Squatter’s Rights’ / Adverse Possession

What is Adverse Possession or ‘Squatter’s Rights’’?

A squatter is a person who settles in or occupies a piece of property to which they have no right, or lease. A squatter may gain ‘adverse possession’ of the property. This means they may acquire legal ownership because they can demonstrate that they have continuously possessed or occupied a property, without the legal owner having attempted to use, inspect or recover it

If you and your predecessors have been in uninterrupted possession of Crown lands without benefit of title for 20 years or more immediately prior to January 1, 1977, you may be eligible for a Crown grant under Section 36 of the Lands Act c.36, Statutes of Newfoundland and Labrador, 1991, as amended, at a nominal cost. To obtain a Crown grant, you must file an Application for Grant of Land (Squatter’s Rights’) as explained below.

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How to apply for a ‘squatter’s rights’’ grant

Completing the application

  1. Carefully read the entire Guidelines for the Preparation of Applications for Crown Lands. Ensure that all the required parts of the application are fully completed in detail. Please give your full name, complete mailing address, the telephone number(s) and email address at which you can be reached.
  2. In the spaces provided, state the location of the land and the approximate dimensions of the land. You must give enough information about boundaries so that the land can be easily recognized. Also, provide the directions and distances of the boundaries, and who occupies the land around the property.
  3. If possible, the applicant should consult and use the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Land Use Atlas as a resource tool to create the applicant’s map to accompany their application. The mapping should include the location and dimensions of the property, and identify the location of any structures that may be situated on the property. The map should also include the GPS coordinates, if possible, and other descriptive characteristics, such as proximity to landmarks including adjacent properties, waterbodies, and road distance to highway or the nearest street.
  4. A non-refundable application fee must also be included with your application.

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Declaration of Applicant

  1. Before you submit your application, it is critical that you have completed the declaration section in detail.
  2. Read Appendix B of the application thoroughly before completing the declaration.
  3. When completing the Declaration of Applicant, include all information you know about your own use and occupation of the land and any former occupation by previous owners or successive occupants. List all the improvements and acts of possession (e.g. new fences constructed, cultivation, etc.) that have been made to the land over the years. You may have to contact the former occupants, if possible, to gather the necessary information. This is important because the application may be rejected if there is not enough information or if the form is not correctly completed. The lack of information would also delay the processing of the application on your behalf.
  4. Documentation is necessary to provide proof of how the land was acquired. You must include properly notarized deeds of conveyance, mortgages, bills of sale, deeds of gift, wills or any land related documents. For example, a tax certificate may be considered as acceptable supporting documentation. Information on properly notarized deeds may be obtained from the Registry of Deeds. Applicants who are unable to provide the necessary documentation should seek legal advice in order to obtain the proper documents.
  5. Remember: If you are granted title to land based upon false or misleading information, you run the risk of having the grant cancelled at any time in the future and may face prosecution for submitting a fraudulent declaration.

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Individuals in Support of Application

  1. The applicant must obtain the consent of two individuals who have been familiar with this land since at least, January 1, 1957, and who are not a member of the applicant’s direct family. These individuals may be contacted during the investigation of this application, and must meet the following criteria:
    1. Are fully acquainted with the land described in the application for grant of land under the Lands Act.
    2. Have read the declaration made by the applicant concerning the use and occupation of this land [or it has been read to them] and believe that all statements made therein are true and factual, to the best of their knowledge, information and belief.
    3. Are not aware of any claim to, or in respect of, the land by any other person either through occupation, improvements or otherwise, adverse to or inconsistent with the applicant’s claim to any part of the land or to any interest in the land.
  2. Indicate the full name, mailing/civic address, primary telephone number and an e-mail address for the two individuals.

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Application process

When the application is completed in detail, it must be emailed to CrownLandsInfo@gov.nl.ca or forwarded to the appropriate Crown Lands Regional Office with a copy of the application fee payment receipt and applicant’s map for processing.

After the application has been accepted and registered, a Crown Lands Official will contact you and arrange for a convenient time to visit and inspect the land. This is necessary in order to determine your claim to the land.

If your application is approved, a written approval to survey will be issued, giving you 12 months to have the land surveyed by a registered member of the Association of Newfoundland Land Surveyors. The cost of the survey is your responsibility and is only to include the land that was approved. A survey should not to be carried out until you have received approval and your surveyor has received a Survey Authorization from the Regional Lands Office.

Important: Boundary disputes can cause lengthy delay in issuing your title. Try to get occupants of all adjoining land to agree with you on the boundaries before the survey is carried out and have them confirm the boundaries at the time of the survey. If boundary disputes cannot be resolved, a Crown grant cannot be issued.

Upon completion and acceptance of the survey, two (2) copies of the title document are prepared and sent to you for signature. Both documents must be signed and returned to the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture within the specified 90 days, and accompanied by the grant and document preparation fees.

The title documents will then be signed by the department Minister, with one copy placed in the Crown Lands Registry for permanent storage and the other copy being returned to you for your records.

Failure to submit your survey, signed documents and monies owing within their specified time periods will result in the cancellation of your application, in accordance with Section 10 of the Lands Act.

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Fees

Application Processing Fee: $150.00 + HST = $172. 50

Document Preparation Fee: $300.00

Grant Consideration: $500.00

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Definitions

The following terms, because they are points of law, may be difficult to understand. If you do not understand them after careful reading, it is important that you talk to someone, a lawyer for example, who can explain them to you.

Open, Notorious, Exclusive and Continuous Possession: “Open and notorious means actual, visible and obvious.” “So open and notorious as to give the true owner notice of circumstances such that the owner could not be presumed to be ignorant of the possession”. “Exclusive” means possession by the possessor to the exclusion of the owner and all other persons without interruption or dispute. “Continuous” means constant throughout the period, without interruption.

Successive Occupants: A possessor has a transferable interest in the property, and their successor has a right to the possession as if they had occupied the property for the entire period. Successive occupancy occurs if the possession is actual and continuous, meaning it has passed from the possessor to the successor to another successor in order without any break in succession from the original possessor of the property. If a vacancy of the property occurs between any of the successive occupants, the property title would then revert back to the original owner.

Acts of Possession: Examples of such acts which may be sufficient to establish a claim are: constructing buildings, living on or occupying the land, fencing, clearing, cultivating, and the grazing of animals. Some actual use and occupation of the fenced portion must be shown, such as the pasturing of cattle.

Please Note: This information is purely intended for the general guidance of applicants. It is not a legal interpretation, nor does it bind the Crown.

If you have any further questions concerning Crown lands or related matters, please contact the Crown Lands Inquiries Line at 1-833-891-3249 or CrownLandsInfo@gov.nl.ca.

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