim color of title earlier.
The Five Elements of Adverse Possession
Squatters must not only occupy your land, to secure a color of title, the civil trespassers must also satisfy five legal requirements before bringing their adverse possession claims to court:
Hostility. A simple occupation of the premise with or without awareness of the trespassing or a good faith occupation where the intruder honestly believes that he/she has a legal right to live there.
Actual Possession. Squatter must be physically present on the premise and maintain the property as if it was their own during the adverse possession period.
Open and Notorious. The occupation must be open and obvious (not hidden) where the public and the landowner can witness the squatting during a reasonable investigation.
Exclusivity. The civil trespasser must hold exclusive possession and not share property ownership with other intruders.
Continuous Possession. Intruders may not interrupt their occupation. The adverse possession clock stops ticking as soon as a squatter reasonably abandons your property.
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