Reform gets tough on squatters' rights
Occupiers may soon have to give land owners two years' notice before laying claim to their property, if legal task force's proposal goes through
The Law Reform Commission will press on with its recommendation to amend the law on squatters' rights, making it more difficult for people to legally take over vacant property.
The commission, a task force set up to propose reforms that would make the law more effective, yesterday released a report on the legal doctrine of adverse possession.
Under the current law, if a property has not been used by its owner and another person uses it without objection for at least 12 years, the user can claim ownership of the property in court.
But under the commission's recommendation, the user would have to notify the owner in the 10th year of any plan to take legal possession, giving the owner two years to respond.
The proposal, if implemented, would change the spirit of the adverse possession law, which puts the onus on owners to watch over the use of their property.
"You can register for the land after occupying it for 10 years, but you need to inform the owner first," said Edward Chan SC, chairman of the commission's subcommittee on adverse possession. "If the owner objects, then the occupier will not get ownership of the land."