Neighbor lent 8' of adjoining land ( in Oregon) 15 years ago. Who now owns it?

Question

My neighbor lent us the land, for our needs. This was at least 15 years ago. Since then it's been our responsibility, we're the ones to mow, and trim. We've made use of it as though it were our own, and have had no problems with the neighbor, until recently. Her, and her brother have both, verbally, assaulted my husband, and I.
The piece in question is apx 8' x 100'.
We'd like to know if it is LEGALLY ours now. I've heard they forfeit it after 7 years.

Answer 1

I concur that your best course of action is to consult a lawyer since property law rules vary from state to state.

My gut reaction is that you could claim ownership of the land via something called adverse possession. Basically, the idea is that if you openly occupy and use land (which technically belongs to someone else) for an extended period of time, then you can claim it as yours. For example, did you build a fence that partitions the 8x100 piece of land away from your neighbor's property? If so, then your neighbor will have to explain why he didn't say 'Hey, that's my land and I want it back' initially.

The fact that you've added value to the land (by mowing, trimming, etc) without compensation from your neighbors would bolster your ownership claim. One of the ways in which claims of ownership to property were based historically was sweat equity. In other words, you acquired ownership of something by exerting effort or money to improve it. Another way in which possession was historically based was by first discovery, essentially a formal way of saying the first person to find it owns it.

Has your neighbor done anything in the last 15 years to indicate that they wanted the land back? Have they charged you rent for using the land? Have your neighbors done anything to maintain the land? If the answer is no to any of these, then I'd argue (if I was your lawyer) that your neighbors abandoned it, thereby forsaking any claim of ownership.

My only question would be what the time requirement for adverse possession in Oregon is. The time limit could be 7 years (ie. after 7 years of continuous and adverse use, the land becomes yours), but 7 years sounds a little too short. I think 20 years is typical, but again, it depends on the state.

Even if 15 years is not long enough for you to get complete possession of the land, I would still say that you could claim ownership to half of the land (like 400 square feet) since you did work to maintain it. Either that or you could seek compensation from your neighbor (with interest) for the cost of 15 years worth of mowing, trimming, etc. If giving the land back requires moving a fence, then I'd argue that your neighbor needs to pay for that too.

Answer 2

For adverse possession, you have to use the property without the permission of the owner, in an open and notorious manner manner for a specified period of time. Since the neighbor gave your permission to use the land, you cannot claim adverse possession.

If the neighbors no longer wish for you to use the land, all they have to do is tell you that you may no longer use the land. If they do so, you will be trespassing if you enter the property without their permission.

If you want to sue for adverse possession, you can. Odds are that you won't win, since you had permission of the owner, and they are now removing their permission. You'll end up spending thousands of dollars in legal costs, and will end up NOT getting the land or the use of it.

Answer 3

Though state laws vary regarding forfeiture of property under some circumstances, none of that should apply here. You acknowledge that the neighbor LOANED you the use of that land so there should be no forfeiture. In fact, your neighbor was very nice to LOAN you that land and given a generally good relationship with the neighbor you should try to be more forgiving of the recent tensions between yourselves.

Answer 4

as per the indian law other party possed a land more then 12 years then u don`t have any right to take back but if land is given on rent basis and it is a renual basis then u have a right to get back

Answer 5

Questions like that is the reason we have lawyers.