This is the name given to a rule of law which said that if a person takes over a piece of land and remains in possession (i.e. control) of it, excluding the real owner and others from it for 12 years, he acquires a right to the land.

The rule stemmed from the principle that the real owner's right to take legal action to remove someone trespassing on their land does not last indefinitely, but runs out after 12 years. After that, the law will protect not the real owner but the person in possession of the land - that is, the person who is in control of it.

The law has been criticised, and has now been modifed considerably by the new Land Registration Act 2002. While it is still possible for a landowner to acquire land which is adjacent to his boundary and which he thought was his, acquiring land by adverse possession in other circumstances is much more difficult.

An important case on the current law, J. A. Pye v Graham, has been heard by the House of Lords. The decision has clarified the precise conditions under which a person may acquire title to land by adverse possession.

Adverse possession can apply to a dwelling, when squatters move in, or to a piece of land which is fenced off by the adjoining landowner, or to a hedge or wall. Private Roads: The Legal Framework (4th ed) explains how it may be relevant in a private road.

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