Squatters can be a genuine nightmare for property owners in any state, and North Carolina is no exception. It’s essential for property owners in the Tar Heel state to understand both their own rights and the rights of squatters before they find themselves embroiled in a complicated legal fight.
Pop culture has given us an overly simplified—and even cheesy—concept of what a squatter is. Someone bumbles into a home or rents property, and a few days later they declare squatters rights and end up never leaving. Sound familiar?
Well, there’s an ounce of truth to that concept … but only an ounce. Yes, it’s difficult to get rid of a squatter, and yes, the squatter can end up taking over your property entirely if you aren’t careful. But it’s not even close to as simple to become a squatter as movies and TV shows make it sound.
Squatter laws are confusing and written in frustrating-to-read legal gobbledygook. But don’t fret: Jerry
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Who’s considered a squatter in North Carolina?
Let’s take a moment to quickly go over who and what a squatter actually is. A squatter is an individual who occupies property without the express permission of that property’s rightful owner.
That sounds a lot like a trespasser, right? Well … that’s where things get complicated. In many cases, someone is squatting without even realizing it. Believe it or not, it’s possible to be a squatter while believing you have every legal right to occupy the property.
Squatters often live in properties that are abandoned or otherwise unoccupied and left vacant for long periods of time. This could include a foreclosure that slips through the administrative cracks, a vacation home that’s almost never used, or a property left to someone in a will that gets forgotten about. All of those possibilities are more common than you might realize.
Every state in America gives squatters some degree of legal protection, though it’s much harder to make an adverse possession claim in North Carolina than in many other states.
Squatting vs. trespassing vs. holdover tenants
Now that we know who a squatter is, it’s a little bit easier to differentiate between squatters and two phrases often mistakenly used to describe them: trespassers and holdover tenants.
A squatter is someone who enters a property without breaking in, and then keeps the property habitable while there. They invest in the property, they do repairs, and they might even pay the mortgage, rent, or taxes.
A trespasser is someone who enters a property without permission or otherwise unlawfully. They’re asked not to enter the property (say, a no trespassing sign, or someone asking them not to enter), but they enter regardless.
A person who destroys property to gain access to a property, like breaking a window or picking a lock, is breaking and entering and therefore a trespasser.
Meanwhile, a holdover tenant is someone who stays on a property after their lease has expired, but continues paying rent money that is in turn accepted by the landlord. A holdover tenant is a tenant at will, not necessarily beholden to or protected by a lease.
Adverse possession laws in North Carolina
For a property owner, a positive outcome is of course to be rid of a squatter. But for the squatter, their end game is to claim adverse possession of a property. We’ve been using that phrase here and there throughout this guide, so it’s high time we explain what the heck it means.
Here’s the layman’s definition: Adverse possession is a legal doctrine where a person occupying the property and taking on the responsibility of the care of that property can eventually take ownership of it away from the previous owner.
Adverse possession claims are easier in some states than in others, and North Carolina is certainly one of the more challenging ones to accomplish it in. A squatter needs to occupy a property in North Carolina for 20 continuous, uninterrupted years. And unlike laws found in many other states, squatters in North Carolina aren’t obligated to pay property taxes.
Adverse possession does come with a set of requirements, however. The law considers an adverse possession claim to be valid only if all of the following conditions are met:
Hostile possession
No, hostile possession doesn’t mean the squatter and the property owner are having a trial by combat like on Game of Thrones. In a legal sense, hostile possession can mean any one of these three things:
The squatter isn’t aware they’re occupying someone else’s property (this is often referred to as simple possession)
They’re fully aware that they’re occupying the space as a squatter, and that they have no legal right to occupy the property
In a good faith occupation, a squatter believes they have every right to occupy the property, often having been duped by a con artist into believing they owned the land. The squatter doesn’t realize they’re a squatter, and they’re just carrying on with life unaware
Active possession
The squatter must also have active possession, or active control, of the property. Squatter laws in North Carolina define this as meaning the squatter is continuously occupying the space for twenty years.
They’re also caring for the property, performing routine maintenance and repairs as needed, and living in the space as an owner of the property should.
Open and notorious possession
Here’s another factor of adverse possession that sounds more sinister than it is: open and notorious possession means the squatters are occupying the property openly and publicly.
They aren’t squatting in secret and they aren’t attempting to hide their occupation from the property owners or the public at large.
Exclusive possession
In most states, squatters aren’t allowed to occupy spaces in groups and still make an adverse possession claim, and squatter laws in North Carolina are no different. Squatters can’t occupy the space with strangers or the property owner, nor can they have tenants.
This rule doesn’t extend to a legal spouse, a long-term significant other, or children. It’s generally assumed that exclusive possession extends not only to an individual squatter but to their immediate family and to individuals who might regularly be staying with them if they owned the property themselves. Most people aren’t inviting strangers to spend the night.
Continuous possession
Now for the part where squatters in North Carolina struggle the most. Continuous possession in North Carolina means a squatter must maintain possession of a property for 20 continuous, uninterrupted years.
Key Takeaway An adverse possession claim requires the possession to be hostile, active, open and notorious, exclusive, and continuous.
Does North Carolina honor color of title claims?
Squatters don’t often have paperwork to back up their adverse possession claim, and when they do, it’s often fraudulent, like a lease penned by a con artist for instance. In some cases, squatters did sign documents, but unofficial ones, like a lease that’s poorly worded or overly simplified that doesn’t clearly make a case for ownership.
In North Carolina, a color of title claim reduces the statutory period down to seven years, rather than 20 years. In other words, a squatter with a valid color of title claim must occupy the space for seven years to claim adverse possession, whereas someone without a valid color of title claim must occupy the property for the full 20 years.
How to protect yourself from squatters
It’s difficult, but not impossible, to make an adverse possession claim in North Carolina. So as a property owner, you should take a few steps to make sure you and your property are protected against potential squatters. Here are some things you should be doing:
Post “no trespassing” signs in clearly visible areas where you’d expect someone to walk, or where they’d have no good excuse to have not seen it
Visit the property regularly. Inspect the grounds for signs of squatters and trespassers
Install locks and, if you can, a security system. Squatters gaining non-forcible entry into your property can make a far stronger case than someone who broke in
Pay your bills. While North Carolina doesn’t require taxes to be paid by a squatter, it’s difficult or even impossible to make an adverse possession claim if a squatter isn’t taking care of the property. If you’re paying the bills and monitoring the property for new services added, you can mitigate some of that risk.
If you find squatters living on your property, do not attempt to forcibly remove them yourself. Don’t cut their power or water, don’t threaten or assault anyone, and generally don’t attempt to handle the situation aggressively. You’ll expose yourself to tremendous legal risk if you do.
Instead, give squatters a written notice stating the property is owned by you and ask them to leave. Also, be sure to post the notice on the property where it’s clear and unavoidably noticeable.
If the squatters refuse to leave, contact local law enforcement for assistance. You may want to find a lawyer and file an unlawful detainer suit to help get them evicted if all else fails.
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