Squatter
In the governance of real estate a squatter is someone moves onto a property without owning it, leasing it, or renting it.[1]
In most jurisdictions a squatter acquires some legal protections, informally known as "squatters' rights", if the owner fails to challenge their occupancancy in a timely manner.[1][2] The owner may have to go through some or all of the formal steps they would need to perform when serving eviction on a paying tenant. If they have conducted repairs, or made improvements, their occupancy rights may be strengthened.
Successful squatters target properties where the owner or leaseholder is absent for a long period of time, or properties that seem to have been abandoned. Neighbors may believe the stories they fabricate, of being the new owner, leaseholder, or renter, particularly if the property showed neglect, and they start mowing the lawn, or repairing shingles, or applying coats of paints, where it was needed.
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1
"Squatters' Rights in Canada". Affordable Home and Car Insurance. 2025-09-16. Archived from the original on 2026-05-07. Retrieved 2026-07-25.
Squatters are people who take up residence in a property that they don’t own, without the owner’s permission. “Squatters’ rights” refers to various legal conventions that allow people to occupy or claim ownership of property that isn’t theirs.
- ↑ "Bill filed to prevent squatters from having rights". Eyewitness News ABC7NY. 2024-03-21. Archived from the original on 2025-12-03. Retrieved 2026-07-25 – via YouTube.